Baby's First Teacher

You may not have realized that having a baby meant you were signing up to be a teacher.  In fact, parents are babies first teachers.  Recent research shows that the amount of words a baby hears per hour before the age of two will determine their future academic success.  Wow!  That can put a bit of pressure on parents to perform.  How can we parents be sure we are providing our baby with all the language they need to hear?  It  isn't really that difficult.  Here are three simple ways to surround your baby with language daily.

1. Talk to your baby -  Your baby will learn more efficiently by hearing more language.  Hearing language gives your baby the opportunity to master his mother tongue.  You can do this by telling your baby everything.  Tell baby where you are going, why you are going there, what colors you see, how  you feel, etc...
2. Read to your baby -  Babies that are read to from birth to two are able to develop a more advanced vocabulary that babies that were not.  This is crucial when it is time for baby to go to school and begin mastering the written word.  Babies that are read to regularly rarely struggle with literacy.
3. Sing to your baby -  Babies love to hear lullabies.  This is an excellent means for parents to surround their babies with language.  You will certainly use words in your songs that you might not use in everyday conversation.

Follow these three simple steps and your baby will be well on their way to success.