Language - Baby Brain Food

The amount of words a baby hears before their 2nd birthday determines their future academic success.  How can we get our babies off to a great start?  Here are some simple steps to developing your baby's intellect.

• Talk to your baby about everything.
• Sing to your baby.
• Recite nursery rhymes.
• Read to your baby everyday.
• Play music for your baby.
• Get books on tape or poetry on tape and use during baby's playtime.

Skip the Baby Talk

One important rule to follow when speaking to babies is to skip the baby talk.  Parents and caregivers should understand that their babies are working very hard to understand the language that surrounds them.  They are looking for patterns and continuity to understand what words mean and how to use them.  By speaking baby talk to our babies, we are teaching them a foreign language that is completely useless.

Babies learn language best when spoken to in parentese.  Parentese is child-directed speech.  It is the way most people naturally speak to babies.  It is speaking slowly and clearly.  Usually parents speak with a higher-pitch when talking to babies.  This is what babies need to thrive in their language development.

Parents should also use big words when talking to their babies.   Your baby has the ability to easily learn vocabulary from birth to five.  If you provide a rich language environment for your baby, your baby will have a rich vocabulary.

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.