Talking to Your Baby (Adapted from Bright Futures in Practice, Mental Health; Healthy Steps)

Your baby may not be able to talk yet, but talking with her is still very important! Talking with babies helps their brains to develop; it also lays the groundwork for good language development. Here are some tips for communicating with your baby:

• Play sound games with your baby. Read rhyming books and sing songs. Interact with your baby in other ways so that he or she will begin to sense patterns in language.
• Respond to noises your baby makes, even when they aren't words. When baby says "da," imitate this for him. This will help him begin to learn communication patterns. It will also help him to know that you WANT to communicate with him!
• When children begin to use gestures to communicate, talk about what these gestures mean to you. For example, when your baby reaches to be picked up, say "I see you want me to pick you up!" When your baby reaches for a toy, say "I know you want to play with the truck!"
• Talk to your baby about the things you do throughout the day. Talk to him about doing the dishes, folding the laundry, or changing his diaper. Talk to him about whatever you are doing at the time!
• Once your baby does start talking, talk to her! Some studies show that just hearing language may not be enough to help children learn to talk well. Interacting with adults seems to be the most important tool infants have for learning to talk.

Adapted from Jellinek, M. (2000). Bright Futures in Practice, Mental Health