Friday 3 December 2010

Baby's First Words...teaching baby to talk

This video a perfect example of a mom and dad teaching a 2 and a half month old baby to say "oo". And they are so surprised when baby says it back to them! This is a great example of " baby talk" just for practice and pleasure.

Baby Milestones - First Words

Before a baby can say proper words, the lips and tongue need to acquire the strength and agility needed to form speech. Plus, the brain also needs to develop enough to match objects up with their corresponding names.
As a first-time parent, you're probably wondering when your little one's cooing and babbling will develop into his or her first recognisable words. Considering babies normally pronounce their first real words at 11 months and onwards.You must be patient and see all that babbling and cooing as useful attempts to speak and communicate using 'imperfect' word pronunciation.

The rate at which babies arrive at this milestone may vary. If you want your little one to reach this stage faster you must try to help him (or her) do so.  And there is nothing tricky about it. In fact , there are lots of easy and enjoyable things you can do to foster baby talk.

How Do Babies Learn to Communicate?

The reality is that your baby is basically mastering the skill to communicate throughout the day, every day . Each and every time he or she makes a fuss , you usually make an effort to make him (or her) feel much better. Your reaction and the way  you respond to your baby's noise-making basically sets the basis for language and teaching baby to talk.

By the age of two months, your baby is already able to respond to your cues. Your cues are the words you say. Also, the lilting manner in which you speak keeps him/her interested and promotes understanding of words and sentences. That's why every time you speak to your baby, he or she stares back at you and makes cooing sounds in response. This is how babies learn to talk.

By the time your little one turns six months old, he or she will normally begin to babble. This will be a series of sounds a bit like words, but which don't have any meaning . Baby babbling is how babies love practising and  working out  the muscles of the mouth which they will put to use later when speaking genuine words.  At first, the sounds will only be made up of vowels like ah. ow, oh, ee, uh. After that, his or her nonsense words will then contain consonants like m,b,d, because these are the consonants babies find easiest to pronounce to begin with . Inside a few months, your child will try to mirror your words and other sounds.

How To Teach Baby to Talk

Match up items up with names. - At mealtimes , for example, give the names for eating utensils like the plate, spoon, fork, cup and the like. Each and every time you say the word, point to or hold the object and repeat the word at least three times.

Be like a child yourself. - Playing games like "peek-a-boo" really reinforces listening, mimicking and taking turns - all of which are prerequisites of carrying out a conversation.

Read to your baby. --In the beginning, your little one won't comprehend the words you say, but the words are being absorbed and stored by his brain. So reading to your little one will stimulate his or her senses and foster an everlasting love of books, which will be an excellent basis for later success at school and in life.

Prattle back -- When your child babbles, say something that sounds the same in reply. For example, if he or she says "boo boo", you might copy him and say "boo boo" yourself, or respond with something like "Hey, goo goo."  Your baby will love this game and the fun you both can have with silly sounds, really makes learning a lot more enjoyable. But always remember to pause briefly to let your little one babble back at you and get used to the pattern of a real conversation.

There is a wonderful Youtube video showing a mother having fun with her four-month old baby by making silly sounds. She also uses mirroring -  repeating the sounds baby makes:



Sing. -- Babies, by nature, have a love for music. Singing  is an excellent way of introducing a wide variety of sounds and words.   Songs with animal sounds are great because they are so enjoyable and you can have fun with the sounds well before baby can actually say words.

Your little one's first word is, definitely , a thrilling milestone. Remember , though, that babies develop at diverse rates. follow this link to find out more about teaching babies to talk.  Congratulate yourself when your baby reaches the first words milestone and feel proud that you helped to teach your baby to talk.