How To Encourage Your Baby's Speech

-

How To Encourage Your Baby's Speech


Parents love hearing a baby's early words.

Babies' brains are wired to acquire language, with millions of brain cells primed to make neural connections that will form the framework of the child's skills in her native language. Parents and caregivers can help encourage children to communicate by doing things that often come naturally when interacting with a baby.

Instructions


  • Talk to your baby. Some parents feel odd talking to a baby who cannot yet talk back, but babies first get a feel for the sound of their parents' language and then recognize specific words long before the infants can speak. Narrate what you are doing with the baby, using a combination of single words or short phrases ("blanket") and longer sentences ("here's your warm yellow blanket"). Babies are excellent listeners to whatever you have to say.
  • Play sound games. When your baby starts responding to your speech with vocalizations of his own, mimic the sounds he makes. This shows your baby the basics of conversation and helps him have fun while communicating. Play peek-a-boo, patty cake or other games in which words are linked with actions. Sing songs or say nursery rhymes with your baby for even more language-related neural stimulation.
  • Read to your baby. For parents who are still a bit shy about talking to a non-verbal baby, reading is a comfortable way to expose a baby to language. Reading is also an effective way to expand your baby's vocabulary and expose her to the flow and rhythm of language. Talk briefly about what you see in the pictures if your baby just wants to flip the pages.
  • Respond when your baby tries to communicate with you, even if you can't quite tell what he is trying to say. Show your baby that you are interested in what he has to say.
  • Have patience. Children develop at their own pace. Some go through phases when they are more interested in listening than speaking. Speak to your doctor to find out if your child's speech and language skills are developmentally appropriate.


Tips & Warnings

Have your baby's hearing checked. Many doctors offer hearing screening tests for newborns. Ensure that your baby has no physical issues that may cause speech and language difficulties.
Keep your encouragement light and fun. Read your baby's cues for signs that she has had enough stimulation for a while.
Television shows and recorded music are not a substitute for human interaction and are much less effective tools for language development.
Don't use too much baby talk. Sound games, simplified speech and baby talk are fine occasionally, but speaking clearly will teach your baby to speak clearly.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is Melting Points

-
Image
Most organic compounds have melting points below 200 ºC. Some decompose before melting, a few sublime, but a majority undergo repeated melting and crystallization without any change in molecular structure. When a pure crystalline compound is heated, or a liquid cooled, the change in sample temperature with time is roughly uniform. However, if the solid melts, or the liquid freezes, a discontinuity occurs and the temperature of the sample remains constant until the phase change is complete. This behavior is shown in the diagram on the right, with the green segment representing the solid phase, light blue the liquid, and red the temperature invariant liquid/solid equilibrium. For a given compound, this temperature represents its melting point (or freezing point), and is a reproducible constant as long as the external pressure does not change. The length of the horizontal portion depends on the size of the sample, since a quantity of heat proportional to the heat of fusion must be...
Read more

What Is Atomic And Molecular Orbitals

-
Image
A more detailed model of covalent bonding requires a consideration of valence shell atomic orbitals. For second period elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, these orbitals have been designated 2 s , 2p x , 2p y   & 2p z . The spatial distribution of electrons occupying each of these orbitals is shown in the diagram below.   Very nice displays of orbitals may be found at the following sites: J. Gutow, Univ. Wisconsin Oshkosh R. Spinney, Ohio State  M. Winter, Sheffield University The valence shell electron configuration of carbon is 2 s 2 , 2p x 1 , 2p y 1  & 2p z 0 . If this were the configuration used in covalent bonding, carbon would only be able to form two bonds. In this case, the valence shell would have six electrons- two shy of an octet. However, the tetrahedral structures of methane and carbon tetrachloride demonstrate that carbon can form four equivalent bonds, leading to the desired octet. In order to explain this covalent bonding,...
Read more

Uses OF Alkynes In Nature And Medicine

-
Alkynes in nature and medicine According to Ferdinand Bohlmann, the first naturally occurring acetylenic compound, dehydromatricaria ester, was isolated from an Artemisia  species in 1826 . Polyynes, a subset of this class of natural products, have been isolated from a wide variety of plant species, cultures of higher fungi, bacteria, marine sponges, and corals.  Some acids like  tariric acid  contains an alkyne group. Diynes and triynes, species with the linkage RC ≡ C-C ≡ CR' and RC ≡ C-C ≡ C-C ≡ CR' respectively, occur in certain plants ( Ichthyothere , Chrysanthemum ,  Cicuta ,  Oenanthe  and other members of the  Asteraceae  and  Apiaceae  families).  Some examples are  cicutoxin , oenanthotoxin ,  falcarinol  and  carotatoxin . These compounds are highly bioactive, e.g. as  nematocides .  1-Phenylhepta-1,3,5-triyne is illustrative of a naturally occurring triyne. Alkynes occ...
Read more