Although each baby develops in a different manner, there are certain milestones that a baby should accomplish in the first few months of life. One of the earliest milestones that your baby will cross is language and speech.
One of the most amazing and fascinating aspects of infant development is communication. The first few months of your baby’s life are a complete joy ride for both you and your baby, if we only take aside the sleepless nights! What you do at this time lays the foundation for your baby’s future growth and development. This includes language activities for infants. Let’s take a look at some doctor-recommended activities to speed up language development in babies and to help them start talking earlier.
As a parent, it’s important to observe, focus and encourage your little one through her milestones. Language and speech is the first milestone your baby will aim to achieve. So, how to develop language in babies? Here are some activities that you should engage your baby in to encourage her language development.
Books are the best way your baby can connect to the world. He will love to listen to the sound of your voice as you read. Choose bed time stories or books with contrasting and bright pictures for her to get attracted to them and respond. You will notice that she delightfully attempts to communicate back when she hears your voice and sees bright, colourful images. Some of the best books to pick at this time are:
Babies love to communicate and connect through games. Invent games that will involve the usage of words. The game can be very simple – just repeating a syllable, or saying a word over and over with rhythm. Babies attempt to mimic the words their parents use. This will encourage active communication and an engaging conversation with your little one, thus boosting language development in infants.
Babies love to mimic their mothers and other caregivers. This can be a good idea to build their language development too. Simply spend time copying your baby’s expressions, babbles, sounds, etc. Also create your own expressions and sounds when playing this game with your baby.
Babies love melodious tunes right from the time they are in the womb. Sing as much as possible to your baby – be it a lullaby, folk song or a nursery rhyme. Singing can comfort your baby. She will recognize your voice every time you sing to her and will try to hum the same. This encourages her to make an effort to use her vocal cords.
When you bathe your baby or change his diaper, start naming different parts of his body.
For example – baby’s nose, eyes, toes, etc. You can also make up small rhymes as you do this. This activity helps develop body part recognition at an early age. This is very useful for developing language skills in babies.
Babies soon start understanding more about their family members and distinguishing them from people they see only once in a while. A very beneficial activity for language development is to give names to all family members, pets, etc., and repeat them to the baby through the day. This repetition helps the baby slowly retain the information and learn to say it too!
Experts recommend that the games of peek-a-boo and pass-the-ball are excellent for teaching babies the skills of turn-taking, reacting and exchange – skills that are critical for language development in later life. Make sure you play these simple games with your baby often to promote language development from birth.
Although your baby is too young and may not understand what you speak at this point of time, it is important that you actively talk to your baby on a daily basis. Keep a continuous conversation on as you bathe him, feed him, or take him out. Talk to him just like you would do to any other member in your family. He will learn the essence of speech and will attempt to communicate with you in his own way.
Music can be a fun and stimulating way to boost language development in babies up to 6 months. Playing gentle lullabies or singing softly can expose your baby to different sounds and rhythms. This auditory experience can help them differentiate between various pitches and tones, aiding in language recognition and auditory processing.
Tummy time is essential for developing physical strength in babies, but it can also be a moment to engage in language-building activities. While your baby is on their tummy, use descriptive language to narrate what they’re seeing or doing. Describe objects and toys in their field of vision, using simple words and expressive tones. This verbal engagement helps to stimulate their interest in language while they develop physical skills.
Reading to your baby is an excellent way to support early language development. Even if your baby is too young to understand the words, the rhythm and melody of your voice can captivate them. Choose books with bright colors, high-contrast images, and simple patterns, pointing out and naming objects. This not only introduces your baby to new sounds and vocabulary but also encourages visual tracking and focus, which are important for language and cognitive development.
For language skills to evolve, parents need to make a conscious effort. It is important to engage your baby in language-building activities. The first year of your baby’s life is very important for language, cognitive development, and speech. Your infant will be very eager to learn; you only have to support him.
This was an extensive list of language development activities for infants. As a parent you don’t need to be trained in helping your baby communicate. Simple ways at home can be used to nurture the perfect environment to listen and communicate. Go ahead and get talking with your baby!
References/Resources:
1. Speech and Language Developmental Milestones; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/speech-and-language
3. Delayed Speech or Language Development; Nemours Kids Health; https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/not-talk.html
5. Communication Milestones: Age Ranges; American Speech Language Hearing Association; https://www.asha.org/public/developmental-milestones/communication-milestones/
6. Language Development; Colorado Early Learning and Development Guidelines; https://earlylearningco.org/guidelines/ages-3-5/language-development/
7. Aguilar-Mediavilla. E, Pérez-Pereira. M, Serrat-Sellabona. E, Adrover-Roig. D; Introduction to Language Development in Children: Description to Detect and Prevent Language Difficulties (Children-Basel); National Library of Medicine; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8947529/; March 2022
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