How to Master “Baby Talk” (and Why You Should)

Many of us instinctively know that talking to babies and toddlers consistently is important to their development. aA study of US child development shows that it’s not just the number of words you hear that drives your child’s language development.It’s also about interactions between children and their caregivers.

“Twenty or thirty years ago there was this feeling: It’s just the number of words children hear,” he said. Rebecca Pallakian, a non-profit organization zero to three child development specialists. “But the reality is that babies and toddlers don’t learn language from lectures. They learn language when we have engaging and responsive interactions with them. ”

How Interaction Helps Build Your Baby’s Language

Even babies respond with gurgling words.Are you a hungry boy? It’s part of how they start learning languages. When they get a little older, it’s the nature of language, and toddlers might say:what’s that? “ Their parents replied,It’s a dog! “ It really lays the foundation for language learning.

“Children learn language best when they are in relationships with people who are responsive and engaging to them,” Pallakian said.

When an infant asks In addition to answering their question, it would be helpful to provide additional information—that helps to Answer questions that cannot be verbalized. “Infants run out of language at that point Because they don’t have the vocabulary,” said Pallakian.

yes continue until say it something like, “Oh Look, the dog is smelling the wood.” This extends the conversation beyond the initial question of “”.what’s that? “ Helps answer some of the non-verbal communication.what’s going on? “

“When we are talking about the birth of a three-year-old, at least until the age of two, the majority of communication methods are through gestures, facial expressions, and vocalizations, but not necessarily words,” Pallakian said. Respond to cues and use words to label, narrate, And respond to children’s interests. ”

use descriptive words

Most of our interactions with our children I tend to use very practical words like “”.did you bring a toy “ Also “Are you hungry? ” between them is certainly important, but parents should be aware that they are also introducing new vocabulary. In early childhood good trying to Be as specific as possible when talking about your surroundings. As we were talking while walking around the neighborhood, you might point to the cat Fluffy fur, tall sunflowers, or puffy white clouds in the sky.

another good introduction language You may not use it much in your daily life, but it is reading books with your child. We may not talk about pirates who need to be listened to, Or a very hungry caterpillar, Also small engine can do it regularlybooks provide an opportunity to increase vocabulary.

“Share books, sing, rhyme, all these experiences expose children to unique vocabulary,” said Pallakian. 例文 Especially in books, there are many words that are not used in everyday conversation.

‘Baby talk’ is a natural instinct we should embrace

The natural instinct when talking to babies and toddlers is The researcher said, “parentheses,” Characterized by long syllables and keyword emphasis. As Pallakian points out, this is an instinct seen all over the world and one that parents should embrace. “Almost all cultures use the bracket form,” said Pallakian. “Apparently unconscious”

There is evidence to show that the use of parentheses helps children’s language development, and it has been shown that the more back-and-forth parental interaction the better, especially in the very early months and years. For parents who are worried that their baby’s words may not match their ageIn fact, we instinctively adjust for that too.

“PQuite subconsciously, parents tend to use parentheses and, quite subconsciously, adjust their language as their children grow,” said Pallakian.as the child grows, parents tend to subconsciously change the use of parentheses to suit the child’s needs.

“As our children’s language grows and becomes more complex, we adults, as guardians, unconsciously accommodate the complexity of our children’s language,” Pallakian said.