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Imagine going to some country that has a language you are totally unfamiliar with. You would want a teacher, a guide or at least a dictionary to help you learn how to communicate with other people. Your baby is in a position that is even more difficult. Having spent months in the dark, for the first time your baby is seeing faces and their expressions and a whole world that is new. Fortunately your baby has you as a guide, and a baby has a brain that is growing and making new connections every day.
Talking cannot be learned if it is never heard. Language skills are picked up mostly by example on your part and assimilation on the baby's part. So every time you are around your baby, talk to him or her. Talk about your life, your plans, and your tasks. Talk to the baby about the housework, the weather, and politics and religion. As you change your baby's clothing, name her body parts. Always talk about what you are doing. Talk face to face and make eye contact. Singing songs is great, too.
After a while your baby will start to make some vocal noises of their own like cooing and babbling. Respond to these noises and repeat them. Soon you will find you are having your first two-way vocal communications with each other, even if it is all play. This is very good, and lots of fun, too. By listening and reacting to your baby's first sounds you are showing him or her that you have respect for what they want to say. You are encouraging more language learning on their part.
After a while your child will understand many of the words that you use. Comprehension always comes first and is more developed than the amount that a baby or toddler is able to say. In addition to learning his or her first words, your baby will also start to make up a few words of their own. As long as you both understand what it means, this is communication. It is such a relief after months of guessing your baby's needs for him or her to begin to tell you what they want.
Another way to cultivate language skills is to read to your baby. It is never too early. You can start with baby board books. Sometimes you can even read the newspaper or poetry out loud to your young baby. What is really fun with a baby book, though, is to see a baby begin to engage with the pictures. By reading you will introduce many new words that your baby might not hear in daily talk and begin to associate pictures of things with the things themselves and the word for it. The time you spend reading to your baby will teach him or her that reading is something wonderful that people share with each other.
Before long your child will be copying many words that you use and putting them together in sentences. You will learn that a child will not be able to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate language for a long time, so it is best to clean up your own language if you do not want your child saying certain words to his or her grandparents, the preschool teacher or your pastor.
If you are concerned that your child is not learning his or language skills at a rate that would be considered normal, bring it up with your child's doctor. Your child may need to have their hearing tested or they may benefit from other interventions like speech therapy. The ability to talk and understand language is one of the most satisfying skills your child will acquire. Before long you may be even wondering how to get him or her to take a break from talking so much.
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