Baby Talk: Helping Children's Speech Grow

Baby Talk is an important part of development. It is a bridge stone to so much more. Early language will lead to success in school later on. Research shows that children who are more successful with early communication will arrive to school more on time, more ready to learn, and have an easier time learning to read.

The first five years are when a child’s brain are doing its primary developing. This means stimulating language in this time frame is crucial. Here are some fun ways to make communication exciting! Remember baby talk is more than just speech. It is also about gestures, imitation, listening, and all kinds of imitation. Most importantly keep the environment positive and safe for your kids! Encourage them to keep trying and remember that they are young.

Music – Music is a great way to stimulate a child’s brain. It doesn’t have to sound good, so do not worry if you cannot carry a tune. Make up the song. Get silly with it. Drum along.
Label – The world is full of so many great things and children are just now getting to see them for the first time. Label them. Do not spend to much time making your children repeat or trying to label it themselves. This can feel like pressure to them and give them anxiety around speech. If they are older and expanding their vocabulary, make a game out of labeling items.
Be a Commenter – Yes it is like you have your own show. Talk tell your littlest one all about your every move. They just do not know. They are new here to this crazy place called earth, and they are not use to our ritual’s yet. (Think vacuuming, cleaning, bathing, cleaning, diaper changes, getting dressed)
Read – Books can just be a jumping point and do not need to be literal. Little ones can learn speech patterns like rhyming from books, but you can also label all the pictures
Sign – Gestures are an important part of language so do not worry you are teaching essential early communication skills. If you do not know baby sign, goggle them…that is what the internet is great for
Engage – Even before my son could really talk I would say tell daddy about your day when my husband got home then I would bridge the conversation between the two of them until eventually (years later) I didn’t need to help him at all. This is just one example of how you can include children in a conversation you are going to have anyway. Do not talk over them. Include them!