Here we go… language skills! I know that may seem a bit far fetched, but there are different skills you can teach your baby to help ease their way into speaking full blown sentences or just communicating in general with you. Keep reading!
Parentese! It means exactly how it sounds – talking to baby in their language, using high pitched tones, simple sentences, and stretched out vowels! Baby talk, which is exaggerated sounds that babies actually prefer over adult talk and conversation. Baby talk is a combination of nonsense syllables. It seems that as parents we are hard wired to talk to our babies like this to begin with, so this will sound and feel natural to you. This helps baby grab a sense of their home language – their language! Engaging with them in baby talk will help them thrive in the long run, even though it may drive you up the wall.
Respond and put to words your baby’s actions. If your baby puts their arms out in front of them, ask, “Are you grabbing for this?” or if they toss their arms in the air towards you, ask them, “Do you want to be picked up?” It encourages them to communicate their feelings, their wants and needs.
A conversation is not a one-way street, even for babies. When talking to your little one, pause and give them a chance to understand and possibly even respond. Their response may be nonsense, but hey it’s something! Another important point is to always encourage them as well in their responses. Even if it’s just a nod or a blank stare, make sure to let them know that you understood what they were communicating to yo.! Lots of
“Yay!” “That’s right!” and “You got this!” is always appreciated by baby.
To conclude, we know you feel like you’re losing your mind over there. The biggest piece of advice we have is that you always make sure you are having adult conversations as well. Call Grandma, call a friend, anyone! Talk in YOUR language, get it all out, and it’ll make talking “baby” a whole lot easier.
We know you got this!