When an adult faces a new born baby trying to communicate may seem odd and strange. Babies, only makes coos and they seem too small to talk, and may not understand what we say, yet there are some values we need to understand in trying to communicate with these adorable little creatures.
According to the Michigan State University Extension, when adults spend time with babies, singing to them or reading to them and telling them stories, they also learn. They will begin to recognize the rhythm and language flow. This is also the reason why they begin to mimic those sound and babble.
Besides learning language, babies also feel security and love coming from the touch that communication brings. As they go through their baby stage of life, they will begin to associate sounds with objects.
As adults we should also learn some little techniques in communicating with our little ones. Here are some tips for communicating with babies:
Talk Back. Babies may have cooing sounds, but you can respond by making sounds yourself. Or just converse with them about anything, even if you feel they do not understand. This way, you'll be teaching your baby how communication works.
Listen to music. Some mommies will put an earphone in their tummies and have their babies listen to classical music. It is believed to make babies smart, but when the baby is out in the world. It's always fun to make silly songs and listen to different kinds of music for learning. Making up or using nursery rhymes is best too.
Play games. It could be as simple as pointing to body parts such as, "where is your nose?" or "where are your ears?" This way babies can be able to associate the words and sound to things around them.
Reading picture books. Pointing to pictures and mentioning what the pictures is about helps build their vocabulary.
Talk about what you are doing. Even if your very little ones is inside the crib you can just simple describe what you are doing, or the steps in the task that you do. It relaxes them to know somebody is around to tend to their needs.
Let baby scribble. When they are old enough to handle things, let them hold a pen or crayon, with adult supervision, of course, let them scribble on papers and chalk boards.
The website Zero To Three also had some simple yet great idea for communicating with babies. The instructions are brief but very helpful, it also has other parenting tips you can use at home.
