When a baby first babbles, parents immediate begin to guess at what the child was saying. Typically, the mother will guess “mama” while the daddy leans more toward “dada”. Listening to your little bundle of joy trying to communicate is funny and exciting at the same time. As parents, we need to learn not just to decipher what our baby’s say but also guide them to the proper language.
For instance, between six and nine months, most babies are babbling quite a bit. Some will seem to carry on an entire conversation but in a language that we do not understand. During this time, it is fine to “goo goo” back at the baby but you also want to begin the process of teaching him or her proper language. For instance, if you walk into the room and your baby sees you, babbling “mama”, you could respond with something like “Yes, it’s your mommy”. With this, you are acknowledging his/her language while steering it to proper language.
Another example would be your baby pointing at his/her bottle and saying, “baba.” Rather than you respond with “Do you want your baba”, you would say, “Do you want your bottle?” By using the proper word, your baby will soon begin to form his “baba” into “bottle”, thus learning a word. You will find your baby to be intrigued and eager to follow in mom or dad’s footsteps.
Then, it is important that you take what you believe your baby to be saying and turn it into a statement or story. In this case, let us say your baby pointed or said “bankie”, meaning “blanket”. You could then expand on this by saying, “Here’s your soft, blue blanket”. Now, the baby is learning that not only is that called a “blanket” but it is also soft and blue.
Depending on the child, deciphering can be a little challenging at times. In fact, there will be instances when your child is trying to tell you something and you just do not get it. Typically, you would see him or her becoming frustrated by not being able to communicate with you. When something like this occurs, be honest and say, “Honey, mommy does not understand you…did you want your bottle?” If he/she indicates no, try something else, “Do you want to cuddle”. You may have to go through several possibilities before hitting on the right one. Learning to decipher your baby’s language and guiding him/her to proper language takes patience and time but the rewards are great.