With my first child, I never worried too much about “teaching” her how to talk. However, I did come up with one technique that seemed to work when she was a toddler. If she would mis-pronounce a word, I would simply say it back to her correctly. If she was having difficulty saying something, I would tell her to look at my mouth. When she was watching my mouth, I would enunciate slowly as she watched. It almost always did the trick. She would be able to say the word correctly from then on.
Now, I have a boy and things are a little more tricky. In typical fashion, I have noticed that his language development is slightly behind where my daughter was at this age. I have joked that I think he is just “lazy” when it comes to talking. There are words that I’ve heard him say correctly, and then later, say them again incorrectly. While I do not think I need to run out to the doctor and get him help, I am ready for my little man to start talking to me. But, everything takes time.
Watching a baby learn to speak is a fascinating experience. I have loved watching both of my kids learn how to talk. My 4 year old still amazes me at the words that she uses. My second is starting to put two words together, and I see him follow his big sister around like a little copy cat, and try to repeat the same things that she says. He usually only says the last word of a big sentence. So, if she says, “Mom! Did you see that truck?” He will say, “Mama! Truck!”
Did you know that when babies are born, they have the capability of making all the sounds in any given language? For example, rolling the “r” in Spanish is very difficult for some non-Spanish speakers. However, when a baby is born, if they hear the rolling of the “r” regularly, they will eventually master doing it. I was amazed to learn that our children are capable of all sounds in any language, but based on what they hear, they will master a certain kind of sound.
The simplest way to help your baby learn language is by using it! The more you speak to your baby, and engage with him/her, the easier it will be for baby to master language. Every child develops at a different rate, but it is important to be an example in how you speak. One thing that has always bothered me is when a parent (with or without knowing) reinforces bad speech by repeating words back to the child incorrectly. For example, if your baby starts to call a bottle, “baba”. Do not say to your child, “Do you want your baba now?” They will think that they are saying it correctly. Instead, always use the real word or term when speaking to your baby.
As I said before, every child develops differently. And, usually, there is not a real issue, but if you feel your baby is too developmentally delayed, make sure to speak to your Pediatrician.
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