Babies are like sponges, absorbing everything they see and hear around them. The APA (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends that “having parents read aloud age-appropriate books to their children and talk about the pictures in the books will strengthen children’s language skills, literacy development and parent-child relationships.”
Read Children’s Books – Get into the habit of reading children’s books to your baby regularly. But don’t just read the words on the page – show them the different shapes, colors and pictures as you go through the pages.
Tell stories about your life – Talking to your baby in clear, short sentences helps them build their vocabulary and learn communication skills. It can feel a bit awkward talking to someone who can’t speak, but you can talk to them like “we are going upstairs” or “mommy is making dinner!” .
Show what you see – This can be a fun activity, especially when you go for a walk or do your daily chores. When you see something interesting, show it to your baby too, like “daddy saw a little dog” or “now we are getting in the car and going shopping”
Ask and answer questions – This is an early habit and you will soon be talking in a question-and-answer way. For example, “Look a cat! What sound do cats make? Meow!” or “What should we buy at the market? We need milk and bread.” You will unknowingly ask a question and your baby will give the answers.
Stop and smell the flowers – even look at the insects! Remember that your baby sees the world from a very different perspective than you do. Slow down and stop to point out ants, tiny little spiders, different flowers, birds in the air and airplanes in the sky. Soon your baby will be showing you these creatures and objects!
Read this article on body language development: Supporting Language Development in Babies by Using Body Language