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Beyond Babbling
Cultivating Toddler Conversation
By C.J. Johnson
Speech develops at an amazing rate for toddlers. In fact, many children can speak up to 50 words by the time they are 2 years old. But what can parents do to help encourage language development?
Parents can begin by encouraging communication even before a child has anything to say. Brenda Hussey-Gardner, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children in Baltimore, says it is important to foster language in infants as young as 2 to 3 months of age. "Parents should smile and talk to their baby when he coos," she says. "This will encourage him to coo more often."
Near 5 months of age, babies learn to combine consonant sounds with vowel sounds, according to Hussey-Gardner. Infants at this stage begin making sounds like "ba," "da," "ga" and "ma."
"Parents should talk to their baby when he makes these sounds," says Hussey-Gardner. "This will encourage their baby to make sounds more often."
Parents also can mimic their baby in order to facilitate a conversation. When the baby makes a sound, the parents should closely match the sound and then pause in order to give Baby time to respond. When the baby has mastered this level of sound mimicry, parents can vary the rules slightly.
"Every once in a while, parents should not copy the sound their baby makes, but instead, they should make another sound they have heard their baby make in the past," says Hussey-Gardner. "The baby will probably be surprised to hear something different. He may even try to copy the sounds his parent made."
"When their child points to one of the items, parents should give him that item and say, 'You pointed to the juice. You want juice,'" says Hussey-Gardner. "Once a child is good at pointing, parents should begin to request a sound along with the pointing. Parents can continue to offer a choice of two items. When their child points, they can pretend they don't understand and say, 'Do you want m-m-m-milk or j-j-j-j-juice?' stressing the beginning sounds of the items." Parents should encourage the baby to make sounds for the object. If a little one points to the object but doesn't make a sound, parents can wait for a moment and then give the object to the baby.
By age 1, babies babble proficiently and can say two of the most wonderful words in the world: "Mama" and "Dada." By 14 months of age, most toddlers have said their first real words.
