Say Cheese!
My family and I just got back from vacation yesterday. We had a great time, but it sure is exhausting to travel with a toddler!
One of the things people often do on vacation is take pictures, lots and lots of pictures. Did you know that infants and toddlers love to look at people, particularly themselves?
Take those vacation photos and show them to your child. He or she will love looking at them and you will have created a perfect opportunity to build language skills. Talk about the picture, what you were doing at the time, label any other objects in the picture, and just chat about what you can see! Your toddlers will love it!
Say cheese!
Be a Role Model For Your Baby or Toddler!
I just finished a wonderful visit this morning with one of my dearest friends, Shawn, who just had a beautiful baby girl almost three weeks ago now. Oh my, she seems so tiny compared to my two year old daughter, Grace! How they grow!
Of course, we were discussing all sorts of mommy topics, but we ended up discussing how important it is for us as parents to model the behavior we want from our children rather than just telling them.
This is true for any age child and for any behavior or character trait we want from them, from exhibiting good manners in public (and at home!) to budgeting our money wisely.
And this is particularly true for your infant’s developing speech and language skills. One of the best ways to help them develop excellent skills is to model good speech and language skills for them and to them!
Be their role model:
- Use proper grammar
- Speak clearly and concisely to your baby
- Remember, you are wiring their brain for life!
- Yes, it is o.k. to use a sing-songy voice (known as motherese or parentese in the speech pathology world) when conversing with your infant, but forego any silly speech substitutions like, “Mommy wants to wub your wittle toesies!”
We want the brain to hear it right from the get-go! Get talking!