Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

When you have an infant, during the first month or two you may find yourself saying something like "I wish you could talk to me!", because one of the most common difficulties for almost every new mother is learning your baby's cries and cues. While you certainly can't make a baby talk before he or she is ready, infancy is the perfect time to start laying a foundation for good communication skills!

It's important to talk to your baby. Many people claim that using baby talk with your infant can be counter-productive, but let's face it, it can be hard to resist the urge to be cutesy with that adorable little guy or girl! I personally believe that when your baby begins to utter mono-syllabic sounds like "ba" or "da", it is a good idea to repeat them and introduce your baby to new ones, like "ma" of course. Repeating your baby's sounds is a way of letting him or her know that what they're doing is right and it encourages them to keep trying. This also creates your baby's very first experiences with back-and-forth conversation.

Your baby needs to hear your language alot; he or she will start to notice patterns over time, because they learn by perceiving what they sense (see, hear, taste, smell, and touch). Reading aloud to your infant is an excellent way to start getting them familiar with language, but you don't have to read only children's books, you can read your child anything you enjoy reading yourself! If you prefer magazines, read them aloud. You can read the newspaper to your baby if that is what you read. If you love a steamy romance novel… well, you may want to read some scenes only to yourself, but you can certainly read most of it to baby as well.

Being a sort of bookworm myself, I like to read 18th and 19th century British literature, so my daughter heard many Charles Dickens and Jane Austen novels during the first two years of her life. At that point I began reading children's books with her instead; she also became more interested in Sesame Street and Blue's Clues. She's now 4 years old, speaks very clearly for her age, uses many impressive words that she doesn't completely understand, and she seems to know basic grammar very well although we never really taught her about it. It's sometimes difficult to get her to stop talking.

Pay little heed to the anti –baby talk arguments, you would almost have to be heartless to never coo and babble with your child, just make sure to counter it with correct language. Try to steer yourself away from developing a habit of mispronouncing some words to your baby, use the correct pronunciation in the same context more often than the cute version.

While people tend to agree it is never too early to start reading to your baby, some people recommend only doing so for very short periods to hold your baby's attention. My philosophy, however, is that mommy's voice is much better background noise than a television even if your baby is not paying attention, or if he or she is sleeping. You've probably heard of coaching CDs that you're supposed to play while you sleep to teach yourself to eat less, be more confident, and have a more positive attitude. Why not teach you baby language skills while he or she naps?

I think it's safe to say that seeing mommy read provides an excellent example and can encourage a love of books and inspire a child to want to read as well. If you started to read any part of this article aloud: Bless You!