At about 16-22 weeks of pregnancy, babies can hear sounds within the body such as the mothers heartbeat. Around 23 weeks, babies can hear sounds outside the body, such as the mothers voice which is able to distinguish from the voice of others.
Once they are born, crying becomes their first form of communication. From birth, do create for them an atmosphere of love because babies thrive more in such atmosphere and learning is easier then.
Practical ways to encourage your childs language development
- Reading: Babies do not understand words yet but they are fast learners. The more words they hear the wider their vocabulary. Reading bedtime stories is a good way to achieve this
- Talking: Face-to-face conversations are very crucial in the language development of children. Beyond the words, they learn the expressions on your face too. Sometimes you maybe busy, talking from afar is also key. Babies may not understand words but they hear the tone of voices and can understand what emotions are conveying, whether irritation, happiness, sadness or anger. So, do not hesitate to use your high-pitched voice when speaking to your baby from afar.
You can talk about how you spent your day, during tummy time, describe different objects to your little one. Talking is fun!
- Singing/Playing: Keep your babies active by sharing moments of fun with them. Sing rhymes and encourage age-appropriate games. Try making animal sounds or sounds from other objects like cars. These are great ways to show them around their world
- Encourage good habits more than you dismiss bad ones. Use words like awesome, great, excellent, splendid. Patience and consistency is key when raising babies/children.
- Look our for signs in delay in language development and problems associated with hearing such as, no response to loud sounds.