Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 2: Babbling Basics
• Part 2 of 2: Additional Activities

Each baby develops at a different pace, but around six months old, you will most likely notice how he begins to "coo" and hear babble. Encourage this babbling to help stimulate the child's speech development. Talk to your little one and show him that verbal communication is an interesting, positive activity.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Babbling Basics

1. 1 Talk to your baby. Take time to have interesting, leisurely conversations with your child. Focus on your baby when he speaks, just as you would focus on any other person you are talking to.
   • Sit face to face with your baby and look him straight in the eyes as you speak. You can sit your baby on your lap or next to you when you communicate.
   • Talk to your child whenever you get the chance. Talk to him when you change a diaper or feed, talk when you do something.
   • Conversations with the child are likely to consist of babbling and “real” speech. If you don't know what to say, say something. Tell your little one about your plans or ask rhetorical questions. Your child may not understand the words, but he will learn to respond to different intonations.
2. 2 Repeat after the baby. When your child starts babbling, repeat after him. Every ba-ba-ba of your child should be followed by your ba-ba-ba.
   • If you repeat after your baby, he will know that you are giving him your close attention. As soon as the child demands your attention, he or she will likely babble more often to hold it.
   • In addition, you can respond to your toddler's babbling with individual expressions that let your child know that you are listening. After his babbling, you can excitedly reply "I understand!" or "Really!"
3. 3 Introduce new babbling sounds. After your child has finished babbling their own sounds, enter similar ones. For example, after your toddler babbles "ba-ba-ba," say "bo-bo-bo" or "ma-ma-ma."
   • You can also accompany your baby's babbling with simple words that contain the same sound your baby just made. For example, if your child says "ba-ba-ba", you could answer "ba-ba-bah." If the baby says yes-yes-yes, you could answer yes-yes-dame.
4. 4 Speak slowly and simply. Whether you are repeating your baby's babbling or using real words, speak slowly and clearly with your baby. Your little one will begin to understand your speech without learning to speak on his own. Simplifying your own speech will make learning easier and will encourage your baby to make sounds.
   • Some studies show that babies learn to babble in part because they read lips when you speak. By slowing down your words and shaping them clearly, you give your child more opportunities to observe your mouth movements and repeat words.
5. 5 Be positive. When your child babbles, show joy and happiness. By reacting positively to your child's babbling, you show them that chatting is good and can be done more often.
   • As well as using a positive tone of voice, you should also say praise phrases, such as "Well done!"
   • Non-verbal communication is also important. Smile, laugh, clap, wave. If you want to show your child that babbling is good, both verbal and non-verbal expressions of joy are needed.
6. 6 Don't stop talking. Talk to your little one as often as possible, even if you are not in active conversation with him. Babies have a tendency to imitate and hearing your voice all the time may encourage them to make their own sounds more often.
   • Speaking encourages both the language of perception and the language of expression. Perceptual language is the ability to understand speech, language of expression is the ability to produce speech.
   • Talk to yourself and your child as you go about your daily activities. When you wash the dishes, describe what you are doing, what kind of dishes you wash. Even if your baby is looking the other way, he still listens to you while he is awake.
7. 7 Change your tone of voice. Change the volume and pitch of your voice as you speak throughout the day. These changes will grab your child's attention and generate additional interest in the vocalization process.
   • Your child will most likely get used to the sound of your voice. If you suddenly speak with a different voice, it will make the baby turn his attention to you, and he will try to understand how this other sound is made.
   • This works especially well when you speak in a “stupid” voice. However, no matter how you change your tone of voice, keep it positive.

Part 2 of 2: Additional Activities

1. 1 Teach your child simple commands. Even if your child is just babbling right now, it's a good idea to start introducing simple concepts. Give commands that encourage your child to interact with their world. For example, try teaching your toddler commands such as Kiss Mom or Hug Dad.
   • When you give directions to the cub, show him what the commands mean. Say "throw the ball" and throw the ball. Your child will not be able to immediately take an action, but once he can do it, he will be happy to take an action and know what that action means.
2. 2 Highlight individual words. When you talk to your child, focus on some of the words you want to emphasize by speaking them more clearly, clearly, and loudly. Highlighting one word out of several will help the child understand the word earlier.
   • When choosing the word you want to highlight, prioritize objects over actions or descriptive terms.Speech makes more sense at this age when it is associated with material objects.
3. 3 Sing for your little one. You can sing classic children's songs or just sing whatever you want to say. Most babies enjoy the sound of singing and will try to repeat it.
   • Don't limit yourself to children's songs. You can sing your favorite songs - this will be effective too.
   • Singing for your toddler introduces language in a way that differs from basic speech. This change can help to deepen your child's understanding of language and can speed up the process of language development.
   • You can also choose one song to use when you need to comfort your child. After a few repetitions, your child will learn to calm down as soon as the song begins. It also teaches the toddler that singing and speaking are positive behaviors.
4. 4 Read aloud. Buy children's books and read them to your baby regularly. Your child will not be able to understand everything at once, but the mechanisms in the baby's head will begin to rotate. The auditory aspect of this activity will encourage your child to babble, while the visual aspect may prompt your toddler to show more interest in reading later in life.
   • Make sure you choose books that are appropriate for your child's age. The best books at this stage are picture books with vibrant colors and contrasts. Words should be simple and easy to understand.
   • Reading picture books also creates a cognitive connection between the flat and three-dimensional world, as you teach your toddler to associate real objects with photographs of these objects.
5. 5 Give names. Babies are naturally curious and want to know everything about the world around them. Give names to things around your child by pointing to them and repeating the name of that object. This can help keep the child interested in repeating these names, which can further develop their speaking skills.
   • It is better to start naming with parts of the body. Point to your baby's nose and say nose. Point to a pen and say "hand." Most kids are interested in learning about their own organs, and body descriptions will encourage your little one to babble by mimicking your descriptions.
   • You can also call people such as Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa.
   • If you have pets, call them the same. Better to start with the type of pet, and not with a nickname, for example, "cat", not "Murchik".
   • You can name any object that is part of your child's normal environment, especially if your toddler is already looking at it. You can name everything from "tree" to "ball".
6. 6 Tell stories. Use your imagination to come up with a story and tell it to your little one. Stories naturally require the use of different intonations and expressions, and the excitement in the voice can get your toddler interested in repeating after you in the form of babbling.
   • Tell a simple story one day and a smarter one the next. The more you change your stories, the more interested your child becomes.
7. 7 Pat your child's mouth lightly. When your baby is just starting to babble, try patting him lightly every time he makes a sound. Later, lightly pat your baby's mouth before he starts babbling. Often times, the child will associate this action with babbling and will repeat the sounds when you pat him.
   • Your toddler may even start moving his mouth or repeating the same sound when you stop patting to encourage you to start again.
   • This technique can be used for any child who is learning to babble, but it can be especially helpful if your child is learning to deal with facial muscles.
8. 8 Use props and tools. Engaging your child's visual senses as you work on developing verbal skills can help develop both.
   • Several tools can be used to help your child learn the names of various objects. For example, you can tell your toddler a story about a cat and use a cat toy.
   • Other tools will simply make speech more interesting for your little one. For example, a child might see you talking on the phone and babble into a toy phone to mimic your actions.