Another excellent article by Jane Brody of the New York Times on the importance of talking and communicating with your baby, including looking him or her straight in the eye. Prior generations didn’t have distractions like iPhones and Blackberries and parents talked to their kids. Now, we have to avoid the temptation to text, and talk instead.
Ms. Jacoby’s general advice to parents: “Reward your little one’s communicative attempts with your heightened attention to his/her conversation. Be prepared to put down your cellphone and look them squarely in the eye as they share their thoughts with you.”
Communication begins as soon as a baby is born. The way you touch, hold, look at and talk to babies help them learn your language, and the different ways babies cry help you learn their language — “I’m wet,” “I’m hungry,” “I’m tired,” “I hurt,” “I’m overwhelmed” and so forth.
“Talk to your baby whenever you have the chance,” the American Medical Association advises parents. “Even though he doesn’t understand what you’re saying, your calm, reassuring voice is what he needs to feel safe. Always respond to your newborn’s cries — he cannot be spoiled with too much attention.”
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association urges parents to reinforce communication efforts by looking at the baby and imitating vocalizations, laughter and facial expressions.
“Talk while you are doing things,” the association suggests. “Talk about where you are going, what you will do once you get there, and who and what you’ll see.”
You might say things like, “Now we’re going to put on your socks,” “We’re going in the car to see Grandma,” or, “When we get to the playground, I’ll push you on the swing.”
[From Personal Health - Parents Need to Tune In and Engage a Young Child With Talk - NYTimes.com]
A recent study in the Journal of Applied Development and Psychology says that in families with two working parents, dads have a greater impact on children’s language development than moms. The key thing is to keep talking and engaging your kids at all ages, avoiding all the other electronic stimuli that doesn’t teach kids, or adults, how to really interact.