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Toys for Skill Development - Encouraging Baby to Communicate

How Do Babies Learn to Communicate?

From day one your baby will be communicating with you even if it's only at a very basic level. Babies cry because it is one of the few ways they can attract attention to satisfy their needs.

As they get a bit older they learn to smile and the more you interact with them the more smiley they become. They'll then start to gurgle and squeak and shriek to attract attention. They do more of this because you are interacting more and more with them.

As their mummy or daddy, you are being rewarded every time you respond to a smile with another smile or a wave of the hands. Nothing is better than hearing your baby laugh for the first time.

Baby learns to communicate through you. You can help them by talking to them about what you're doing. Babies enjoy hearing the sound of your voice so talking to her will encourage her to listen.

As baby gets a little older, she will want you to communicate more and more with her. She'll start babbling around four months and from then on you will be straining to hear “ma-ma” or “da-da”.

Developing Baby's Communication Skills

Books

Baby will be interested in books so have a look at the beautiful soft books from Taggies or the vividly expressive baby books from Amazing Baby.

Just sitting on your lap listening to you point out different objects on the page will delight your baby. Reading to baby doesn't mean reading every word on the page of the book. It means looking at the pictures together and pointing out the odd object and naming it again and again.

Talking to Baby

Communication with your baby is really important so spend time explaining to baby where you are going if you are in the car and share with them what you are buying in the supermarket.

Talk to baby about the pets in the house and play peek-a-boo games. Communication is about sharing so play together with stacking cups and building blocks.

Baby is listening to the adult conversation around them so she is learning about the fact that adults generally talk one at a time and there are pauses between sentences. She is also listening to the cadence of language and will in time understand more words so she can communicate more.

DVDs

Watching DVDs in moderation is also a good way to explore language with your baby as many baby DVDs include songs that are familiar, friendly and most of all fun. Your baby will love sharing his pleasure with you.

Repeating Words

Once babies start to talk to you, repeating words that they say is a good lesson in reinforcement. Baby will be delighted when she can communicate with you about what she wants. Keep repeating the same words and point the objects out to baby. Toddlers learn to say no quite quickly even when they don't mean it.

Talking to Your Toddler

Toddlers start firing off words around 16 months so she will understand an awful lot more about what is said to her. It's a bit like you learning a foreign language – you might understand more French than you can actually speak.

When you talk to your toddler it is better to use simple language rather than baby language. Toddlers' brains are working overtime to learn new words and phrases. Be careful too about the language you use round the house and in the car – toddlers are like quite advanced talking parrots.

Books

Make time for books – toddlers learn a great deal from looking at the pages with you. They are taking more control over what they want to look at too, so let baby choose her own book to read with you. She will be interested in pictures rather than text still so have a good look at what's in the picture and ask her what she sees. Baby Einstein has some excellent lift-the-flap books that keep baby amused and are great for learning everyday objects.

Amazon has a huge range of top selling children's books so have a look and see what's available there.

Toys for Role-Playing

Toddlers over two years old will love to role play so bring everyday situations into the house. Get hold of some play kitchen utensils or even a toy kitchen or playhouse if you have the space.

Argos has some good playhouses and the Little Tikes “Log Cabin” is popular for outdoor play. Playhouses allow your toddler to invent their own world and be someone else. Encouraging your toddler to use her imagination will help increase her ability to communicate what she wants.

Playhouses also encourage social play so interaction with other toddlers is good for her but difficult as children are still learning about the concept of sharing.

Being able to communicate with your child and vice versa is an important skill for the whole family to master. A combination of early play and communication followed by everyday communication and then imaginative play time will help your toddler learn more about her environment and the way she interacts with others.

Find the kid inside you and buy some Lego!

To find out more about what to look out for when choosing and buying nursery toys visit our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Different Ages section and our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Helping to Develop Different Skills section.

To find out more about the different types of nursery toy that are available for each age group visit our Types of Nursery Toy section.

To find out more about the different online baby and nursery toy shops and stores visit our Top Sites section.

To find out more about the top brands of baby toys visit our Top Brands section

You can also find out more in our How to Play with Baby section.