Help Baby Get Ready for Talking
Oral Motor Stimulation Techniques Help Parents Work with Their Child
Jul 28, 2009
That first year of life is full of amazing changes and leaps across developmental milestones. With so many developmental tools and toys on the market, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder how to help baby reach her potential. Here are some great ideas for getting baby ready for verbal language with a little modeling from parents and a few simple items found around the house.
Talk and Read to Your Baby
Often, the best things in life are free. In this case, parents who talk to baby are the key to language acquisition. During that first year, babies will learn almost everything through modeled behaviors. The best thing parents can do is make gestures and movements as animated as possible. Use songs, finger plays, stories and simple conversations with overly animated talking and facial gestures to maintain baby's interest.
Listen to Baby Babble and Answer Back
All those coos and gurgles are the beginning stages of talking, so when baby is vocalizing pretend to understand everything she is saying. Mimicking her sounds tells baby what she is saying is important and that she should continue. Even non verbal babies enjoy when parents imitate their smiles, tongue thrusts and any other non verbal cue they offer.
Offer Various Textures Around the Mouth
As with most motions, talking requires strong muscles and coordination. Massaging the areas around the mouth and cheeks strengthens muscles and helps with sensory awareness. Use various textures, like wash clothes, smooth toys, baby toothbrushes, and various fabrics to run along the outside of the mouth, cheeks and chin. Vary between light touches and stronger touches to vary the input baby feels. This is a great activity to do before eating as it helps baby get ready for sucking, chewing and biting.
Eating Does so Much For Talking
Feeding is a great way to help babies strengthen their muscles for talking. Babies first learn to suck which helps with initial babbling. As food becomes more solid, muscles become stronger and adapt for verbalization. Remember to always follow the feeding advice of doctors for safety sake, but ensure as many textures of food as possible. As with tastes, allow several tries with a texture to enable baby to cope with unfamiliar sensory issues. A great way to find the perfect food texture is through homemade baby food. WebMD offers a great article for deciding if this is something a parent is interested in.
Working Toward the Greater Good
Most parents can't wait for their child to be able to express her wants and needs. One of the most frustrating events for a parent can be the inability to discern if their baby is crying from a hurt, out of hunger or because she is tired. Parents naturally offer children what they need to learn, but it is always a blessing to know that those little lessons taught are working toward the big picture.
Although left to themselves, babies will eventually learn to communicate with the world. There are still several ways parents can introduce skills during playtime to help stimulate and develop motor skills. No need to buy expensive developmental toys and tools, when parents need only their mouths, faces and a few items from around the house.
For further information on Communicating with Your Baby, visit this article link.
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