Baby's First Communication Steps

STEP 2:  Communicate on your child's level ...

When we are interacting or playing with our children, it is a natural response to want to teach them how to do things.  We show them the correct way to play with toys (i.e. "The shapes go in the matching slot of the shape sorter").  Although this is not a bad way to teach some skills, it is not always the best way to teach communication or language skills.  If you are too busy "teaching", you may miss the way the child is learning about objects, activities, etc by experiencing them in many different ways.  A child may decide to stack them, or may try to put them in the wrong way.  The child is gathering information about the properties of the object, and how things work, even when making mistakes.  this can be a golden opportunity to talk about what they are experiencing.  For example, instead of saying "no, the shape is a square, it goes here", talk about what the child is doing "Oops, it didn't work.  It's a square.  It has four corners...".  Commenting on what the child is doing , instead of what they are doing wrong, may help open the lines of communication.  The most important idea here is observe what the child is doing and/or what the child is interested in or learning, and use that as the focus of interaction.  Once the topic has been decided, it is important to communicate at the child's level.  There is a basic rule, IMITATE!  Imitate what the child is doing, saying or vocalizing.  You can stay at or just above the child's verbal level (i.e., if she/he is using one word utterances, use 1-2 words at a time).  If the child says "vroom", you can imitate "vroom" or "vroom fast car".  If your child says "ba" while playing with a toy try to extend the sound into an appropriate word (i.e. "bubbles", if you are playing with bubbles).  It is important to balance this conversation act.  When your child acts or vocalizes, then imitate.  Wait (up to 10 seconds) for any kind of response.  Don't monopolize the "conversation".  Waiting is just as important as acting/imitating!  Given the opportunity, it is likely your child will respond verbally or nonverbally if you are following the child's lead, and imitating.  Think of a see saw, each person takes his/her turn.

continue to STEP 3:  Present them with language ...