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Infant Language Development Tips and Activities

March 17, 2013 by Jaimi Erickson 22 Comments

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Spark your infants language development with tips and activities shared by a speech language pathologist.
At the intersection of playful babble exchanges, shared book experiences, and singing yourself silly you will find a great destination.  It’s called language competency.  Try to imagine a solid foundation of conversational and linguistic competence as the launch pad for infant language development, academic success, and social skills.  Let’s pack that little bag of tricks for infant language development and get going.

 

What Parents Need to Know About Infant Language Development

First, think of all your interactions with your infant as little conversational exchanges.  Did you know that conversation skills begin with a simple eye gaze? True, babies begin their social development very early in life before words begin.  That early social smile marks an important step on the journey of infant language development.

 

The next time you “goo and ga” or play a game of “peek-a-boo” with your baby, think about it as a conversation.  There is turn taking when you share roles as the listener or the speaker.  The silly sound exchanges work to focus attention similar to maintaining a topic in a more advanced conversation.

 

Eventually babies learn to initiate a playful exchange or call to get your attention and the number of conversational turns increase as attention span grows. Pay attention to the number of talk turns you take or the pause time you leave as you engage in play with your baby. Are you holding a place for your baby to take his or her turn when s/he is ready? Even after a toddler begins to actually talk during the interaction try to slow the talk turns a bit so there is extra time for your child to formulate his/her ideas.

 

It is also important to take the time to use the same word in different sentence structures so the important words gain some natural repetition. For example “I see bubbles, let’s blow the bubbles….look at the bubbles, they are flying.This is an exciting time for your baby as s/he has started to use his/her voice to make meaningful sounds.

 

Listen to what your baby is attempting to tell you rather than jumping in to correct how s/he forms the speech sounds.  Over time the precision of speech sound production should emerge.

 

With focused attention to their parent’s voice and exposure to a rich language environment babies begin to learn to recognize sound patterns as meaningful words. This does not require the use of fancy flash cards or electronic “apps”.  But rather caregivers engaging a baby in meaningful interactions through everyday experiences such as wiping her face, picking her up or preparing a bottle.

EVERY verbal interaction you have with your baby has potential to create neural connections for auditory brain development. As babies connect meaning to the sounds of the words they hear they are in a sense “organizing them into their auditory file folders” much the way we organize documents into files on a computer.

Remember, there is no exact road map or set of instructions for infant language development. There really isn’t even a final destination where language learning is complete because we have the potential to continue to refine our skills throughout our lives. So, fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride as you enjoy the truly miraculous journey of language learning with your baby.

 

Spark your infants language development with Language Launchers tips and activities for infant language development.

 

If at any point you are concerned about your baby’s pace of development consult with a certified speech-language pathologist.  Your pediatrician should have some resources for you to contact a therapist or agency that can provide a screening or full evaluation. Some children are simply “late talkers”, but don’t take that chance by waiting to see what happens. Trust your own instincts and consult a professional as soon as you become concerned.

Here are some pointers to use along your journey:

 

• Narrate your actions as you go about the day trying to encourage vocal turn taking often.
• Use short, simple, but grammatically accurate sentences when you talk.
• Try to reduce the background noise when you engage your baby in play so s/he doesn’t have to    work to separate your voice from the other sounds.
• Sit close to your baby and speak in a soft volume.
• Sing songs daily.  The rhythm of your voice helps to hold your baby’s attention to your voice
• Make up songs about your actions.  As your baby starts to talk make up silly songs.
• Stash books everywhere so you come across them often in your daily routine
• Read or even just talk about books with lots of enthusiasm in your voice.  Make book experiences fun and playful and/or cuddly snuggle moments to make positive associations around sharing books.
• Remember, attention to books is a process that develops slowly over time with experience.
• Add frequent and at times extended pauses into your interactions.
• Last but not least, make sure your baby has some time to explore toys without constant verbal input. Babies need time to think too!

 

For some fun infant language development activities check out the Infant Activities page or the baby activities board by “Language Launchers” on Pinterest. 

Language Launchers Inc. creates products to empower parents with information and activities to take their child’s language to new heights.

For more information you can check out Language Launchers and “like” them on Facebook to receive product updates.

This guest post written by Pamela Talbot, M.Ed, CCC-SLP, Cert. AVT, C.E.D, who is a mom of two, a Speech-Language Pathologist and co-founder of Language Launchers Inc.

Spark your infants language development with tips and activities shared by a speech language pathologist.

This article is featured in A Complete Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms: Parenting Tips.


 For More Information on Infant Development:

Crash Course in Child Development: Infants
Infant Activities:

Thank you to Pam for sharing her expertise with us! Infants can be intimidating because so much of what we teach them does not feel like instructional time. They need close contact with us and thrive on face-to-face interaction even before they can verbally respond to what you say to them. 
 
I had the opportunity to look through The Babble Box and it truly is a crash course in infant development with a very easy to understand and practical use.  
 
I hope this detailed list of activities to do with your infant helps you feel more secure at home with your baby. You really are teaching them so much with all of the little things you do!
 
Thank you, Pam!

 
Successful Mom Daily Checklist to help you gain balance between housework and play time with the kids. Get more done, and feel more successful as a mom and homemaker.

Enjoy your time at home!

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Filed Under: activities, motherhood, parenting Tagged With: Babble Box, child development, development, infants, Language Launchers, SLP, speech

Comments

  1. Lori Wildenberg says

    December 1, 2016 at 7:16 am

    Excellent tips. My daughter was speech and language delayed. These tips are spot on. I am sharing it over at the Moms Together Facebook page. Thanks Jaimi!

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      December 1, 2016 at 10:48 pm

      Thanks so much, Lori!

      Reply
  2. Kim Moutray says

    March 18, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    I read to my 9 month old about 10 times a day. I keep a small bin of books on the floor, and he goes through them and pulls out ones for us to read. Sometimes we read the actual text, and other times we just look at and discuss the pictures.

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 22, 2014 at 7:34 pm

      That is so great! You are giving your baby exposure to books and I think that is the key to creating a child eager to learn. Thank you for sharing about how you do it.

      Reply
  3. Paige says

    March 18, 2013 at 9:47 pm

    Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Liebster Award!

    For details, please follow this link:
    http://borntobeasahm.blogspot.com/2013/03/i-was-nominated-liebster-award.html

    -Paige
    http://borntobeasahm.blogspot.com/

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 19, 2013 at 4:52 pm

      Wow, Paige, thank you! I am so bad at sharing details like this. 🙂 I appreciate you nominating me and I hope to put together my list soon. All the best to you!

      Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    March 18, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    I have seen the product first hand and it is wonderful. As a mother of a child with severe speech issues, I wish I had this product for when he was an infant. It might have helped me notice that he has a delay. These tips and this handy box is wonderful for the next baby shower I may have to attend. Good luck to Pam on your adventure.

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 19, 2013 at 4:51 pm

      Thank you for sharing that personal account. It is so valuable to know. If you are interested in entering the drawing, please provide your first name or at least initials. I will announce the winner on Friday!

      Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    March 18, 2013 at 4:25 pm

    We read and read and read in our house! I also love to sing to my little one- a lot of nursery rhymes, classic oldies with great hooks, and fun children's songs with finger plays. During nap time or quiet time, I let all of my children listen to music or audiobooks. During one on one time with my youngest (the baby), I generally speak in a higher tone and use lots of expression- which just comes naturally when speaking with an infant. Our third child was delayed in speech, so I am paying even more attention to how I interact with my fourth baby! These tips are great reminders for me.

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 19, 2013 at 4:50 pm

      Thank you for commenting to share! I will need your first name or at least initials to enter you into the drawing. I will announce the winner on Friday!

      Reply
  6. Joanna says

    March 18, 2013 at 4:22 pm

    This is great. We interact with our baby all day long. I describe everything I do during the day and we read books together with her big sister.

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 19, 2013 at 4:49 pm

      Joanna, thank you for commenting to share! I have your name entered into the drawing. I will announce the winner on Friday!

      Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 24, 2013 at 8:28 pm

      Joanna, you have been picked as the winner of the Language Launchers Babble Box!!!! Congratulations! Please email me at jaimierickson[at]gmail[dot]com, so we can get The Babble Box to you! I look forward to hearing from you.

      Reply
    • Jaimi says

      April 2, 2013 at 5:30 pm

      Hi Joanna, I wanted to let you know that we are still waiting to hear from you and would LOVE to send you your Babble Box! Please email me at jaimierickson{at}gmail{dot}com so we can mail your prize to you! (We will wait until April 11th to hear from you and then this offer will expire.) Hopefully I will hear from you soon!!

      Reply
  7. Bobbie Conover says

    March 18, 2013 at 2:15 pm

    This looks interesting. I interact with my baby all day, my older girls love to sing and play games with her. I sing with her.

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 19, 2013 at 4:48 pm

      Bobbie, thank you for commenting to share! I have your name entered into the drawing. I will announce the winner on Friday!

      Reply
  8. Janelle says

    March 18, 2013 at 5:11 am

    Looks like an interesting resource! We interact with our son daily (by the minute? 😉 ). We have made-up bedtime songs, we read picture books, we talk about nature on our afternoon walks, and he "helps" me with chores (more labeling interactions… "these are socks"). The interaction is really endless!

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      March 19, 2013 at 4:48 pm

      Janelle, thank you for commenting to share! I have your name entered into the drawing. I will announce the winner on Friday!

      Reply

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  2. 9 Tips for Painting with Infants - The Stay-at-Home-Mom Survival Guide says:
    August 27, 2015 at 3:21 pm

    […] mouth, face,” etc. Simple interactions during activities are very important for building an infant’s language development. Your child may not yet be able to answer back, but they are learning how to have a conversation, […]

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Ice cream after helped of course. 😂

All prepped for my in-laws coming to visit us after not seeing them since our move last summer. Looking forward to some fun events ahead that will make my kids think they are on spring break but they will technically be field trip days. Check, check. 

Are you guys on spring break this week? What do you have planned?

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Some days you put on the 10 year old comfy jeans, Some days you put on the 10 year old comfy jeans, fill your mind with encouragement and just keep moving forward. 

Recovery days are not just for working out. They are for the mental state we walk around with too. Yesterday felt heavy. My God is a power lifter and takes the burden away. 

Today will be better.

Today we will rest and refocus.

Hooray for comfy jeans, motivational graphics and the Word to focus on through it all. 

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🌟That Face!!🌟 That little boy is soon to t 🌟That Face!!🌟 

That little boy is soon to turn 13, guys! I mean in a few weeks. 😅

This is a throwback but brings back so many fun memories. 

—————————————

I love creating activities and crafts on the fly. Always have even before my kids were here.

I noticed that my son did not have a lot of little toy people to play with while he was pretending one day. We have a few cylinder blocks in a set. We never used them when we built. I thought we could turn them into little DIY toy people. 

They were so cute and easy to make. It was a preschool art project for him. We made them together.

If you don’t have wooden cylindrical blocks at home, you can use pieces of wood dowel or even a few square blocks glued together. You can even make DIY toy people out of toilet paper tubes. 

🌟Full details through Blog link in bio 🌟

——————————————

I am so excited and yet in complete shock by how fast these little lives grow. I have never missed moments and I am so so grateful especially as we approach the teen years in my house. 💛 Soak up even the hard days of being a mom. TOTALLY worth it. 

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My kids stay up later than most recommend, but so did I when I was a kid. 

She loves to read. She loves to write. Abby writes plays, journal entries, songs and on a bad day she will write her feelings about it all, in depth, no holds barred. 

This night she was trying to finish up a play - setting, character details, order of lines - for a play she made for her younger sister. 

I am so thankful that we can count her love of writing in her free time as school work. I am so thankful that how we do school allows this passion and talent to thrive. She has stacks of drawings, plays and writing blurbs. They are all precious to her.

There are days I question whether this choice or that choice is right or “approved,” but it does not matter when I see my children dive deep into the things they love. 

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If you can choose any action in life, choose to help others. Side bonus when it involves fun family time together.

Best day yet. 💛💛💛

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💛 Friday Introductions💛 It has been a while 💛 Friday Introductions💛

It has been a while since I did a good run-down here to give ya the cliffs notes (are those still a thing) version of me. 👋 

💛 Detroit-born a few blocks from where Eminem lived. The city is still my hometown despite moving away as a kid.

💛 I am a big believer in traditional values, but with a modern woman twist. My husband drives his career and I drive this household.

💛 We live in eastern NC 30 mins from the beach. I want to stay here forever, truly, but military life will come to an end some day...still don’t know specifically when that will be.

💛Born and raised to be a planner, Type A personality, having 4 kids beat that out of me 🤣 and I am very “day at a time” now. 

💛I was a teacher turned stay at home mom turned blogger turned entrepreneur that had to set it all on the back burner a bit to focus on homeschooling my kids. I can only have so much on my plate and complete it successfully. (When we listen, God guides and is loud and clear with His direction. 💛)

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💛I believe that true peace, value and love all come from Jesus. 

You will find me sharing the ups AND the downs of motherhood, wife life, homeschooling and being a Christian woman with the modern day pull to fight what that can mean. (There is def a force trying to convince us to push those values aside, my friends.)

👌What is the cliffs notes version of you? What do you want people to know/realize most of all?

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🌟Teaching Kids to Make Friends🌟 Often our c 🌟Teaching Kids to Make Friends🌟

Often our children learn hard lessons when they have to move to a new state or school. 

My kids have become all too familiar with this through military life. Every three years they have to make new friends.

It is not always simple.

As a child, my family moved a lot. We were not military, but in junior high I moved to a new state and had to make all new friends.

This was a challenging and even to some extent a traumatic time of life.

Being the new kid, is a humbling experience. Suddenly you are hoping that your peers will want to get to know you and like you. It creates some self-consciousness.

Reading is such a beneficial way to teach children about life lessons. It teaches much more than that. It teaches self esteem through the cuddle time. It teaches language skills, and it teaches children to use their minds to be creative.

As they have grown and navigated more friendships, books are a resource for us to discuss tough challenges. I have found a great series of books that present friendship challenges and help children learn to navigate them.

It just so happens that the author is my neighbor too! How cool is that?! Moms are amazing.

These books will be treasured by your family for their quality values. The @stingrayjelly series teach children how to make friends and navigate friendships to love others well and support them through shared similarities and recognized differences.

Author, Lauren Giannella is a military wife and my neighbor! Anna Perdue is the illustrator and also a military child. 

Read my blog post for details on each book and links to purchase through @barnesandnoble 

We love our military community and all they do to give back.

What are your favorite children’s books that teach children how to make friends or help them maneuver through tough life challenges?

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