Approved by the What’s Up Moms Medical Advisory Board
Baby is communicating with you in lots of ways — smiles, kicks, all manner of babbling — but she obviously still won’t be communicating using words for awhile. Still, language should be all around her. So talk to baby as you go through your day; narrate and label things and just let her hear as much language as possible.
Now, for some moms, this comes naturally, but for most, it’s precisely as awkward as it sounds. This is how mom does a quick little check of Instagram. See how I scroll down to see more and more beautiful things?
It’s obviously not completely intuitive to converse with someone who can’t respond, so you may have to consciously work on this habit. Bear with us ‘cause this is a little weird, but: try channeling TV chefs. You know how they do. Now I’m going to take a cup of sugar and add it to the mixture… I’m folding it in until everything is nice and creamy. Or imagine you’re a guest on a talk show. I’m going to show you how to remove a stubborn stain by using three ingredients you can find in your pantry! If you feel totally ridiculous — and manage to amuse any adults who happen to overhear you — you’re doing it right. Studies show that talking to babies boosts their brain power, gradually helping them to develop their language processing skills.
If nothing else, you gotta love having a captive audience. Finally.
