Babbling Day – October 21

Small Talk: how to develop

your child's language skills

from birth to age four

Nicola Lathey & Tracey Blake

The Experiment, [2014] ©2013

Babbling Day – October 21

Babbling back to babies helps them to speak faster: Researchers prove that attentive mothers aid child development

Mothers who interact with their babies speed up their language skills

Parents who do not respond to their child's gurgling inhibit development

US researchers studied 12 mothers and their babies over a six month period

Daily Mail: 8.28.2014 by Jenny Hope

It may just sound like baby talk, but mothers who hold a ‘conversation’ with their infants are actually teaching them to speak more quickly.

Researchers found new mothers who respond enthusiastically to their baby’s babbling are helping to speed up the child’s language development

They say parental feedback is a vital process that enables mothers and babies to become mutually engaged in ‘talking’.

It enhances the ability of children to communicate – unlike cases where mums did not respond attentively.

A new study, by US academics at the University of Iowa (UI) and Indiana University, serves as evidence that speaking to infants at a very early age is vital for their development.

The authors say parents who babble back at their newborns – even if they don’t understand what they’re trying to say – are a key part of the process. READ MORE !