Watching and listening to a baby babble is a pretty solid form of entertainment, but did you know that babbling is the first step to forming words, and babbling back what you hear is packed with developmental benefits? Here are 5 tips to encourage babbling and maximize communication with babies.
5 Ways to Amplify the Power of Baby Babble
Babble back.
When babies babble, they are putting together sounds in pleasing ways and learning how language works.
You might think you sound silly, but choosing to babble back to a baby is an important tool to nurture communication. Babies love hearing you mirror their speech sounds, and doing so encourages them to continue talking. This is how they first experience verbal back-and-forth communication and learn the patterns that characterize speech. So those seemingly nonsensical sounds are actually quite significant. After all, sounds are the building blocks of words.
“When baby babbles and [caregiver] responds, it creates a social feedback loop of communication and learning, which is what we call language.” – Rachel Albert, Ph.D.
Respond with other words and sounds.
Beyond repeating baby babble, you can answer and converse with them by using relevant words and sounds. Notice what’s prompting the babbling (Did baby see something exciting or interesting? Are they imitating a specific sound?) and respond by affirming it. Use rich vocabulary to describe what’s going on: “Yes! That is a cute cat. Look at his big eyes and fluffy tail!”
To help babies begin to develop listening ears as well as speaking skills, focus attention on specific sounds: “What’s that sound? It’s a cat meowing. Meow!” These specific sounds may creep into their babble vocabulary early and help with association.
Embrace your “baby voice.”
Ever wonder why that high-pitched sing-song voice that comes so naturally when you’re talking to a baby? Infant-Directed Speech, characterized by a slower cadence, shorter sentences, exaggerated intonation, and lots of repetition, is key to fostering early communication skills. In addition to the cognitive processing benefits of speaking to them in a higher pitch, babies (and even toddlers) have shorter vocal chords, so they can better imitate higher-pitched sounds.
An easy way to practice this strategy is singing in a high pitch! At Kindermusik, we call this your “head voice.” Research shows that babies prefer singing to speech, and it calms them twice as long. Singing in a head voice takes that connection to the next level.
Try singing to them during your everyday rituals like bedtime or bathtime when closeness and eye contact are a given. Our go-to is the Kindermusik Rituals album—check it out on the free Kindermusik app!
Whenever you talk to your baby, be sure to make eye contact. This is a very important part of meaningful communication. Even if your baby can’t answer you in words, you’ll know from his or her facial expressions that he or she is participating in the conversation.
Put the phone away.
This comes as no surprise, but it’s a good idea to put away your phone when you’re spending quality time with your baby. Save texts, emails, and calls for later, and be sure to make eye contact. Continually glancing at your screen not only interrupts the critical one-on-one interaction that teaches your baby about communication, but also distracts you from the important cues your child is giving you.
Celebrate the little wins.
Every parent or caregiver waits for that magical moment when a child says their first word, but there are so many magical moments during the babbling stage—when you mimic them and they respond with a smile, when they try to mimic your sounds, when “babbling” conversations get longer and longer. It’s good to have a sense of the typical language development trajectory and milestones, but it’s a broad range, so try not to get too caught up on specific deadlines.
In the meantime, keep up that back-and-forth babbling!
As with almost everything, music makes it more fun and interesting. To learn more about how accentuate babbling benefits, find a Kindermusik grownup-and-me class near you. If you’re an early childhood professional, check out our 1:1, small group, or large group curriculum kits for babies and young toddlers.