Page 53 - Mother & Baby - UK (March 2020)

Wave,
pat and clap!
Gestures are an early form of communication,
so wherever you can, add them in to the games
you’re playing and the songs you’re singing. If You’re
Happy and You Know It is a great option at this age because
you can add in all sorts of movements. If you’re happy
and you know it… clap your hands/pat your head/ touch
your nose/tickle baby/rub your legs/give a smile.
‘Babies tend to have lots of fun pointing and clappingby Use
the time they’re around 12 months,’ says Annie. words that
‘Don’t expect your baby to do the actions end in ‘y’
herself straightaway. You’re showing her There are a lot of ‘baby’ words that end in ‘y’, such as
what to do, so that when she’s ready, ‘mummy’, ‘daddy’, ‘doggy’, ‘bunny’, ‘tummy’. ‘There’s a good
she’ll be able to join in.’
reason for that,’ says Annie. ‘These words all end in the same
sound and your baby starts to recognise that this “y” sound
often signals the end of a word. That makes it easier for her to
start differentiating different words within a sentence. In a
sentence like, “Bunny is hungry”, the “y” sound helps your
baby to hear that “bunny” and “is” are separate
words. That understanding helps her to
tune in to patterns of speech.’

Point!
‘Your baby will start to point to things
herself when she’s around 10 to 12 months old,’
says Annie. ‘You can encourage this form of
communication by pointing yourself. When you’re reading
books together, point to the objects in the pictures.’ This
reinforces the link between the sound of the word and the
meaning of the word. ‘This is a form of “joint attention”,’
says Annie, ‘which just means that you’re both paying
attention to the same thing at the same time. That
sharing is at the heart of communication – and it’s a
really bonding thing, because you’re both involved
and engaged with the same activity.’

Play
babababa-boo!
It’s during the six-to-12-month stage that you’ll
start to hear consonants in your baby’s babble – noises
like ‘babababa’ or ‘dadada.’ ‘Babies this age are really
entertained by the variety of sounds that are out there,’ says
Annie. ‘You can play with this. If your baby says, “babababa”, copy
her. Then slightly – only very slightly – extend what she’s doing by
introducing an extra sound. So, you could say, “babababa – boo!’’’
This shows her that you’re interested in her noises, which
motivates her to keep trying them. It’s also a way of
turn-taking, which is another key communication skill.
She talks; you talk. She talks; you talk. You wait
for one another and you listen to one
another!

mothe ra ndbaby.co.uk | March 2020 | 51