The importance of talking with your child
Wondering when your baby will start talking and how quickly their vocabulary will expand? You can help him, just as simply by talking to him ... a lot!
First, are you comfortable listening and observing the signs your child is giving you? The baby gives lots of signs that express his desires: it is up to you as a parent to identify them and respond to them. Although it is not always easy to decode their language, know that no matter the sound or the ' 'word' that your child says, he communicates, in his own way.
Some parents are worried about not having an interest in doing "gagas gougou" with their child. On the opposite, some other parents are afraid of a developmental delay because they do not stimulate the child enough, so they talk to them about everything, all the time.
Talk to your child, depending on their age
The needs and the way to communicate with his child vary according to his age and the stages of his development. There are known ways that are more effective than others. Here are some guide lines you could try if you want to give it a try:
With baby
- Watch him and observe his movements
- If he makes a sound, wait until he's finished and repeat after him
- When you talk to your child, it is important to take a gentle tone and talk to him softly. The intonation of your voice also plays a big role: if it is more singing and cheerful, it will interest him more
- When you do something with him, if you don't know what to talk about, you can just explain to him what you are doing. For example if you change his diaper: "I will change your diaper. You will feel good and clean."
- You can also try to describe how you think he is feeling. For example during his bath: "Oh, you like water! You make a very good fish!"
If the child is older
- Regardless of their age, it is important to allow the child the time they need to express themselves
- If the child tries to talk to you, show that you heard by answering him
- Make sentences just a little longer than he did
It's after these exercises that you will see what type of communicator you are.
If you're the type who talks a lot, you may not realize that you interrupted him or answered for him. This is where your child might develop bad habits like always interrupting or speaking very fast to be able to express themselves.
On the opposite, if you are not very talkative, you may not take the time to answer them and therefore your child will not be able to benefit from the teaching that you could pass on to him by answering longer sentences or correcting them his sentence if it is poorly constructed.
Obviously, each child has their own growth rate so it can be interesting to see if your child speaks more or less than another child of their age, but you shouldn't blame yourself as a parent and just keep doing what you always do ... Improve and do your best!
Source: https://www.papapourlavie.com/papa-pour-la-vie/role-et-implication/6131-parler-avec-son-enfant-cest-important.thtml