When to begin “the talk”? The answer is…..during pregnancy. The expectant mother is the first “talker”, the one to model language and carry on daily one-way conversations. Talking or verbal speech is just part of the communication process that is first delivered by a baby’s parents.

“The mother has first dibs on influencing the child’s brain. The vowel sounds in her speech are the loudest units and the fetus locks onto them.” stated Dr. Patricia Kuhl co-author and co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington.

Talking to a new baby throughout the day creates the foundation for their language development. How the words are spoken to the listener is important. The tone, pitch and speed of one’s voice will enhance the experience. Many additional factors play an essential role in the language learning exchange for a baby:

• face to face—direct eye contact
• facial expressions—smiles
• gestures--hand movements
• touch-holding

Language is interactive. Talking to an infant at first may seem like a one-way street—but it’s not! The baby is internalizing these social talks. Soon regular back-and-forth communications will appear in the form of giggles, wiggles and babbling. Watch and listen closely as a baby makes sounds and movements. These are their requests for a parent to respond to them. The give and take of communicating has started, it’s the prelinguistic stage. The baby brain is at work processing and producing the beginnings of language. Continuous talking time supports a baby’s understanding of their world and will lead to their vocalization of real words. A young child’s expressive vocabulary will assist them later-on when it’s time to read printed text. Language development is essential for early literacy learning.