Talk It Up

© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.

Talk to your baby about the things that get her attention. Does she show an interest in a particular toy, such as a ball? Tell her all about it!

• Have fun making sounds like “b-b-b-b” in the word “ball” and see if your baby will babble them back.
• Describe the ball's color and material. Talk about how it rolls, and give meaning to your words by rolling the ball to your baby. Show her how it bounces, or comment on its texture when she investigates its surface or tries to take a bite.
• Remember not to lecture leave lots of time for her to reply to all your points.

Play a back-and-forth game with your baby, say I roll the ball to [baby’s name] . . . and [baby’s name] rolls it back to Daddy.