One of the best ways to help in your baby’s development and help him (or her) to be smarter and develop faster is by talking to your child.  Talking is one of the most important things you can do to improve your baby’s development and speech.

It is never too early to start talking to your baby.

You may feel that your baby is too young to need to be spoken to, however research has shown that late development can be caused by parents not speaking to their young child.  You should always be sure to talk to your new baby.

Your child will develop speech and language because he is spoken to.  Start talking to your child as soon as he is born.  Although he may not understand what the words mean he will understand that you are communicating with him. 

What should you say?

 It is handy to start with nursery rhymes and poems as your child will like the repetition in these.  Talk about what you are doing while you are doing things too.  This will help your baby’s development and keep him amused too. 

Naming and pointing at objects will help him to understand that the word means the object.  Don’t feel that your baby is too young to benefit from this; this kind of stimulation will help him to achieve his full potential.

You may feel silly at first or feel that this is not a necessary exercise, however don’t let this stop you.  Talking will help to give your baby the best start to his development.  Talk to your child no matter what his (or her) age, it is something that can only help him.

When you talk to your baby you are helping his speech to develop faster.  Children learn a tremendous amount in their first five years.  By talking to your baby you are helping to improve his (or her) brain development.

Playing

Playing with your baby is another way to help his brain development.  A newborn baby will not be able to hold and manipulate a toy.  However by choosing brightly coloured toys, as well as toys that make a noise, you will be able to engage your baby with the toy.  Rattles are a good choice.

Your baby will be able to hear the noise and see the bright colours.  Eventually he will be able to hold the toy himself. 

However at first you can shake the rattle to gain his attention.  Move it so that he can follow the movement and practice his eye co-ordination.  This is a good exercise for focusing his eyes as well as brain development.

Good brain development happens in babies that have things to look at.  Hanging a mobile above the cot is a good idea, but be sure to hang it out of reach!  It won’t be long until your baby will try to touch it.  You could also use mobiles near where your baby sits.

Keep it simple

Although some stimulation is good you do not want to over-stimulate your child.  Be sure to keep it simple.  If your baby starts to cry for no apparent reason he may be feeling over-stimulated.

Don’t have too many things going on at the same time.  Keep it simple and make sure that you have his attention.  When a young baby looks at the toy and follows it with his eyes it helps brain development and he will grow smarter all the time.

Talking to your baby will help his (or her) language development and his (or her) brain will develop more quickly when you help him to focus on things too.  It’s never too soon to start.

For more information on helping your child visit the Learn and Do store  for simple, practical parenting tips that work.