| | | | Using Your Voice To Teach Infants |
By Shannan Powell
Everyone has heard time and again of the importance of early education and later success in school. What many people don’t realize is that parents start that education the very second they first look into their newborn’s eyes. Placed in your arms is a blank slate, ready to soak up every piece of information you can take the time to share. This is not to say that your child wants to learn about Quantum Physics or the Pythagorean Theorem, but you have the chance to feed your baby’s intellect with everything you say and do from here on. With a few simple techniques added to your daily routine, you can help your new baby begin his life long learning experiences.
As you go about your daily tasks, describe what you are doing to your baby. Be descriptive and expressive. If you are folding clothes, tell your baby, “Now mommy is going to fold the blue towel. The blue towel is soft.” At bath time, say things like, “Daddy is going to wash Eric’s ears now. Now we’ll wash your toes. You have ten toes” . You might feel a bit silly at first, but your child will be learning words, colors, numbers, and many other things through your narrative. You may think they don’t understand a word you are saying, and at first they may not, but in a very short time you will see how quickly they associate words with meanings.
Take your baby on a tour of the house regularly, and when he is older, the neighborhood. Show him the furniture, mirrors, appliances, and decorative items. Describe them in detail every time. You can even start teaching letters and sounds while doing these walkthroughs. Saying to a 4 week old, “M is for mirror, mirrors are shiny and we can see the baby in them” might seem a futile effort, but even though he can not vocalize that he hears you, one day the information will click and stick in his little mind forever. Outside gives you an even bigger world of textures, shapes, and colors to describe to your baby. Just remember that everything you baby looks at is new to him and he can’t know what it is until you tell him.
The most important thing to remember is to talk to your baby. A newborn infant has just spent months growing and developing, all that time listening to your voice outside his safe little home. Most babies find their parents’ voices soothing and comforting and they usually listen intently when they hear them. Children who are talked to regularly generally begin talking earlier than those who are not, so don’t be surprised when your little one starts telling you what color that towel is or showing you his toes when he hears the word. You will find that spending this time teaching every chance you get will help strengthen your bond with your child and develop a love of learning that will last his whole life through.
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