Talk, Sing, and Point
Babies begin to learn language from the very beginning. They pay close attention to your sounds and expressions as you interact with them. You can speed up their language development by talking, singing, and pointing, improving their early learning and engagement with the world around them. Every time you talk, sing or point to something, you give clues to the meaning of your words, allowing the child to label objects, describe feelings, and learn what words mean.
0-1 years
Engaging your baby in conversation from an early age is essential to help them develop communication skills. Talk to your baby about what you do as you go about your day. Look into their eyes as you speak, wait for them to respond with a smile or a sound, and then say something back. This simple exchange, called turn-taking, helps your baby learn the basics of conversation.
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A baby naturally gravitates towards human faces and voices they recognize, associating them with warmth, food, and comfort. When you sing or recite rhymes, you form a bond, helping them develop attention, language, and social skills. Talk to your baby from birth about what you are doing, seeing, and feeling; this will lay the foundation for communication.
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Babies naturally imitate other people's facial expressions and sounds. Copying is a way to practice new forms of communication. Practise this by making different facial expressions. Give them enough time to respond and react with pleasure when they do. Go back and forth.
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When your baby makes a sound, show excitement on your face and voice. Respond with words. See how long you can keep the 'conversation' going back and forth between the two of you.
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Your baby's favourite songs might be those that repeat words or have rhyming sounds. Sing little songs about what you are doing.
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Point to and talk about what your baby looks at or reaches for, especially the things that interest your baby.
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Show excitement about your baby's interests. Show excitement and ask questions about their discovery if they show you a toy or object. Such as, "That's a great bell! Do you like the sound? It's red like a fire truck!" even before they can understand, having conversations with your child helps them to feel seen and heard and deepens your connection with them.
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Songs and nursery rhymes offer numerous benefits to babies and children. Children can improve their motor skills and hand-eye coordination through actions and hand gestures. Songs and rhymes introduce new words, numbers, and concepts to children through repetition, which can enhance their language and brain development. Additionally, rhymes and songs may contain simple stories that can help children become more familiar with various subjects and learn about the world around them. Nursery rhymes can also be valuable for teaching children about emotions and contributing to their emotional development.
1-2 years
As your child grows older, encourage them to point to objects that you name. For instance, ask them where the dog is, and when they point at it, celebrate their effort. By pointing at something, we indicate to others to look at it; by talking about what we are pointing at, we label and communicate. You can help by talking and pointing to things that interest your child, like body parts, objects around the home or things you see while on a walk.
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Talk about the everyday things you see and do together. Most things are new and exciting to a toddler!
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Sing songs and recite nursery rhymes from your childhood, from books, or make up new ones. A toddler may especially enjoy the ones with rhyming sounds or hand motions. Try singing the same song whenever it's time for an activity like bath time.
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A one-year-old may be trying to speak. Even if you don't understand, they think they're making sense. By listening and responding, you encourage them to keep trying.
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Point to the objects you talk about. Encourage your child to point to objects that you name. Follow their interests. Talk about the things your baby looks at or reaches for. Notice which ways of talking or singing seem to interest them the most.
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Their understanding of words is developing rapidly, even though they may not speak yet. Make a game of naming and pointing to different body parts, for example, "Where's your nose? There it is!" or point to the wrong part and ask ", Is this your ear? Nooo." Show your happiness when they respond.
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From 7-12 months your baby is moving around more, which exposes them to new experiences and objects, which can sometimes be scary. Being warm and reassuring and encouraging them to keep trying will give them the confidence to keep exploring and learning. Even though babies are becoming more independent, they still require care and nurturing from parents or caregivers. They want to be close to you, show you their discoveries, and know that you are interested in what they are doing.
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Show excitement about your baby's interests. Show excitement and ask questions about their discovery if they show you a toy or object. Such as, "That's a great bell! Do you like the sound? It's red like a fire truck!" even before they can understand, having conversations with your child helps them to feel seen and heard and deepens your connection with them.
2-3 years
When talking with your child, it is important to show that you value their ideas and opinions. One way to do this is by asking open-ended questions that begin with "who," "what," or "why." By doing so, you provide them with the chance to express themselves and build on their communication skills. It also demonstrates that you are genuinely interested in what they say. When they respond, listen actively and show that you are engaged in the conversation. Doing so will boost their brain development and strengthen their relationship with you.
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For example, if they point to a dog and say, “Doggie” you can reply, “Yes, that is a doggie. It is brown and soft.”
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Show your toddler that you are interested in what they have to say. When you ask a question back, instead of just answering, you help them develop problem-solving skills and confidence.
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Get them to think by asking questions that start with "Who…?" "What…?" or "Why…?" for example, "Why do you think they are sad?" Show interest in their answers.
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Children love to sing. They enjoy rhythms and repetition and feel proud when they can sing it on their own. Turn singing into a game. When you sing their favourite songs, leave out words for them to fill in. For example, sing, 'Row, row, row your...' This will help them learn the words for next time.
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Making up stories is a great way to connect with children, especially toddlers. They enjoy hearing stories about themselves when they were younger, as it helps them develop a sense of self. You can tell them about funny things they did as a baby, or how exciting it was to meet them when they were born. Making up stories with them as the main character is also a great bedtime activity. By mentioning their name and the adventures they went on, you can captivate their attention and spark their curiosity.
Help a child become a great communicator.
See our video below for more tips on how to talk, sing and point with your child.
Why is talking so important?
Rosalie Martin
Rosalie is a speech pathologist, criminologist, and courage facilitator interested in how communication and courage contribute to justice for individuals and society.
The first three years of a child’s life are incredibly important for learning language. It’s like the way a strong foundation of a building makes the building stand up safely for a lifetime.
When the foundation is on the ground it doesn’t look like much is happening. It’s not much of a building yet. But under the ground it’s getting a strong grip – and then everything else can be built securely on top!
Language is the same!
You talk, point and sing when they are little babies, little crawlers, little toddlers, little runners; you read and discuss stories – and under the ground, in the busy little brain, a strong grip on language is growing. For a while it might not look like much is happening – but don’t be fooled – this is the most important part of the building!
Just like pouring cement foundations, everything else gets built on top of the language you pour-in in the first three years: knowledge, play, ideas, calm, confidence, social skills, empathy, then even reading, writing. These all grow through language.
Growing language gives your child the best chance to get along with others and flourish in their learning for their whole life.
Here’s what to do:
Tune in to them. Connect warmly and tenderly – safe, kind connection grows language
Use your face, your voice, your words, to show kindness and love
Even when you ‘take charge’ – do it with kindness and love
Talk back-and-forth, back-and-forth – do this right from birth – talk at mealtime, talk at bath time, talk in the stroller, in the sling, changing nappies, tickling and playing – talk just for the sake of staying connected.
Use ‘motherese’ and ‘fatherese’ – this is the slowed, high-low way of talking to babies and small children.
Like this to a baby: ‘hello – I see you’
Or to a toddler – ‘where’s Tommy – oh no, Tommy’s gone’
Or a nearly-three-year-old – ‘I’ve got an idea! Shall we play hide ‘n seek?’
In the first three years of life, little brains tune into this talking better than any other kind of talking. It helps their brains sort out the sounds of the language and figure out which sounds are most important. It helps them tune into the vowels and the consonants that they need to use when they begin to speak themselves. It helps them sort out the grammar of the language. Don’t be fooled that this is some kind of baby-talk – some old-fashioned advice goes around about this. Talking in motherese and fatherese is an incredible support to your little one’s language development.
Talk about what you are doing, what you see.
Give them new experiences that are safe and connected with you. Talk about that experience. They don’t have t be big, fancy expensive experiences – just potting a plant if they’ve never done that, riding on a bus if they’ve never done that, cleaning a cupboard if they’ve never done that.
Talk about feelings. Name the feelings your child is having. If they’re disappointed, say, ‘oh, disappointed’, if they’re surprised, say ‘oh a surprise!’, if they’re puzzled, say ‘oh, so puzzling’. Use your face and the tone of your voice to show that you are letting yourself feel a little bit of what they feel.
Watch your child while you talk together – and listen deeply. Make the faces they make, use the gestures they use.
Talk slowly. Be slow – go at their speed.
Talk with pauses – this gives little one the chance to understand what you said – and to make a response of their own. Maybe they will use that pause to say some words. Maybe they will use it to make a gesture or an expression with their face. But if you have paused and you are watching, you will catch that response and be ready to go back-and-forth, back-and-forth.
And it is a back-and-forth that works the magic of language development!