|
Babies are wonderful. They can teach us a great deal
about the world and ourselves even as they are
learning. Take a moment of time to put yourself in
their place. Consider the world as a brand new place
with no reference system that you can recognize. They
have strange sights for their eyes, strange sensations
upon their skin, and strange sounds assaulting their
ears.
When you can realize that an infant has no reference
to base information on, you can begin to understand
the enormity of the task that is theirs from birth on.
They must not only learn to control their bodies, but
they must also learn to communicate. Could you do as
well as a baby does under the same conditions?
As parents, or guardians of an infant we should be
doing everything in our power to make the learning
process easier for our babies. We, after all, will be
teaching them for the next 18 or so years. An infant's
first attempts at communication are cries of distress.
They rapidly learn that a cry will bring someone who
goes through the dry diaper, feed, and reposition
routine.
As they gain more control over their bodies, they
start to observe more than internal discomfort. The
caregiver makes incomprehensible noises at them when
they are near. If the baby smiles this results in more
noises similar to the original ones. What do the
noises mean?
If the caregiver avoids making nonsense sounds at the
baby, then they will begin to associate specific
noises with specific actions. "Mama's good little boy"
usually means someone is going to pick him up. "Is
daddy's angel hungry?" means a bottle.
What will occur when all the baby hears are nonsense
syllables, which are not associated with a particular
action? The development of language skills will slow,
much like trying to go to a foreign country with out
knowing a word of the language and all the people who
speak to you repeat the same nonsense syllables. You
would more than likely become frustrated and confused.
If the baby receives a certain set of nonsense
syllables for a specific object or activity. Then your
infant will learn that ba-ba means bottle. Imagine
your shock when you learn that 'Merci' does not mean
go away. Your child would receive the same shock.
Children learn what they hear, if a child never hears
real words for objects they will have to relearn
language when they start interacting with people.
Children pick up speech mannerisms from the people
they hear the most. If you have a speech problem, or
persist in using 'baby talk' with an infant then you
will end up with a child who has the same speech
patterns that will have to be unlearned. If you
constantly speak with a clipped accent or a southern
drawl then you baby will learn this speech mannerism.
A lady who spoke English as a second language could
not understand why when she didn't speak Spanish at
home her children had very distinct accents, as if
Spanish were their primary language.
This same process will occur if the adult uses an 'ie'
ending on words such as blankie. The child will assume
that the word is supposed to have the diminutive form.
When seeking a wider audience, such as at school your
child will have to relearn language almost from
scratch.
Having covered the basics when speaking to a baby,
consider the following, children learn what they hear,
if you speak clearly, but fail to use complete
sentences then your child won't learn to speak in
complete sentences. When a child starts speaking
initially they use single words, "drink", "eat" and
"hungry" as there skills increase they start adding
words, "I hungry" etc. If you speak in complete
sentences, telling the child what you and they are
doing, "mommy is changing John" or "John is eating all
his dinner" then he will learn the pattern of
language. This will make learning more complex
communication techniques easier in the end.
The words you use will influence a child's vocabulary.
If you use single syllable words only, your child will
have a hard time comprehending the more complex ideas
presented with polysyllabic words. This does not mean
that you have to use words that are not a part of
every day speech. Listen to what you say, as well as
how you say it. "John is eating, he is consuming his
dinner" gives your child two possible words for the
act of feeding himself. When he hears the word, again
he will have a good idea of what the word means. A
child learns most of his words from the context.
No one likes to see a child struggle with
communications. Learning how before they are
communicating will ensure they have the best possible
chance of excelling.
| 
