How to Encourage Your Baby to Imitate You
Speak to your baby., Listen to your baby’s response., Repeat key words several times., Encourage more complex speech.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Speak to your baby.
Babies are good at listening to human speech.
They will begin to understand language before they can actually use it themselves.
To ensure your baby learns to copy you by speaking for itself, talk to your baby regularly.You could talk to your baby about what it’s doing.
For instance, if your baby is playing with a toy, you could say, “That is a nice toy you have” or “Wow, what a great toy.” Tell your baby simple words like colors, body parts, and names.
For instance, when the baby sees something red, say, “That is red.” If the baby points to your hand, say, “That is my hand.” Speak to your baby in an affectionate way. -
Step 2: Listen to your baby’s response.
When your baby sees you listening to it, it will learn to listen when you speak.
This will help it socialize the norms of conversation properly.
After speaking to your baby, give it time to respond and let it finish vocalizing before responding to your baby.Your baby will not be able to reply with words of its own for many months.
However, your baby will try hard to copy your speech and will probably make sounds in reply to your communication.
Your baby might, for instance, make sounds like “ooh,” “bah,” or “gaga.” , While it is important to speak to your baby in full sentences and not just baby sounds or one-word sentences, you should reinforce key words within sentences after giving your child the opportunity to respond to your sentences.For instance, you might say, “That is red,” then wait for your child to gurgle a reply.
Repeat the word red while pointing at the red object.
This will encourage your child to copy you by repeating the word red. , At 18 months old, you can encourage your baby to imitate more complex speech.
For instance, give your baby a plastic toy phone.
With your baby’s full attention on you, take your phone out of your bag and say “Hello?” just as you would when answering the phone with a real conversation partner.
Have a brief imaginary conversation, then say, “Good-bye.” This will encourage your baby to use its own plastic play phone in the same way. -
Step 3: Repeat key words several times.
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Step 4: Encourage more complex speech.
Detailed Guide
Babies are good at listening to human speech.
They will begin to understand language before they can actually use it themselves.
To ensure your baby learns to copy you by speaking for itself, talk to your baby regularly.You could talk to your baby about what it’s doing.
For instance, if your baby is playing with a toy, you could say, “That is a nice toy you have” or “Wow, what a great toy.” Tell your baby simple words like colors, body parts, and names.
For instance, when the baby sees something red, say, “That is red.” If the baby points to your hand, say, “That is my hand.” Speak to your baby in an affectionate way.
When your baby sees you listening to it, it will learn to listen when you speak.
This will help it socialize the norms of conversation properly.
After speaking to your baby, give it time to respond and let it finish vocalizing before responding to your baby.Your baby will not be able to reply with words of its own for many months.
However, your baby will try hard to copy your speech and will probably make sounds in reply to your communication.
Your baby might, for instance, make sounds like “ooh,” “bah,” or “gaga.” , While it is important to speak to your baby in full sentences and not just baby sounds or one-word sentences, you should reinforce key words within sentences after giving your child the opportunity to respond to your sentences.For instance, you might say, “That is red,” then wait for your child to gurgle a reply.
Repeat the word red while pointing at the red object.
This will encourage your child to copy you by repeating the word red. , At 18 months old, you can encourage your baby to imitate more complex speech.
For instance, give your baby a plastic toy phone.
With your baby’s full attention on you, take your phone out of your bag and say “Hello?” just as you would when answering the phone with a real conversation partner.
Have a brief imaginary conversation, then say, “Good-bye.” This will encourage your baby to use its own plastic play phone in the same way.
About the Author
Kimberly Miller
Creates helpful guides on DIY projects to inspire and educate readers.
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