While this is difficult to verify by means of tests, the idea matches findings that toddlers and preschoolers who are read to a great deal do read more easily and better than those having less experience.
A baby’s receptive language—that is, the language she hears—depends upon her good listening and looking habits with parents or other familiar people.
The very young child doesn’t understand the meaning of words, but she does understand something of what is meant because the words are delivered along with feelings, facial expression, gestures, and body movement.
For example, when Father says, “Come here”, he holds his hands out to receive the baby.
When Mother says, “Give it to me”, she reaches out for the object, and when she says, “Here, I’ll give back to you”, she hands it back.
Another example is when an adult pretends he can’t see the baby and says, “Where’s Baby, where’s Baby” as he dramatically searches for the baby,
and finally exclaims: “Here she is!”
Babies also like the game of peek-a-boo. To play, cover your face with a towel and encourage the baby to pull it off.
If she doesn’t, peek through the towel to be sure she is looking at you. Remove the cover slowly as you say, “Peek-a-boo!”
When you play games, talk to the baby: be a ham—put lots of drama into your voice. Make it rise and fall; change from soft to loud; alternate from slow to fast.
Activities like this contribute to a baby’s developing capacity to understand language.
Star-Brite Learning Program
