Friday, May 1, 2009

Buy Cheap Baby Clothes - And Improve Your Child's Communication Skills?

By Paula Heron

It is a fact of life that newborn babies grow quickly - so why spend a fortune on cute trendy baby clothes that they will grow out of in a matter of a few weeks? Your baby will benefit more if you buy cute cheap baby clothes and spend the difference on something more beneficial in the longer term - for example, some books for your baby. It is never too soon to start sharing books with your little one and helping with the development of their language and communication abilities.

Talking to your newborn baby is very important as all the experts will tell you. Not only does it help you to bond with your baby it helps his brain to develop and begins the learning process. Even before your baby can talk back to you there are ways you can teach him the rules of conversation and communication.

Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding always hold your baby to you and talk to them. You can talk to them about what they are doing or about how hungry they must be or you can sing to them - it doesn't matter what the subject is, it is the use of the spoken word that is important. But it is also important to remember the rules of conversation and allow pauses in your talk for the baby to respond.

When babies are feeding they do not suck all the time until they are finished, in fact every so often they take a short break. As your baby gets older these breaks in sucking will quite often be a time when they will coo at you, especially if you are talking to them and maintaining eye contact with them. So although your baby is not responding with actual words they are holding a conversation with you so the pauses in sucking are baby's turn to 'talk".

Some moms have said to me that they feel silly talking or singing to their baby who cannot talk as they don't know what to say. I remember when I had my own children I just used to talk about anything, like what we were going to do that day or about doing the laundry it really didn't matter. The baby not only gets to know your voice but it is also very soothing to them and lets them know you are still there when you are not in sight.

So build on that - start reading to your baby from as young as six weeks old. Babies and children love rhythm so simple books with a rhyming text are very suitable. Favorites such as Goodnight Moon, Guess How Much I Love You and The Very Hungry Caterpillar are great early readers. Not only are you introducing your baby to the early reading skills but teaching them the concept of counting, numbers and the names of things in their world.

Another great way to interact with your baby is to sing nursery rhymes to her. If she is upset lullabies like Hush Little Baby and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star will help soothe her and calm her down. To help with motor skills and co-ordination action rhymes such as Incey Wincey Spider, Patty Cake and This Little Piggy are great fun.

The more time you spend with your baby talking, singing and reading with them the more you are helping development for future learning. Not only are you increasing your child's vocabulary but you are teaching valuable communication skills.

So there you have it - saving money through buying cheap baby clothes and spending the difference on more books that will have a lasting benefit to your baby is going to be far more beneficial for her in the long run.

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