Every baby has a different growth rate. However, usually by the time your baby is six months old, you can see your baby cooing at first but now starting to babble or babbling, as if he wanted to chat. Encourage your baby to continue to babble as a form of encouragement for your baby's overall speech development. Try to talk to your baby and show your little one that verbal communication is a positive and fun activity.
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Part 1 of 2: Basic Chatter
Step 1. Have a conversation with your baby
Take your time to sit down and have a conversation with your baby. Stay focused on your baby when he or she is talking, just as you would when you are chatting with the person you are talking to.
- Sit in front of your baby and look him in the eye as you speak. Alternatively, you can also sit your baby on your lap or carry him while walking around while you chat.
- Chat with your baby at every opportunity. For example, invite him to chat while you change diapers or feed your little one.
- Chats with your baby include babbling as well as original sentences that you can say. If you don't know what to say, just say whatever. You can share your plans with your baby and ask some rhetorical questions. While your baby may not be able to understand what you are saying, he will learn how to respond to different pitches and intonations.
Step 2. Follow your baby's babble
Repeat your baby's babble when he starts babbling. If your baby is babbling like "ba-ba-ba", then you should also say "ba-ba-ba" after your baby says it.
- By following your little one's chatter, he will know that you are giving him your full attention. Since your baby wants your attention, he's likely to babble more often to keep his attention.
- In addition to following their babbling, you can also respond to your baby's babbling by using other expressions that let your baby know that you are listening. After your baby babbles, you can respond by saying “Yes! I understand” or “Ah, really?”
Step 3. Introduce a new babbling sound
After your baby has finished babbling, introduce babbling sounds that are similar to the babbling your baby makes. For example, after you have followed your baby's babble (such as "ba-ba-ba"), continue with new babble sounds such as "bo-bo-bo" or "ma-ma-ma."
When replying to your little one's chatter, you can also include simple words that sound similar to the sounds their babble makes. For example, if your baby says “ma”, you can reply with “ma-ma-ma.”
Step 4. Speak slowly and use simple words
When talking to your baby, speak clearly and at a slow pace, whether you are following your baby's babble or speaking native words. This way, before your baby is able to speak fluently, he can understand your words first. Simple sentences help simplify the learning process and encourage your little one to continue babbling.
Several studies have shown that one of the causes of baby babbling is because he tries to read the lips of the other person when he sees the other person talking. By slowing down your speech rate and speaking clearly, your baby will be more likely to observe your lips and follow them
Step 5. Show a positive reaction
When your baby babbles, show your cheerfulness and joy. By reacting positively, your baby will understand that babbling is a good thing and should be done more often.
- In addition to using a positive tone of voice, you can also say phrases of praise, such as "Great!"
- Non-verbal communication is also important. Apart from talking, you can also smile, laugh, clap, and wave your hand while chatting with your baby. It's important for you to show cheerful expressions, both verbal and non-verbal, so your baby understands that his babbling is a positive thing.
Step 6. Keep talking to your baby
Talk to your baby as often as possible, even when you're not specifically talking to him. Babies have a tendency to imitate others. By listening to your voice regularly, your little one can be encouraged to use his voice and babble more often.
- Speaking encourages language acquisition, both receptively and expressively. Receptive language mastery refers to the ability to understand the interlocutor's speech, while expressive language mastery refers to the ability to make speeches.
- Talk to yourself as well as to your baby every time you go about your daily activities. When washing dishes, try to talk about the job and the different cutlery as you wash the utensils. As long as your baby is awake, he will still listen to you, even though he may be looking the other way.
Step 7. Change your tone of voice
While you are talking to your baby, try changing the way you talk by changing the volume and pitch of your voice. These changes can grab your baby's attention and encourage his interest and curiosity in the vocalization process.
- Your baby will get used to your voice. The sudden sound change you make can encourage your little one to refocus his attention on you so he can understand how different sounding sounds are made.
- This can help your baby gain an understanding of how to make different sounds, especially when you speak in silly tones. However, regardless of the sound changes you make, keep the words positive.
Part 2 of 2: Additional Activities
Step 1. Teach your baby simple commands
Even if your little one is still in the babbling stage, introducing them to some simple commands can still be a good thing to do. Give him some commands that can encourage him to be able to interact with his environment. For example, try teaching him simple commands like “try kissing mommy” or “trying to hug daddy.”
Model what your baby should do when you give him orders. If you tell him to throw a ball, then you must throw the ball after you give him the command. Your baby may not immediately do what he is told, but once he has the ability to carry out the commands he is given, he will be interested in doing what he is told and knowing what to do
Step 2. Emphasize certain words
When you talk to your baby, emphasize certain words that you want to emphasize by saying them more clearly, firmly, and louder. Emphasis is placed on one word in the spoken sentence later can help your baby understand the stressed words.
When choosing words to emphasize, choose words that are nouns (objects) rather than verbs or descriptive terms. At this stage, babies are easier to understand the meaning of words when the words introduced refer to real objects (can be seen and touched)
Step 3. Sing a song to your baby
You can sing nursery rhymes such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (or Little Star songs) or folk songs (such as the Parrot song or My Hat is Round). In addition, you can also occasionally talk to your baby in rhymes and tones, as if your sentences were a song. Almost all babies love the sound of singing and will try to babble and reply to the singing they hear.
- Songs to sing to your baby don't have to be just nursery rhymes. You can sing your favorite songs and this method can still work effectively.
- Singing a song to your baby is a form of language recognition in babies in a different way from ordinary speech. This variety of recognition can later help your baby understand language, and can encourage language development.
- You can also choose a song to sing or play when you need to soothe your baby. After your baby has listened to the song a few times, he will learn that he should start to calm down when the song is sung or played. It also gives your baby an understanding that talking and singing are positive things.
Step 4. Read something to your baby
Buy children's story books and read them to your baby as often as possible. Even though your baby may not be able to understand what you read, his brain function is already starting to work. The auditory aspect of this activity can encourage your baby to want to babble and talk, while the visual aspect can encourage your baby to show interest in reading in the future.
- Make sure you buy a book that is appropriate for your baby's age. At this stage, picture books with bright and vivid colors can be the best choice. The words listed in the book must also be simple and easy to understand.
- By reading stories to your baby, you are also helping to make cognitive connections between the two-dimensional world (pictures) and the three-dimensional world (the real world). Reading books encourages babies to associate real objects (eg, apples) with pictures of those objects in story books (eg, pictures of apples).
Step 5. Name the objects around your baby
Babies are naturally curious about the world around them. Introduce the names of nearby objects by pointing at a certain object (such as a milk bottle) and repeating the name of the object. This can help your baby to become more interested in repeating the names which, in turn, can encourage your baby's speech development.
- This activity can be started by naming the members of the body. Point to your baby's nose and say, "nose." Point your hand and say, "hand." Almost all babies are naturally curious about their own bodies. This limb recognition can encourage your baby to want to babble and repeat the names of the limbs you've introduced him to.
- You can also introduce family members, such as “Mom,” “Dad,” “Grandma,” and “Grandpa.”
- If you have pets, introduce them to your baby too. When you first introduce your pet to your baby, it's a good idea to mention the type or species of the animal (such as a dog) rather than the name you gave your animal (such as Spot).
- You can also introduce familiar objects around your baby, especially if your baby is used to seeing them. You can introduce objects like “trees” or “balls” to your baby.
Step 6. Tell a fairy tale to your baby
Use your imagination to create a story, then tell the story to your baby. When storytelling, of course you need to use different intonations and expressions. The cheerfulness that is reflected in your voice can make your baby curious and interested in following your speech, of course in the form of babbling.
Make your story more developed by telling a simple story, then developing that storyline the next day. The more diverse your stories, the more interested your baby will be
Step 7. Gently pat your baby's lips with your finger
When your baby is just starting to babble, try gently patting his lips each time he makes a babble. After that, try to pat his lips before he starts babbling. Often your baby will associate the clap with the previous babble and will repeat the babble when you pat his lips again.
- Your baby may move his lips again (or open his mouth), or repeat the same babble when you stop smacking his lips. This is done so that you want to pat his lips again.
- This activity can be done with every baby who enters the babbling stage. What's more, this activity can be useful to help your baby if he has problems with facial muscle strength.
Step 8. Use props or other objects
By exercising your baby's visual development while developing his verbal skills, you are helping to promote the development of both his visual and verbal abilities at the same time.
- Several props you can use to help your baby learn the names of different objects. For example, you could tell a story about a cat and, as you tell the story, use a stuffed cat as props.
- Some props or other toys can make your baby more interested in talking. For example, if your baby has seen you talking on the phone, he or she can follow what you're doing by babbling through a toy phone.
