How to start with a baby?

[ninny]

Watched the video poor old cow.

 

[me&thegals]

Just play, read, and let her learn. Kids are born with a wonderful, delightful spongy, soak-it-up spirit to them. You don't need to "teach" her things. Just talk, play, experience lots of different things, read, take her places. She will learn all on her own

At that age, though, I did lots of pointing and naming. Just one word for what I was pointing at.

 

[patandchickens]

To be quite honest, while I talked a lot with my kids (not just to, also "with" although I may well have not correctly understood what all the 'bababababa' and 'pfffffttttllllltt!' and 'wheeee!' noises meant, LOL)...

...it was not really so much a deliberate attempt to educate them, as it was that I was bored out of my mind and happy for any attempt to talk to ANYone, English-speaking or not.

But hey, it is ALSO good for the kids

Pat

 

[hwillm1977]

To be quite honest, while I talked a lot with my kids (not just to, also "with" although I may well have not correctly understood what all the 'bababababa' and 'pfffffttttllllltt!' and 'wheeee!' noises meant, LOL)...

lol... I do this now with Aeryn too... we have 'conversations' all day long, for my benefit as well as hers... stuck in the house all day in the winter all I have to talk to is the dogs and Aeryn. I can't wait till it warms up and we can start doing more things.

We're starting a baby signing class in a few months (she's only 8 weeks old now) so I'm hoping she'll be able to communicate with that before she's able to speak.

 

[ninny]

You can start the signing now. She won't sign back yet but she will start making the connections. Start small we are doing the signs for milk, eat, more and all done. Once she starts doing those we will start adding more.

 

[Godiva]

I read LOTS to our two. They still adore reading and I can't wait until DS can read - haven't had time to teach him yet... next year. They learn SO much from reading and there is also the bonding as you go through a book over and over again. I can still recite some of their favorite baby books from memory! I had only board books in the beginning and they were not left where the kids could get to them without supervision. Kids adore stories where you make up voices and sound effects... my DH is particularly good with this though I do have my stories and voices that get a thumbs up from the kids (and DH)

I also found that my kids LOVED the Baby Einstein 'movies'. In fact they still enjoy watching them (8 yr old and 5 yr old?!) but otherwise I agree that it is better to play with them and include them in the day to day activities and talk to them about everything. People are always astounded at how well my kids enunciate and at their huge vocabulary... read and talk and sing and have fun! If they feel loved and secure they will have little sponges for brains and just learn without you particularly trying to 'teach' them things. I love the sign language thing - really helped us communicate with the kids when they were little and couldn't talk yet. And I am a firm believer in exposing little ones to at least one other language from early on. Ours have done Muzzy since they were little and we just started 'learning' Welsh - though to them it is a chance to get on the computer and 'play' the Welsh games and there is always a little competition to who gets to use it next... go with your instincts and enjoy your little one. Don't let societies expectations put pressure on your time with your baby - so many hoops to jump through, don't start on that road too early (if at all) Bless you in your journey as a Mom and teacher.

 

[valmom]

Well, lots of good advice here! I just thought I'd chime in with my grandmom 2 cents. Every baby is different and you have to find what works for you AND them. My son slept 21 hours out of the day for the first year- I thought something was wrong with him because he was only awake to eat! (my pediatrician said he was fine and count my blessings- he was right) My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 and rarely napped.

I started with the Spot cardboard books. I still love Spot . Then I started on the Dr. Seuss books. By the time my son was old enough to start complaining at bedtime I made a deal that they could stay up half an hour later to read a book before bed time. We started our first "grown up" books- The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings- when he was in kindergarten. It was incentive for him to read to himself- he wanted to be able to find out what happens next.

I also never talked baby talk to my kids- why teach them that way and then have to fix it later? (my brother, OTOH, let my SIL totally raise their daughter- baby talk, dressed up like a doll, never allowed to be dirty or noisy. She now has a dysfunctional 10 year old who is already failing in elementary school. I can't BELIEVE my brother let that happen!)

And, just a caution- be aware of how you think of your daughter. She is a baby, unformed except for a sort of minimalist personality of her own that is waiting to be shaped. It makes me worry a bit that you are attributing adult characteristics to her at only 9 months old. They really don't think that way for a long time.

 

[keljonma]

You have gotten lots of great advice here. I just wanted to add my thoughts about sign language.

My dd homeschools, using ASL as a second language. DD started teaching simple ASL to our dgd as soon as she was born, and did the same for both boys. She found they had less tantrums and used the signs at quite a young age. Sometimes a child is crying so hard they can't get the words out to say what is wrong or what they need; but they can still sign it.

For a year they attended a Montessori school, and the principal/owner was so impressed that she added ASL to the school curriculum.

Now the grands are 13, 10, and 3 and still use sign everyday. They have never gotten into trouble for talking too loudly at church.


We have used the Signing Times dvds. The lessons are fun, and the songs are terrific.

http://www.signingtime.com/?gclid=CODyxqTeyakCFQzDKgodGnUeNA#

 

[hwillm1977]

Now the grands are 13, 10, and 3 and still use sign everyday. They have never gotten into trouble for talking too loudly at church.


We have used the Signing Times dvds. The lessons are fun, and the songs are terrific.

http://www.signingtime.com/?gclid=CODyxqTeyakCFQzDKgodGnUeNA#

We have those Signing Times DVDs, and a couple of CD's so we can sing songs in the car too... If I need half an hour to get something done, I can pop Aeryn down to watch some songs and she is so happy... giggling at the lady on the TV.

I try not to have the TV on any longer than 1/2 hour each day... for me and for her combined, but it really does help keep me from burning out on days that she doesn't want to sleep and I need a moment to myself.

 

[keljonma]

Now the grands are 13, 10, and 3 and still use sign everyday. They have never gotten into trouble for talking too loudly at church.


We have used the Signing Times dvds. The lessons are fun, and the songs are terrific.

http://www.signingtime.com/?gclid=CODyxqTeyakCFQzDKgodGnUeNA#

We have those Signing Times DVDs, and a couple of CD's so we can sing songs in the car too... If I need half an hour to get something done, I can pop Aeryn down to watch some songs and she is so happy... giggling at the lady on the TV.

I try not to have the TV on any longer than 1/2 hour each day... for me and for her combined, but it really does help keep me from burning out on days that she doesn't want to sleep and I need a moment to myself.

I love Silly Pizza and Leah's Farm