How to start with a baby?

[Henrietta23]

Talk talk talk!!! We adopted our son at the age of 11 months. He had never heard English before then. I used to talk to him while I pushed the grocery cart. I'd chatter away at him non-stop while pushing him around to the point people would look at me funny! Especially since I didn't talk to him like he was a baby. And we read to him every night. We still do even though he can read now. At least 15-20 minutes of reading before bedtime every night.

 

[curly_kate]

Sorry, I read this thread title as "How to start a baby?" I had to check to see what on earth people responded to that!

 

[journey11]

Talk to her--about everything; describe things in color, shape, texture, feelings, etc. The more you talk and interact with her, explaining and describing the world around her the better her ability to express herself will be. You'd be surprised how much they pick up at such a young age. I use big words with my daughter all the time. I don't try to dumb things down for her, I just talk to her as I would an adult, trying not to baby-talk to her so much. People are always surprised by her vocabulary and the kind of dialog she can carry on with an adult.

And of course, let her get hands-on with the world around her. Don't worry about her getting dirty and making messes. Keep those experiences coming. Spend less time in front of the tv (although there are many quality educational shows, especially on PBS that help set the foundation for preschool learning). But ultimately, real life is better than tv any day! I love to color with my 3-year-old daughter and draw pictures for her. We use that time to work on our alphabet and numbers now that she's well past shapes and colors. We also like word games, rhymes and making up silly songs. We'll be starting homeschool in earnest next year.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I agree with what's been posted here, especially some of Journeys points. I talked to my daughter using "big words" ... Just my normal speech back then, and she developed a great vocabulary and could converse well with adults by the time of her kindergarten evaluation.

As far as books, look into wordless books, like the Carl series and Goodnight Gorilla. They both come as chewable board books, btw. That way you talk about what's going on and what's in the picture and what you think. Those were great fun and very educational.

We had two plastic kiddie pools on the deck -- one for sand and one for water. (Actually three -- one tied on top to cover the sand one to keep it clean.) All kinds of pouring and scooping toys including cool ones that made wheels turn, etc were fun, but sturdy dishes, spoons, colanders, etc. work too.

And yes mostly just TALK about the world. As soon as she can talk, encourage her to tell you what she thinks. Not too many high-end toys ... Simpler toys in general encourage more creativity. We were always making things represent other things. Fingerpainting is good too. Make it all fun, keep talking to her, and she will learn. A healthy dose of creativity and curiosity goes a long way. (I don't want to sound here like I'm endorsing some of the recent educational methods you may read about. When it's time for math, 2+2 does NOT equal five -- don't worry you'll break her creativity or confidence by correcting mistakes.)

Have fun. I'm teaching kindergarten now (taught the kids to read in less than a few months) ... But I wish I was still doing things my way at my child's pace with homeschooling. I miss it.

 

[abifae]

Sorry, I read this thread title as "How to start a baby?" I had to check to see what on earth people responded to that!

Me too. *cracks up*

I don't know what I was doing at that age.

*shrugs in bewilderment*

 

[AL]

Life.

Life is an excellent learning game. Conveniently it is the game that human babies come pre-programmed to respond best to *anyhow*

Just talk to her as you go thru your day, let her experience new textures and sounds and tastes and sights and activities as opportunity and her development permit.

I really think it's a big mistake to get into trying to TEACH babies and young children. Just gets in the way of the natural learning processes unfolding properly.

So, just live, enjoy your baby, show her the world and talk with her about it

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

X2.... with !!! thrown in

 

[Homemaker]

Hey, my daughter is 9 months old too. And she's my first. I love to read to my daughter too. And yes, she usually ends up eating the book at the end Thanks for all the good ideas everyone.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I thought this thread was going to be about horses....

Usually in my life if someone wants to talk about starting a baby it's the how to's of the first few saddling and riding days.

OK, so human babies, well, I'll leave that to the rest of you. I only helped in a few nieces, and at 9 months I have to say, we were just enjoying the ride, and having them do with us what ever we did.

 

[FarmerJamie]

By age 10, you'll be asking them to sit down and be quiet.

We have 3 kids, each were distinctly different as babies, even at a tender age. Try these things mentioned and see which invoke the most positive response. Our experience was what worked for one, didn't work for the others....

 

[tortoise]

My little guy is 3 years old.

We just talk to him. We NEVER EVER "baby talk"ed to him! We talk about all kinds of things, try to get him to play and get dirty, fingerpaint in the bathtub, fun sensory activities.

NOW, I have a 3 yr old that shares easily, shows empathy (woah!), can tell time, count to over 100, count by 2's, 5's, and 10's, count backwards, and can READ (Dick and Jane-style books). Oh yeah, and he can write any word he can spell, type better than I could when I was 10! He can't draw pictures yet, but he does a good job with painting. He knows more folk songs and kids songs than I know!

Just TALKING to him made a huge difference between him and other kids his age. He has one playmate that has parents with similar thinking and they are on the same level. Other kids...



Getting off my soapbox, lol. When he was 9 months old, I tried to help him to understand communication as a 2-way thing. So I would talk to him, and pretend that any noise he made was a reply. Mostly to pass time in the car.

Me: Hi baby, how was your day?
Him: *squeak*
Me: Oh, that bad?! What happened?
Him: *snort. giggle*
Me: Yeah, if I had yellow poop in my diaper that would be a rough day. It's nice that you can laugh about it. It happens to everyone at your age.
Him: *coo*
Me: I had a bad day too!



Sensory activities are great, IMO. Feel the dog - his fur is soft. Feel the floor - it is hard and cold. Feel your cheek, it is smooth and warm. etc.

Talking... really. "You are holding a red ball. I have a green ball, would you like to play with it?"

*I* don't really get the point of reading to little, little kids. It's supposed to encourage a positive feeling for books and reading, right? Kids *did* learn to read before the invention of board books! Then again, he sees me and my fiance reading every day, for hours. He tags along to the vet clinic (ny fiance is a vet)once in a while and what are the vets doing? Sitting in the office reading some heavy-duty books. I sit at my computer and read during his play time. I didn't read to him when he was little because I saw it as an exercise in futility. However, NOW that he can understand stories, I'll read to him. I'm reading the original Winnie-the-Pooh stories to him, and he reads Dick and Jane to me.

Oh yeah... jumping off soap box again. Take it with a grain of salt because I have one of those ridiculously easy kids. My parenting experience is vastly different from normal, and I love it this way.