How to start with a baby?

[Henrietta23]

ogg - I thought baby signing was the coolest thing ever, but the window between when a baby can sign and when s/he can talk is so short it seems hardly worth the effort.

It depends on the situation but I found that too. Our son came home from Russia at 11.5 months. He had heard 0 English in his first 11 months and wasn't speaking any Russian. For a short while he used some signs to express himself then learned more just for the fun of it. He picked up English so fast once he started talking that it made my head spin!

 

[patandchickens]

I think it depends on the kid. Some start speaking real early, others not so much (my two did not say more than about one or two reproducible words til about their second birthday, or really a bit later than that for the younger one).

But you know what, I had a book on teaching babies to sign, and it sounds like a fine idea and I have friends and acquaintences who've used it to good effect.... but it was just too much mental work for me with a baby on my hands And mine either managed to make their wishes and interests known by basic body language, or (in the case of the second one) did not appear to have any clue THEMSELVES what they were screaming about (second one is still often like this at age 3.5 years now, btw), so I am not sure that in my particular case I (or they) actually missed out on anything.

For sure it is 'diffrent strokes for diffrent folks' though.

Pat

 

[tortoise]

I do have one more bit of advice about it. DO NOT feel pressured to pick up a baby signing book and memorize it.

It does not matter what the sign is - only that you use it consistently. Do whatever is convenient, comfortable, easy for you.

 

[booker81]

The best thing I've learned from my almost 3 year old now is to enjoy every single ever loving minute of them. Just DO. Do go play in the woods, do go look at the flowers, do go hug the trees and roll in the grass, and play in the snow. Do cuddle and sing and read. Do play with blocks and boxes and pots and pans. Do get messy. Do sing to the radio and sing lullabies and sing total nonsense songs. Just do.

I watched my friend's 1 month old baby today so she could get out of the house alone. The baby slept, but I still held her because I could, and when she was awake, I sang nonsense to her wide eyes. I can't hold my "baby" like a baby anymore. I can still sing silly to her, and now she sings along with me

(She's also pretty good at her numbers, colors, etc. She likes to help me cook, likes to play outside, and can amuse herself for hours. I think I'll keep her as long as she'll let me )

 

[mrbstephens]

Let your baby be a baby! Keep in mind that compulsory age is 6 years old. She'll learn whatever she needs to learn from LIFE. Reading to her is great. If she's not interested, then just play with her. Sing her songs, take her on walks, play patty-cake! There's plenty of time for her to learn how to count and recite the ABCs. Play time is very important and children learn a great deal just through play alone. Don't rush the academics.

 

[elijahboy]

i have 3 kids 10,7,4

there is no "way" to raise kids each and every kid is an individual

some learn by books and some learn by doing and some learn by watching

let them be who they want to be unless its destructive

if you force read to them they will hate books

let them be the leader and follow

they will pick up that book when they want to

dont force anything

 

[tortoise]

Let your baby be a baby! Keep in mind that compulsory age is 6 years old. She'll learn whatever she needs to learn from LIFE. Reading to her is great. If she's not interested, then just play with her. Sing her songs, take her on walks, play patty-cake! There's plenty of time for her to learn how to count and recite the ABCs. Play time is very important and children learn a great deal just through play alone. Don't rush the academics.

I agree... to a point and I think it depends on the kid. (btw, this is not at all a personal attack. I love seeing your "this is the way we homeschool" pictures on Facebook.)

I really agree that every kid is so different. Watch them, learn from them. Show them the world the best you can. Find the way of teaching that works best for them.

There are so many way to teach and learn - teaching a little kid to play Uno is great - matching colors, numbers, making choices, taking turns, paying attention... way more fun than "learning."

How to start with a baby? Treasure every moment - even the colicky crying poopy diapers ones. The first year is over before you know it!

 

[lwheelr]

I talked a lot to my babies from the time they were small. As soon as they were cooing and babbling and able to have shoes and socks put on, we'd play This Little Piggie with their toes, do Itsy Bitsy Spider up their arms, and we'd say "Toes", and "Foot", and "Sock", and "Shoe" as we dressed them.

I had mostly early talkers... But then, the house was pretty full of naturally verbose people once the first one or two got going.

I did not READ to them at that age, but I'd point to things in the book and say the names.

The words babies learn first are the ones that are repeated to them, and that are either necessary, or which have a built in reward. Things like "bite", "up", "all gone", "outside", "drink", "what's that" or other things that are fun or useful.

So while variety may be important to a certain extent, babies LOVE repetition, and require repetition to learn effectively - the younger they are, the more repetitions they need to mimic something. Things that are familiar help them orient themselves to life, help them feel secure, and teach them relational concepts more quickly.

A reperatoire of 5-6 songs with motions that go with them is enough for a little one. Same with books. They learn fastest what they do over and over from the time they are first able to be coached through it.

I'm not one of those moms who takes her kids on daily nature walks and stops to examine the scientific lesson in every little thing, or who engages in heavy math experiments, etc. The thought of that kind of constant educational whirlwind just wears me out! I always was a casual teacher - just taking the logical opportunities that presented - pointing out the lessons when the dog had pups or when we planted the garden, or when Alex was diagnosed with Leukemia. I've raised seven very smart kids, all of whom have IQs close to or above the genius range, and all of who not only know things, but know how to LEARN things themselves. That balance is important.

Give your baby plenty of time to learn to entertain herself too - if you try to get in too much teaching, you'll deprive her of the opportunity of learning to find things within herself, and for herself.

 

[lorihadams]

As soon as she can sit up and hold things give her tupperware, wooden spoons, stuff she can bang around and stack and hold. They love that.
Mine loved, and still do, pots and pans to "make music" with. Sometimes we would play marching band and walk in a line all over the house playing our empty oatmeal container drums, blowing whistles, playing a recorder, or banging pot lids together for cymbals. Good stuff.

Just relax and make it fun for you and your child.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Are there any CDs of children's songs that anyone would recommend? I am not a good singer and can't remember most of the songs I knew as a child.