Do you know what your baby is telling you? Rather do you understand what they are trying to tell you? Babies have odd ways of expressing what they want but you can be sure that they are communicating with you. It may not be understandable if you use common language but a great parent will always be able to know what a toddler is talking about.
It is all about understanding baby talk!
I asked a friend of mine who is a nurse practitioner, “What one thing do you wish you could say to the parents of small babies?”
Now, if someone asked me that question, I’d probably say, “I’d want to tell them, it’s time to grow up. That child comes before you in everything. That’s not to say you can’t have anything for yourself, or do things you enjoy. It just means that from now on, you do what’s best for that other person, no matter what, even if it’s very very hard. It’s called sacrifice. It’s what we do.”
Can you tell I have some specific people in mind when I say that?
But what my NP friend said was apart from huge things like abuse and drugs, she would tell all these new parents to talk to their babies. Babies need face to face interaction, they need to hear our voices, and they need to see facial expressions so they can begin to mimic them. And they need to see the smile on our face and the light in our eyes that lets them know they are loved.
Hearing that made me look over some of the new parents I know. Many of them are teenage or college age girls who probably didn’t know what they were getting into, and my NP is right…they don’t interact much with their babies. They just haul them around in their car seats from place to place–dealing with them, but seldom stopping to have meaningful interaction with them. It doesn’t take too much of that before a doctor can tell that someone isn’t talking to her infant.
Babies need direct talking. Hold them so that their face is about 10 inches from yours, which is where they best focus, and talk, sing, and make faces. Yes, even baby talk is fine–though if you feel silly, then just talk. Moms and dads can both do wthis equally effectively.
The result is a stimulated, thinking, expressive baby who knows they are loved, and before long will be able to communicate their needs.
Tags: baby talk, car seats, college age girls, drugs, faces, facial expressions, new parents, nurse practitioner, small babies, smile, voices
