The early years of life are a period in which the foundation for future learning is being laid at the emotional, cognitive and experiential levels. Print, spoken language, and gesturing are all strategies human use in order to communicate. In the first 3 years, infants and toddlers begin acquiring the first of thousands of words they will use throughout their lives. Simultaneously, children are learning the rules of grammar as well as absorbing the social conventions that exist around communication in their community. When adults respond sensitively and consistently to infants’ and toddlers’ attempts to communicate, children develop a sense of their own competence and self-efficacy. The capacity to communicate is the ability and desire to connect with others by exchanging ideas and feelings, both verbally and non-verbally. Most children learn to communicate to get a need met or to establish and maintain interaction with a loved adult.
Babies communicate from birth, through sounds (crying, cooing, squealing), facial expressions (eye contact, smiling, grimacing) and gestures/body movements (moving legs in excitement or distress, and later, gestures like pointing.) Babies continue to develop communication skills when adults respond to their efforts to “tell” others about what they need or want. Respond to your baby’s gestures looks and sounds, talk with and listen to your child, help children build on their language skills and respect and recognize some of your child’s feelings are a few things you can do to develop a Childs language development.
Children’s communication skills grow by leaps and bounds across the first few years of life:
Babies communicate from birth, through sounds (crying, cooing, squealing), facial expressions (eye contact, smiling, grimacing) and gestures/body movements (moving legs in excitement or distress, and later, gestures like pointing.) Babies continue to develop communication skills when adults respond to their efforts to “tell” others about what they need or want. Respond to your baby’s gestures looks and sounds, talk with and listen to your child, help children build on their language skills and respect and recognize some of your child’s feelings are a few things you can do to develop a Childs language development.
Children’s communication skills grow by leaps and bounds across the first few years of life:
- A newborn nuzzles at her mother’s breast. Her mother says, “Oh, you must be hungry. Here you go.” This baby is learning that her loved ones will respond to her signals and communications.
- A 9-month-old starts messing with the food on his high chair, as if wiping it clean with his hands. His father notices, saying: “Hey buddy, looks like you’re telling me you are all done. How about I take you out of there and we can head to the park.” This baby is learning that he is an effective communicator.
- A 28-month-old is at the park. She is pointing urgently at something and saying to her grandfather, “Derl! Derl! Derl!” He says, “I’m sorry, sweetie, I don’t understand. Could you say it again?” She continues to point, and repeats herself a number of times. Finally, her grandfather says, “Oh, the squirrel. Yes, I see him up there in the tree!” This toddler is learning that her loved ones will “hang in there” and work hard to understand her attempts to communicate.
- A 3-year-old chats with his mother on the way home from preschool. He tells her he liked the songs and snack, but didn’t like how the sand felt on his hands. His mother listens, and asks him questions. This toddler is learning that what he has to say is important to the people who love him, and that he is a good communicator.