When my little one was 10months old she said her first word “ Mama'“. I remember it so well like it was only yesterday. I was so stressed out with opening the restaurant, the potholes on the Nana Krom road and dealing with baby’s teething and low appetite. She was in her cot looking at me with my head in my hands. I was almost in tears when I heard her say “ Mama” . I looked up in wonder at her wide Disney looking eyes. She repeated it and I swear to you, all the tiredness and frustration melted away. I lifted her out and hugged her close. From that day, her speech developed at an incredible speed! Today at 20mo she can identify objects , ask for her immediate needs with such clarity in words.

How did I do it? Well, I hope these tips I share will prove useful for you if you are a new Mom and Dad . We definitely can’t rush your child’s natural development ( walking especially) but for her language skills there are things you can do to boost it.

Start Early
How early? Literally from when your child is in the womb :-). I have lost count of the number of times I would chat with her during the 2nd and 3rd trimester until I popped. Don’t think your baby is too young to have a conversation with. Whenever I gave her bath, I would sing the alphabets and repeat the Alphabet phonics “ A for apple, B for ball, C for cat.” I did this every single day to when she was 10months. One day, I said “ A for…..” I waited for her response and she said “Appu” I screamed in delight! She sensed my excitement and laughed as well. What an experience it was! I taught her from A to D every bath and dressing up time. Thankfully, the nanny also understood the importance of early speech development. She would chat with Essi as though chatting with an adult. We both had conversations with her knowing that her brain was fast developing and building up to forming her own syllables. Too often I have seen parents shush their babbling babies because ‘they are making noise’. Please leave them to babble! It’s their attempt at communicating with you! Encourage don’t shush.
Avoid baby talk.
It’s fun to do the ‘ goo goo gaa gaaa ‘ once in awhile whilst your baby is a newborn. I am a champion at that baby language. But it’s important to speak clearly and distinctly when teaching her objects around him/her and having conversations.. Avoid baby talk to name objects. For example, Say “ Do you want your bottle?” Instead of “ do you want your boo boo?” I also ask her everyday questions like, “ Are you hungry?” “ Is it nap time?” Today she says these phrases so well whenever the need arises. Whenever her Dad calls on FaceTime his first question to her is , “Did you sleep well? or How are you?” Even if your baby doesn’t respond just keep at it. This has helped her recognise the importance of this greeting that she repeats it whenever I get a call. Hilarious!
Share What You’re Doing.
When she started crawling and turning my kitchen upside down, I would tell her what I was doing at that particular moment. “ I am cooking” I would often say when she looked up at me curiously. Today she asks me, ‘is it cooking?’ when she sees me at the stove. I would respond yes I’m cooking. Or I would tell her ‘ I am washing the dishes.’ She would then record the activity in her little brain for later use and amble off. Whenever we have to go out, I tell her where we are going like, “ we are going to the shop.” instead of silently bumbling her into the car seat. Now whenever she realises we are about to get into the car she asks, “ is it shop?” I say yes, we are going to the shop.
Be responsive.
There will be days when your baby will walk or crawl up to with an object in hand, unless it’s something harmful don’t just snatch it away with a scolding. Tell him or her what the object is and what it does. Trust me, they save that information for the future, don’t be surprised when they come back saying the word to you. Be responsive instead of brushing them off. Your response is a form of encouragement and a confidence boost. My baby will say “ outside'“ when she wants to go for a stroll and my response is, “ Should we go for a stroll outside?” That way i’m responding and helping her string her words together.

5. Encourage others.

A lot of us grew up in households where we were told to ‘speak when spoken to’ and we grew up timid in such environments. Thanks to the internet and increase in knowledge we know the importance of encouraging a child to speak up and out. Encourage your family to also speak to your baby instead of shushing them up.

6. Read to baby early.

It’s never too early to start reading to your baby. Several bookshops like Vidya and Sytris stock exciting and colourful children’s books , grab several to read to baby during breastfeeding and when it’s bedtime. The sound of your voice and words will help baby’s speech develop faster. I discovered baby flashcards on Apple’s Books app and I started sharing with her early. It’s enthralling to see her identify the objects even before I read it out. The app has both free and paid digital books available.

7. Playdates

Covid-19 really put a damper on playdates. Many babies have missed out on playdates due to social distancing. But playdates are actually a great way for babies to interact with other little humans even though there’s not much conversation happening. You can talk to your LO to share a toy with her friend “ Sharing is caring!” This also helps develop their social skills.

8. Avoid too much screen time.

Dumping your baby in front of the television or an iPad isn’t the best way for speech development. Human interaction and your voice is the ideal way. Yes there’s lots of educational shows on TV and on YouTube kids but you don’t want a screen addicted child. There’s lots of challenges that comes with that. Strike a balance with screen time and time spent with Mummy and Daddy. Even when driving in the car, chat with your baby whilst they are alone in their car seat. Ask him if they see the cars or trees around. interaction is key. I once visited a family friend and I noticed her 4 year old speaking with a ‘slanging American’ accent. His Mom says all he watches is cartoons. This may seem funny but it’s true.

9. Educational Toys

Investing in educational & interactive toys is worth it, trust me. Most of these toys have colourful buttons which when pressed belts out sing-a-along songs and phrases. I bought this FisherPrice Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Remote from Marina mall way back when she was 4 months.

This laptop by Leap Frog is also powerful for teaching your toddler words and other phrases. When she presses a letter, the digital puppy says a word which she repeats back.

It’s not easy doing these on a daily affair but it’s highly rewarding to watch how your child develops in speech and mental abilities at an early stage. As a new parent, make the time to interact and engage with your child from an early age to help develop them mentally and emotionally. Don’t leave everything to tech and teachers. Before you know it, they are grown and not interested in spending time with you either. I hope you have picked up some useful tips here. Do share your own tips on how you encouraged your baby to start speaking early in the comments section.