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  Everyone wants the best for their child. The easy road seems appealing, but it does not usually give the desired results. Learning a language is no exception to this rule. It seems appealing to plunk an infant in front of a foreign language dvd-developed especially for babies-and hope s/he will be a fluent speaker/communicator/orator. However, studies have shown that there is no substitute for human interaction. These same studies also suggest that the more time an infant spends in front of the TV screen, the worse the vocabulary of that child.

  So, if the TV approach does not work, then what does? One simple method is to exercise patience with your infant as s/he tries to communicate. Just be there to hear, and the child will continue to try to express feelings through the beginnings of language.

  There are many other habits you can develop that will foster language growth in your baby. Reading is a great tool and provides the basis for many skills including language. Singing songs with your child is a great benefit to language development. The tunes and the repetition are helpful for making connections with words-and you. Homemade books are also one useful way to provide the repetition required for an infant to learn a language.

  Caregivers and parents instinctively provide language cues for babies. Talking about what the child is doing-whether it be crying or cooing-gives them ways to identify and remember words. An activity which may not come so naturally is to talk to your child about what you are doing. Explaining your actions will give a basis for baby to remember those words, and reference the same action-and words-later. The best way to help your child learn to communicate is to spend positive time interacting with your baby-letting words, actions, sounds and song build a strong language foundation.