Six weeks - 3 1/2 months, your child will
- Listen to sounds around her.
- Turn her head when she hears a familiar voice.
- Make sounds with her saliva.
- Begin babbling and making the same sounds again and again.
Some ways you can help:
- Talk to your baby about her surroundings, what she is doing and what you are doing.
- Tell her about what she sees, hears and feels.
- Give her a variety of objects to hear, see and feel, and describe them as she observes or touches them.
- Sing to your baby.
- Respond to your baby when she coos and gurgles, so she will know that crying is not the only way to get your attention.
- Imitate the sounds that she makes to reinforce her efforts and encourage her to continue. Taking turns making sounds is called reciprocal vocalizations.
- Provide music in the form of bells, wind-up toys, records or tapes as a way to stimulate her interest in sounds.
As the Parents as Teachers website states, most of their examples are basic, the kind of thing grandparents usually would teach the baby's parents. However, sometimes your own mother isn't around, has passed away, doesn't live in the community or you simply don't get along that well. For one last example from Parents as Teachers, before we move on, click here.
NEXT: A second example from the Parents as Teachers curriculum