My husband and I began talking to baby Clarisse the day she was born. Some people say it’s silly to talk to newborns. They wouldn’t understand a single word you’re saying anyway. To us, it didn’t matter whether our baby was able to understand what we’re saying. The important thing is, we give our baby a sense of communication which will help them develop better speech ability faster. Studies also show babies pick up languages as much from second-hand dialogue, that is communication between parents, family and friends indirectly.

Baby Clarisse uttered her first “ah-goo” when she was around 2 1/2 months. My husband and I were so delighted to hear her cute voice. Here are some of the ways how I talk to Clarisse.

• I always tell Clarisse whenever I do anything with her. Your newborn baby might not get what you’re saying but if you tell her the same thing everyday, she will soon understand what you are telling her. Learning through repetition.For instance, just before bath time, I will always make a happy face with happy sound saying “time to play water … play water”. It doesn’t take long before she recognises those words and shows her excitement whenever I mention the phrase “let’s play water”. And when I change her clothes, I will tell her “Momma is taking off Clarisse shirt.” You will be suprised how quickly your newborn baby understands what you are doing.
• Asking questions. Just because they can’t answer you, doesn’t mean you can’t ask. For example, holding two dresses, one on each hand, I would ask her “Which dress you want to wear today? The yellow or the pink one?”. Smile and look at her in the eyes. Pause for a few seconds and make it seem as if you’re waiting for an answer. Finally, just make a decision and say it out loud like “Oh, you like the yellow dress don’t you!”
• Talking to your baby demands simple phrases and sentences. Make it easy for her to pick up individual words as your newborn baby grows. Personally, I use these simple sentences or phrases like “yellow duckie”, “play water”, “sit in papa’s car”, “drink momma’s milk” or “go for a walk”.
• Leave pronouns like “me”, “you” or “I” out when talking to your newborn baby. Therefore, I call myself “momma” and my baby by name. For example, ” … momma is taking off Clarisse’s diapers.”
• Babies tend to prefer high-pitched voices. Do you notice your newborn baby is more comfortable with mother’s voice than father’s voice? Therefore, try to talk to your baby by raising your pitch and watch her reaction. Even my husband use high-pitched falsetto sometimes, which is sure to attract Clarisse’s attention.
• My baby Clarisse absolutely loves the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Her grandma started to sing this song to her when she was 2 months old and now it is one of her favorite songs. Grandma also bought her a doll that sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Clarisse’s eyes would light up and her face smiling in excitement whenever we sing it to her. And no matter how bad we sound, she doesn’t mind at all.
• Recently, I’m starting to read out simple story books to baby Clarisse. Obviously she enjoys the visual cues of the book more than the words and again, may not understand what I’m talking about. But as long as she seems to enjoy herself when I’m reading to her, I guess I’ll keep doing that.
• I also tend to imitate the noises Clarisse make. If she goes “ah goo”, I’ll “ah goo” back. If she makes a cooing sound, I coo. I hope that by doing so, Clarisse would do the same to me when she grows, imitating what adults are saying and learn languages.