A baby’s ability to listen to and look at his parents plays an important role in the development of language. A baby’s innate desire to interact, especially with his parents, provides a framework that later spoken language fits into. By talking to your baby while you were pregnant, you exposed him to language and began equipping him to process what he hears with greater clarity as a newborn. Also, using a high‑pitched, exaggerated baby talk, often called ‘motherese’ or ‘parentese’, with your infant helps your baby begin to understand the parts of speech and distinguish between sounds and words. So, follow the inclination of parents around the world to speak slowly, clearly, and in a high pitch to your baby while remembering to watch for your baby’s cues for over-stimulation. Here are a few auditory exploration suggestions:

• Sing to your baby.
  
• Attend to his crying with a soothing voice.
• Reward his sounds with smiles and praise.
• Play soothing music for short periods of time.
• Talk to your baby as you go about your day.
• Read aloud to your baby from your favorite children's book - it is never too early to start reading books to babies!

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