Hints and tips for playtime with your new baby

Congratulations on the arrival of your sweet little one! Now, take a deep breath. Things can be pretty hectic with a new person in the house. Telling day from night is also a challenge and you probably haven’t quite worked out what this little human wants, so be easy on yourself.

Looking into the eyes of this wiggling, grunty little person you might not be quite sure how to strike up a conversation with them. Try these tips below to maximise your baby’s learning.

Respond to your baby's communication

Watching out for your baby’s attempts to communicate and responding is important for language skills and social development. Researchers call this the ‘serve and return’ phenomenon and it is essential for building connections in your baby’s rapidly developing brain.

For example, if your baby makes a sound, wait until they have finished and make the same sound back to them. If your baby touches your mouth, look at them and kiss their hand.

Learn more about the importance of ‘serve and return’ interactions by clicking here.

Talk about what is happening in the 'here and now'.

  • Talk about what your baby can see, smell, feel and hear.
    • ‘What a noisy doggie. Woof woof woof. The doggie says woof’.
    • ‘Look at the shadow. Mummy’s waving. Hi my baby’.
  • Talk about how your baby is feeling.
    • ‘Yawn. You’re tired. Time for sleeping’
    • ‘Oh baby. You have  a sore tummy. Rub, rub, rub’.
  • Talk about what you are doing
    • ‘Daddy’s cooking dinner. Stir the soup.’
    • ‘Mummy’s making coffee. Pour in the milk.’

Use short but grammatically correct phrases.

  • Try ‘Wow baby. Big smiles. What a clever baby. You are happy. Look at that smile.’ instead of ‘I can see that you must be a very happy baby because you gave me such a wide smile’

Turn off background noise

Babies find it very difficult to focus on your speech. They haven’t learned how to ‘tune out’ background noises. Make sure you turn off the radio and TV when you are spending time talking together.

Phones away

Your baby desperately wants to see your face. They learn so much from your facial expression and watching your mouth move. Looking at your baby teaches them the importance of eye contact.

Make sure you put your phone away when you are talking and playing with your baby. Trust me, nothing is more important than talking with your baby.

Talk directly to your baby

Research tells us that we need to talk directly to our baby. Your baby finds it hard to learn words when you talk to your partner or to other adults around them. This is because the words are often spoken too quickly or in sentences that are too complex.

Turn off the TV

We know from research that children under two do not learn from watching TV or videos on other devices. It is important that you turn off the TV when you are with your baby because:

  • noises and movement on the TV are distracting to your baby
  • TV is often over-stimulating
  • you will be more focused on your baby and will talk more

Find out what the latest research says about why screen time hinders language development.

Baby Sign Language

Using baby sign language is a great way to teach your child how to talk. Don’t worry if you’re not doing this from day one. Give yourself time to settle into life with your  little one and when you’re ready learn how to sign with your baby.