Before you know it, your child will transform from a babbling baby to a gabbing grade-schooler. While she’ll reach this milestone in her own time -- simply by watching, listening, and engaging with you -- you can encourage speech development using these four tips.

Keep up the conversation, even if it feels one-sided
At this young age, constant chatter is a great way to introduce new vocabulary and foster speech development. Talk to your baby throughout the day as you go about your chores, even if it feels silly. Tell her about the pasta you’re cooking, talk about the color of the clothes you’re folding, or point out the shoes you pass by at the mall. Even if your child can’t respond yet, she is always listening and understands more than you think.

Focus on speech development during story time
Reading to your baby is an important part of speech development. The act of reading introduces your child to new words, and looking at pictures together helps your baby understand the idea that everything has a name. Point to, say, a car in an illustration and say “car” aloud, encouraging your baby to repeat it after you.

Resist baby talk
Your child’s first words probably won’t sound like real words. For example, “daw” might mean dog to her. While it’s important to acknowledge these words, resist the urge to use them while talking to her, no matter how adorable they sound. Instead, when you repeat the word back to your baby, use the proper pronunciation so she’ll eventually make the correction.

Narrate your baby’s actions to improve associations
By the end of her first year, your baby may be communicating by pointing or crawling toward what she’s trying to convey. Encourage her attempts and expand your little one’s vocabulary by narrating what she’s doing. If you notice your baby reaching for her sippy cup, for example, say, “Oh, you want your cup!” This narration will help her connect the name to the object, and she’ll eventually stop pointing and start asking for it instead.

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From the day he was born, your baby has been trying to communicate with you. That’s what all the crying, smiling, cooing, and babbling have been about. He’s saying, “I’m hungry,” “I’m sleepy,” “You make me happy,” and “I love you.” With each passing day, his communication skills improve. Sometime around your baby’s first birthday, he’ll probably come out with his first real word.

What’s more, speech development and social skills go hand in hand. Learning how to express his thoughts, wants, and needs will eventually help your child learn to connect with the people around him and become a sociable toddler. How can you support this amazing process?

•     Help your child find words. At 6 to 12 months, your baby isn’t ready to start talking yet, but when he puts forth a syllable, he’s making an attempt at words. So when he says, “ba,” help him out: “Are you looking for your ball? Do you want your bottle? Where did you put your book?” Speak slowly and enunciate clearly so he can hear the different sounds and connect them to what they mean.

•     Pay attention to your child’s nonverbal communications. Speech isn’t the only means of communication your baby will use. Between 8 and 12 months, he may start sending more and more nonverbal messages by pointing, gesturing, looking at what he wants, making faces, and even dancing. Grabbing a toy and banging it on the table may mean, “May I have your attention, please?” or “I’m so happy with my truck!” Whatever he does, take notice and respond.

•     Have conversations with your child. While you can’t expect your baby to talk back at this age, asking questions and waiting for a response teaches him the rhythm of conversation: You talk and I listen, then I talk and you listen. And don’t forget to respond when your little one cuts loose with baby babble. You may not understand his words, but it will encourage him to keep trying if you engage him.

•     Narrate your day. Tell your baby what you’re doing, ask him what he wants, and name what you’re seeing: “Let’s go find your blocks. Do you want the red one or the blue one? Oh, look! There’s your stuffed bear.” Rest assured that even though he can’t reply with words yet, he’s listening to and learning from everything you say.

•     Read to your child. Sharing books is an important way to support your baby’s early childhood development. It reinforces the power of words and helps your child move forward on the road to literacy, language, and learning.

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From the day your baby is born, you long to hear her form those precious first words. In the meantime, though, there’s plenty you can do to help get your baby talking.

Within the first eight to ten weeks of her life, your infant’s vocal tract will likely have matured enough to allow her to make her first coos. These will be one-syllable squeaks and squeals, and vowel sounds like “eh,” “ah,” and “uh.” By 4 months, you might start hearing consonant sounds like “ba,” “pa,” and “ma,” and by 10 to 12 months, your baby might utter her first words, which will often be “mama” or “dada.”

The great news is that you can help encourage your baby’s speech development. A baby's relationship and interactions with the people closest to her offer the best possible opportunities for language development. 

Here are simple, fun ways you can help get the conversation flowing.

• Get chatty. Whether you’re narrating a diaper change, making animal sounds, or discussing the state of the union, listening to you talk is the primary way your baby learns language. The key is to speak slowly and melodically, exaggerating the highs and lows of your pitch.
   
• Answer back. Tune in to what your baby is telling you with her eyes, facial expressions, and gestures. For example, say things like, “You've had enough milk? No more milk!” and “Yes, that is a scary noise!” This lets your baby know that you care about what she thinks and feels, and it encourages her to continue communicating. Pause after asking questions to indicate that it’s her turn to speak.
   
• Read to your baby. Make reading baby books part of your daily routine. Studies show that children who are read to frequently in early childhood have larger vocabularies and better grammar than those who aren't.
   
• Strike a chord. Singing nursery rhymes, pop songs, and even your own silly made-up tunes (“It’s pajama time, yeah, yeah!”) will catch your baby’s interest and boost her attention span.
   
• Say hola and bonjour. If you’d love for your baby to be bilingual, she’ll have an easier time learning to speak a foreign language if you expose her to it when she’s young (ideally before 9 months) and her brain is still forming connections.
   
• Be a narrator. Point out and label things in your environment wherever you go. Babies learn by hearing, mimicking, and repeating, and less so from what they see on TV. So even when it may be tempting to turn on a video, your baby will learn more from you when you narrate how you empty the dishwasher, select foods at the supermarket, or clean up the toy room.

All the cooing, singing, talking, reading, and narrating will pay off when you hear those magical first words. The more you continue to engage your baby, the more you’ll boost her language skills.

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Your baby rolling over is her first way of moving around on her own, and it’s just a preview of the exciting motor developments soon to come, like crawling, standing, and walking. Find out when your baby will take her first roll, plus how to keep your little tumbler safe.

When will your baby roll over?
She could roll herself from back to front as early as 3 months, though she might not be able to reverse the move from front to back until about 6 months of age. Anything in between is considered normal motor development.

If your baby hasn’t started rolling yet, watch for these signs, which indicate that she could start very soon: First, she’ll begin using her arms to arch her back and lift her chest. She’ll also start to rock on her stomach and kick her legs, and she might even try to make little swimming motions with her arms.

This is a very exciting time for both you and your baby, as she puts all her energy into these efforts and you encourage her. When she finally succeeds, it will be a thrilling and strong bonding moment for both of you.

If you want to help encourage your baby to roll over, there are plenty of things you can do:

1.    Use the power of eye-catching baby toys. You can place a few of your baby’s favorites just out of reach to encourage her to move toward them. 

2.    Remember tummy time. By spending time on her stomach, your baby will work to push on her arms and arch her back to lift her head and chest. These are important motor development skills and muscle-building activities that eventually lead to rolling.

3.    Be enthusiastic! Your baby will respond to the excitement in your voice and your happy expression when she does something right, so stay upbeat.

All these movements strengthen your baby’s body, preparing her to roll over for the very first time. It’s your job to be ready when she does, so always keep a close eye on her when she’s on a high surface, like the bed or her changing table. Otherwise, she might try to scoot right off.

Once your baby rolls over for the first time, there’s no stopping her! Rolling is usually the precursor to crawling -- but some babies love rolling so much, they opt to do it (or other movements like scooting or slithering) over crawling.

Finally, an important note about motor development: Most babies start rolling by the time they reach the 6-month mark. If yours hasn’t, check in with your pediatrician to make sure everything’s on track. Every baby develops at her own speed, but double-checking with the doctor and sharing your concerns is always a good idea.

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You’re no stranger to baby games. You’ve made a million funny faces, shaken a rattle until your arm ached, and sung so many silly songs that your voice grew hoarse. Playing with your baby is one of the best parts of parenthood, but it’s normal to reach a moment where you think, “I’m totally out of ideas!”

If you’re looking for new ways to interact with and engage your baby, try these creative and free suggestions.

Words, sounds, and voices

One easy way to engage your baby is to play the narration baby game. For example, when unloading the dishwasher, say, “Mommy is putting away the dishes. Look at this white square -- it’s a plate!” Or walk around the house, pick up a variety of objects, state their names, and hand them to your baby to investigate. Just be sure to never let your baby play with an object that’s small enough to fit entirely in his mouth, since that’s a choking hazard.

Reading is another great activity to help with cognitive development. Although you are probably dying to know what happens to that very hungry caterpillar, don’t worry if your baby loses focus before the end. For him, reading is more about sharing the experience than getting through the story.

Sensory experiences

At this age, it’s important to engage your baby’s five senses: touch, sight, sound, taste, and smell. Hang out in your closet and let your baby run his fingers over all the different fabrics. Sit under a tree and stare at the leaves. Other fun baby activities include pulling out pots and pans of all sizes and tapping on each one, letting your baby hear how different objects make unique noises. You can also let your baby sniff fruits and vegetables as you slice them to help develop his sense of smell.

Floor time

Spread a soft blanket out on the floor and place your baby on his tummy. “Tummy time” is very important for motor development, as it engages neck and back muscles and helps prepare your baby for crawling. Some babies fuss on their stomachs, so get down on your baby’s level and interact with him to help keep him happy.

Get creative

Sometimes parents feel pressure to buy their children new and expensive toys, but if you look around your house, there are tons of everyday items you can use to safely engage your child in baby play. Whether you’re making a tower out of measuring cups, building a fort from sheets, or rolling an orange around the kitchen floor, every way you engage your baby is the right way.

The best part of being a parent is looking at the world with fresh eyes. Get creative and let the good times roll.

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