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Simple Ways To Track Your Baby's Communication Skills

Hearing your baby utter his first word is a memorable event. And what parent hasn't wished for -- and encouraged -- that moment to come sooner than it does? But it's important to remember that babies develop language skills at their own pace. There are tremendous individual differences during the first year of life...

By M.E. Vier for Your Baby Today

Hearing your baby utter his first word is a memorable event. And what parent hasn't wished for -- and encouraged -- that moment to come sooner than it does? But it's important to remember that babies develop language skills at their own pace. There are tremendous individual differences during the first year of life, says Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, director of the Infant Language Project at University of Delaware and co-author of How Babies Talk (Penguin Putnam). 

That's not to say that a parent can't create a supportive and interactive environment for language learning. Doctors Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (the other co-author of How Babies Talk, and director of the Infant Language Laboratory at Temple University) are two key researchers in the field of baby language comprehension and development. They've designed some simple tests that a parent can do at home to help gauge and enhance language development. Below are a few of the exercises to try during the first year.
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