Babies need more than “baby talk.” Use real words and names to describe the world around you. 

Talk and explore with your toddler. Explain the things you are doing together to help build vocabulary and important life skills. 

Reread your child’s favorite books. By age 3, children can complete sentences in familiar stories. Read favorite books over and over to help them learn through repetition.  

Animal noises are great first sounds for babies. Animal sounds are your baby’s first steps to saying words! Sounds come before words. 

Count objects on the page. As you read to your child, count objects on the page together to help strengthen early math skills. 

Make reading a part of your daily routine. If you read with your child just 30 minutes a day, they will be exposed to more than 900 hours of literacy learning before kindergarten. 

Read to your baby, even before it seems they will understand. Your voice or signing is helping your baby’s brain develop. They love your voice and interactions!  

Scribbling is an early form of writing. Ask your child to “read” what they have written.  

Singing often breaks up syllables by assigning them different notes which makes them easier to hear. 

Encourage your newborn’s speech. As they “coo and gurgle,” talk back, repeating the sounds. 

Take turns holding a book and pointing at the pictures. Let your toddler turn the pages of a board book and respond to them when they point or react to the story. 

Play a rhyming game. Name a word and see if your child can name others that rhyme with it.