Listening Begins in Utero
Listening and Language Begins in the Womb
The most significant sound your baby hears in the womb is their mother’s voice. Before your child was even born, she was listening to your words through the sound of your voice. Research has shown that fetuses in the third trimester know their own mother’s voice because an increase in heart rate and non-nutritive sucking has been documented. It has also been observed that parents adjust their speech patterns when talking to their infants by exaggerating sounds and pitch. Parents also adjust their facial expressions, when talking to their infant, by opening their mouth wider and raising their eyebrows.
Altering one’s regular speech pattern to gain the infant’s attention is called infant-directed speech, “motherese”, “parentese” or more commonly “baby talk.” Studies have shown that baby talk is preferred by infants and therefore is more effective in getting their attention. It had been determined that baby talk is an important part of the emotional bonding process between parents and their children that helps infants learn language. Researchers are also raising the question of whether baby talk promotes brain development, influencing emotional expression and behavior later in life.
It is through your words and the way in which you speak them, that you will begin the lifelong dance of interaction and relationship with your child. Most child developmentalists agree, that the amount and type of language an infant hears has an impact on her development. Language stimulation is one of the best predictors of later vocabulary, reading and mathematical skills.
Some ways to enrich your young child’s development through language is through songs, nursery rhymes, and reading aloud. As they begin to converse, it is important to engage children in open-ended conversations. All these activities will help build attachment between you and your child.
As a new parent, choosing your words with your child is easy because she can’t talk back, question or disagree. You have all the power and control in the conversation. Enjoy it while it lasts. Because once your child becomes a preschooler, she will start asking “Why” questions. Chances are you may have to answer 20 of them before you have even finished your first morning coffee.
As your child grows, your words will be the tools you will rely on to build the type of relationship you want to create with your child. You will use them to praise, re-direct behavior, educate, and love.
Psychologist Edward Thorndike, famous for his work on operant conditioning, wrote, “Colors fade, temples crumble, empires fall but wise words endure.”
What wise words do you want to endure for your children?
September 2023
