Curious Baby Blog
As a parent, you might think of playtime as a fun way to keep your baby or toddler entertained, but it's so much more than that. Play is how your little one explores the world, learns about their environment, and starts understanding themselves and others. From birth to age three, your child goes through rapid physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development, and playtime plays a huge role in helping these changes happen.
Watching our children develop as they grow older is one of the most rewarding experiences a parent can have. From the first smiles and giggles to their first words and developing conversational skills, seeing children learn how to interact with the world around them is both fascinating and downright entertaining. But many of us aren’t sure exactly what to look for to ensure our little ones are cognitively on track. So, what should we be looking for, and when should we watch for it? How should we be fostering this kind of development among our children?
Language development in infants and toddlers is a complex process affected by various factors, including parental interaction, environmental stimuli, and biological predispositions. Among these factors, the use of "baby talk" or "parentese" stands out as a particularly intriguing and often debated subject. Baby talk, characterized by its exaggerated intonation, simple vocabulary, and high-pitched tone, is a form of communication many parents instinctively adopt when interacting with their infants. But is it beneficial or harmful to a baby's language development?
As parents, we want the best for our children and naturally worry about their health and development. We watch eagerly for those first smiles, steps, and words, hoping for milestones that signal our babies are developing typically. But what happens when those milestones don't come as expected? How can we tell if our baby has a developmental delay, and what should we do?
Spending time at home with your little one is a great way to promote connections between the two of you. While it can seem like there’s “nothing to do” at home, there are tons of fun activities you can do with your baby in the comfort of your home. Interactive play helps your baby develop cognitive, motor, language, and social skills while also spending quality time with you, strengthening the bond between parent and child.
From the day they’re born, our babies communicate with us. Whether they’re crying because they’re hungry, pointing to a toy they want, or babbling at you, children instinctively desire to communicate with the people in their lives. As they grow older, the way they communicate changes and matures along with them. By the time they’re toddlers, they’re completing full words or thoughts, learning to associate words with objects, and determining how to use their new communication tools to meet their needs (and wants).
