A baby also babbles more if they get positive reinforcement.
I am not finding the link right now, but there were some researchers who attached a mic to very young babies that could pick up very faint sounds and an earphone to their caregivers and the researchers listened carefully to the baby and signaled the caregiver to touch the baby every time the baby made a (basically inaudible) intentional speech sound. After a short time the baby started producing a lot more of those sounds.
Similarly, since babies can’t really talk, caregivers can advance their communication by a few months by teaching them a simple sign language.
(Disclaimer: I didn’t do either of these things with my 2 year old. Just read about it.)
I am not finding the link right now, but there were some researchers who attached a mic to very young babies that could pick up very faint sounds and an earphone to their caregivers and the researchers listened carefully to the baby and signaled the caregiver to touch the baby every time the baby made a (basically inaudible) intentional speech sound. After a short time the baby started producing a lot more of those sounds.
Similarly, since babies can’t really talk, caregivers can advance their communication by a few months by teaching them a simple sign language.
(Disclaimer: I didn’t do either of these things with my 2 year old. Just read about it.)