Babies learn from the moment they’re born. They learn about their parents, themselves, and the world around them. ​

Did you know..?

From birth, most babies:

• can see and hear
• begin to communicate by sending cues about what they need
• start to form deep bonds with their parents

Parents’ positive relationships and how they interact with their children every day are the foundations for healthy development.

Children’s experiences shape their development and give them the chance to learn new things, grow, and thrive.

In the first few months after birth, the brain develops faster than any other time in a person’s life.

• Brain cell connections are created through everyday experiences and interactions - the things children do, see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.
• The more often the experience happens—positive or negative—the stronger that brain connection becomes.
• These connections are needed to learn language and speech and later on, reading and writing.

What you can do

• Show your baby that you’re happy about being together by smiling and talking gently.
• Talk and sing to your baby every day. Tell her about everything that she’s seeing and feeling. It doesn’t matter what you say or how well you sing!
• Soothe your baby when she cries by holding, hugging, and cuddling her. By doing this, you’re letting her know that you love her and helping her to form strong bonds.
• Play with your baby! Give her lots of things to look at, touch, and grab.

Where to go get help

For more information about how speech-language pathologists and audiologists can help, contact:

• Your doctor, public health nurse, or other health provider
• Your local health centre
• Visit the Talk Box - A parent guide to creating language rich environments