Looking at personalized baby gifts is a good reminder that talking to babies is important for promoting natural development. The personalized kid’s room sign, peg rack or stool introduces children to letters as soon as they are able to focus on the graphics and use the items. They also provide parents an opportunity to connect language and letters.
For example, when it is time to enter the child’s room, mom can stop and show the toddler the name sign on the door. Pronouncing the baby’s name and pointing out letters promotes early learning. Studies have shown that talking to babies from birth helps the child learn language at an earlier age, while also leading to a larger vocabulary. Using personalized baby gifts as a means of connecting writing and speech helps a child expand their capacity to process works.
Giving Gifts that Promote Language Development
In the book “Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children”, researchers by Betty Hart, Ph.D. and Toddy Risley, Ph.D. discuss ways to give a child a learning head start. The interesting results were that families who talk more to their babies beginning at birth have children that develop a higher IQ. Even infants that cannot respond are listening. The researchers point out that the infant’s brain is well developed and the baby is absorbing the sounds. While talking, encourage the baby to coo or make sounds because that promotes speech development. When you respond to the cooing and sounds, it is a true conversation going on.
Personalized baby gifts make perfect cues for speech. Like the door sign, personalized items give parents new ideas for talking to infants. When a baby is discovered to be gazing at the letters or graphics on a personalized baby plate, it is the perfect time to talk about colors, pictures and letters. Your child may not be able to understand what a letter or picture is at that point, but the more information you provide, the more the child will learn. One day you will be quite surprised when your young son or daughter starts telling you about the pictures, instead of the other way around.
Make Personalization a Preference
If someone is going to hold a baby shower and asks for gift preferences, you should request personalized items. Anything that has personalization can serve as a conversation-starter (so to speak). There are many different types of gifts that can be personalized, including baby blankets, clothes, bibs, wood stools and cabinets, baby plates, and much more.
Also on your list of preferences should be items like baby books and music, baby alphabet toys, and puzzles because they can also promote language development. The key to developing high language skills in infants and toddlers is the two-way exchange. Infants will respond in their own way and should be encouraged to do so as often as possible.
