Talk, rhyme, read and play with your baby every day.

The fi rst three years of your baby’s life are very important for brain development. As great parents, you can make a real difference by using this window of opportunity to support your baby’s learning at home. There are four simple things you can do right from the start that will help your baby grow into a smart and happy child.

Sing rhymes to your baby.Even if you think you can’t sing, try singing your favourite TV commercial, or the theme song for your football team. Watch your baby’s face light up when you do. If you sing the same songs, your baby will soon have a favourite, which will come in handy when your baby needs comforting.

Try to remember a few nursery rhymes and sing them as often as you can. Think you don’t know any nursery rhymes? What comes after Twinkle twinkle? See, you know at least one! Nursery rhymes are a wonderful way for babies to learn about language.

Research shows that a child who knows eight nursery rhymes by the time they are four years old will most likely be a strong reader at school. So sing as much as you can to your baby right from the start to help make learning easy later on.

For some nursery rhyme ideas, try the free Baby Karaoke app from: http://raisingchildren.net.au/

Talk to your baby.Right from the start your baby will love to hear the sound of your voice, so talk to your baby as much as you can. You can talk about anything; their cute nose or what you’re cooking for dinner. It doesn’t matter that your baby doesn’t understand what you are saying. It’s the tone of your voice that’s important.

To learn about language a baby needs to hear real voices speaking thousands of words a day. They also need to hear words and phrases repeated many times – no; television doesn’t count.

The richer the language environment a baby experiences, the more words they learn. This will help make learning easier when they get to school.

TIP: Turn the pram to face you as much as possible, even when you’re talking on the phone. Your baby will love to look at your face as well as hear the sound of your voice.

TIP: Bring your baby to Baby Rhyme Time at the Maryborough Library, where you and your baby can enjoy rhymes and songs with others.

PLAY with your baby.Newborn babies have very few ways to control what’s happening around them. One of them is through their gaze. When they look at you, they want you to react. Smile. Talk. Sing. Make a funny face.

Soon your baby will make a cooing noise. You coo back. Around 4 to 6 weeks your baby will start smiling. You smile back. Your baby is sending important signals and by responding to your baby’s expressions and sounds, you are helping your baby learn about communication.

Babies are great mimics. From an early age they will try to copy what you’re doing. It’s one of the ways they learn to control the thousands of muscles in their face and tongue, which will help their speech development later on.

Read to your baby.It’s never too early to start sharing books. Newborn babies love looking at books with bold shapes and faces, particularly in contrasting black and white colours. Research shows that black and white contrasts send the strongest visual signals to a young baby’s brain. Stronger signals mean more brain growth.

The best time is when your baby is peaceful and alert. Sit down somewhere quiet, cuddle up close and share a book together. You can simply talk about the pictures. Remember, your baby will love to hear the sound of your voice.

Sharing books is great fun and something you can do together for years to come. Watch what happens when a baby has been read to from a very early age:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU97IXT8MIs

TIP: The Maryborough Library has lots of books for you to borrow for your baby, including black and white board books.

TIP: When a baby looks away, don’t force yourself in their vision. They’re excited and need to calm themselves down, or they saw something else that is interesting. Trust them – they will look back at you, again and again.

Talk, rhyme, read and play with your baby every day.That way you’ll enjoy your baby, which is one of the most important things you can do for them as well as yourself.

Would you like more information?Contact the Go Goldfields Children’s Literacy Facilitators at Central Goldfields Shire Council.

Julie Gittus 0417 303 062 julieg@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au

Lisa D’Onofrio 0427 455 377 lisad@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au