What is the baby trying to say?
No one understands your little one better than you, so trust yourself and everything will go smoothly. Here are some directions for your mind to explore.
Trace the crying source
Babies cry because they want to tell us something. Sometimes it is a direct physical need: hunger, sleepiness, pain or a full diaper. If you have checked those and are still wondering, it really can be everything, so trust your intuition to figure it out. Try to trace the pattern, snuggle, go for a breath of fresh air, play some music, give him or her a rub or try something you feel suits best. Don’t stress and with time you will come to understand every different cry the little one has. Moreover, when they learn other communication skills the crying will decrease drastically.
Follow the eyes, sounds and gestures
When your little one is trying to grab your attention in some way, it is best if you don’t ignore it. Any immediate and attuned response will ease them because they see you react and try to understand. That lets them know their communication is effective and will enable them to continue trying. With time, they will reach the needed response and you will learn the specifics of how your little one expresses his or her self.
Listen closely
If you leave enough time for a response when talking, your little one will be fast to learn that this is a two way process. If you get a coo or any other sound it is just polite to coo back 😉 – they will probably love it. Another technique you might want to try is asking open-ended questions: “Where does the rain come from?”, “Why is the sky blue?” Not that they will know the answer but will enjoy the attention and inspire curiosity.
Feel for their feelings
It is important for the little ones to know you empathize. If you acknowledge their feeling before correcting their behavior this will help the communication a lot. Every attempt to understand the baby’s mood changes will pay off in a much better understanding between the two of you.
Talk about feelings
In the beginning, they won’t know what they feel, so you could try to teach them the names of feelings. This will make every following communication effort much easier. Just make sure you provide them with the right words: “You are sad because mum left, I know but she will come back. Do you want to play a game?” Keep in mind that there are no good and bad feelings but each feeling has a name. The more feelings you explain to them the more emotionally intelligent they will be in life.
Narrate your life
This is an amazing strategy to teach the little ones so many things. The words for “table”, “door”, “sink” and even “universe” if you wish. It just makes a direct connection between an object and the word for it. In turn, this will allow them to start asking you more and more questions about what interests them in the world around and will build the confidence needed for the baby to try talking to you in ease.
Roleplay
It is easier for a kid to express him or herself when pretending. It is much easier for them to tell you why the stuffed Giraffe is afraid of the dark instead of saying that he or she is. That applies just to children that have started talking, but is a great tactic that is used by many psychiatrists to find what is really going on in children’s heads.
Be a role model
You know about the first seven years better than us. Make sure you communicate with people the way you want your kid to communicate with you – this is the best advice there is. After all, your baby will look up to you, so you better trust your choices 😉
What do you think helps build trust in the communication between you and the little one? We would love to hear your thoughts on our Facebook page 😉
