How do you talk to a baby

The roads to communication with a baby are endless, and each parent travels some more than others. Here are some you may want to take:

Do a running commentary: Don’t make a move, at least when you are around your baby, without talking about it. Narrate the dressing process: “ Now I’m putting nappy….here goes the T-shirt over your head…. Now I’m buttoning your dungarees”. In kitchen describe washing of dishes, or process of making a dish. During the bath explain about the soap and rinsing, and that a shampoo makes the hair shiny and clean. It doesn’t matter that your baby hasn’t the slightest inkling of what you’re talking about. Blow-by-bowl descriptions help get you talking and baby listening – thereby starting him or her on the path to understanding.

Ask a lot: Don’t wait until your baby starts having answers to start asking questions. Think of yourself as a reporter, your baby as an intriguing interviewer. The questions can be as varied as your day: ‘Would you like to wear the red trouser or the green one?’ ‘Isn’t the sky a beautiful blue today?’ ‘Should I buy green beans or broccoli for dinner?’ Pause for an answer ( one day your baby will surprise you with one), and then supply the answer yourself, out loud (‘Broccoli? Good choice’).

Give baby a chance: Studies show that infants whose parents talk with them rather than at them learn to talk earlier. Give your baby a chance to get in a coo, a gurgle or a giggle. In your running commentaries, be sure to leave some openings for baby’s comments.

Keep it simple – some of the time: Though in the second month your baby would probably derive listening pleasure from a dramatic recitation of Hamlet’s soliloquy or an animated assessment of the economy, as he or she gets bit older, you’ll want to make it easier to pick out individual words. So at least part of the time, make a conscious effort to use simple sentences and phrases: ‘See the light’, ‘Bye-bye’, ‘Baby’s fingers, baby’s toes’, and ‘Nice doggie’.

Put aside pronouns: It’s difficult for a baby to grasp that ‘I’ or ‘me’ or ‘you’ can be mummy, or daddy, or grandma, or even baby – depending on who’s talking. So most of the time, refer to yourself as ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’ or ‘grandma’ and to your baby by name: ‘Now mummy is going to change Sonu’s nappy’.

Raise your pitch: Most babies prefer a high pitched voice, which may be why women’s voices are usually naturally higher-pitched than men’s, and why most mothers’ voices climb an octave or two when addressing their infants. Try raising your pitch when talking directly to your baby, and watch the reaction.

Imitate: Babies love the flattery that comes with imitation. When baby coos, coo back; when he or she utters and ‘Ahh’ , utter one, too. Imitation will quickly become a game that you’ll both enjoy, and which will set the foundation for baby’s imitating your language – it will also help build self-esteem (‘What I say matters’).

Set it to music: Don’t worry if you can’t carry a tune – little babies are notoriously undiscriminating when it comes to music. They’ll love what you sing to them whether it’s a current hit, an old favorite or just some nonsense you’ve set to familiar tune.

Read aloud: Though at first the words will have no meaning to baby, it’s never too early to begin reading some simple rhyming stories or board books out loud. When you aren’t in the mood for baby talk and crave some adult-level stimulation, share your love of literature (or recipes or gossip or politics) with your little one by reading what you like to read, aloud.

Take your clues from baby: Incessant chatter and song can be tiresome for anyone, even an infant. When your baby becomes inattentive to your wordplay, close or averts his or her eyes, become fussy or cranky, or otherwise indicates the verbal saturation point has been reached, give it a rest.

Newborn's Reflexes

Mother nature pulls out all the stops when it comes to newborn babies, providing them with a set of inborn reflexes designed to protect these especially vulnerable creatures and ensure their care. Some of these primitive behaviours are spontaneous, while others are responses to certain actions.

Startle, or Moro, reflex.

When startled by a sudden or loud noise, or a feeling of falling, the Moro reflex will cause the baby to extend the legs, arms and fingers, arch the back, draw the head back, then draw the arms back, fists clenched, into the chest.

Duration: Four to six months.

Babinski's, or plantar, reflex.

When the sole of a baby's foot is gently stroked from the heel to toe, the baby's toes flare upwards and the foot turns in.

Duration: Between six months and two years, after which toes curl downwards.

Rooting reflex.

A Newborn whose cheek is gently stroked will turn in the direction of the stimulus, mouth open and ready to suckle. This reflex helps the baby locate the breast or bottle and secure a meal.

Duration: About three to four months, though it may persist when baby is sleeping.

Walking, or stepping, reflex.

Held upright on a table or other flat surface, supported under the arms, a newborn may lift one leg and then the other, taking what seem to be 'steps'. This 'practice walking' reflex works best after the fourth day of life.

Duration: Variable, but typically about two months.

Sucking reflex.

A newborn will reflexively suck when the roof of his or her mouth is touched, such as when a nipple is placed in the mouth.

Duration: Present at birth and lasts until two to four months, when voluntary sucking takes over.

Palmar grasping reflex.

Touch the palm of your baby's hand and his or her fingers will curl around and cling to your finger. An interesting bit of baby trivia: newborns grasp may be powerful enough to support full body weight - but don't try this at home or anywhere. Some more trivia: This reflex curls babies' feet and toes, too, when they're touched.

Duration: Three to six months.

Tonic neck, or fencing, reflex.

Placed on the back, a young baby will assume a 'fencing position' , head one side, with arms and legs on that side extended and the opposite limbs flexed. En grade!

Duration: Varies a lot. it may be present at birth or may not appear for at least two months, and disappear at about four to six months - or sooner, or later.

A Pen that Records the Writer’s Emotions, being developed by Philips

The pen is undoubtedly mightier than the sword. For many of us our words are a way to vent our emotions, may it be in the form of articles, blog entries or perhaps poetries and autobiographies. But have you ever wondered how amazing would it be if your pen could actually reveal your state of mind and emotional state whilst you are using it to pen down something. Well, here it is! Philips has developed a truly amazing pen that can tell the writer’s exact emotional condition when he or she is writing something. Well this intuitive pen incorporates sensors that help in revealing the emotions, by finding physiological factors like heartbeat, blood pressure, skin temperature, and finger pressure. Further on, the pen includes a small actuator that has the ability to alter the properties of the line it traces out by changing inks and modifying the shape of the writing tip. The writer’s emotional condition if then concluded by an integrated chip that transforms the color and quality of the trace accordingly. The New Scientist magazine had a rather interesting quote by Philips: “Signatures are currently always the same, yet some documents will be signed with enthusiasm, others possibly with hesitation. Having a recording of this could be useful for historical reasons.” But all the same if you are not too keen for things to get very transparent, then you have a choice to simply change the on-off switch to “off” option to inactivate this function.