Your baby is babbling chains of sounds and starting to respond when you call their name—communication is blooming.
These activities encourage canonical babbling, name recognition, and the joint attention skills that are the foundation of conversational language.
Your baby can transfer toys between hands now. Offer objects of different shapes and textures—this two-handed play builds brain connections.
Supported sitting opens up a whole new world. Prop your baby with pillows or sit them between your legs so they can play with both hands free.
Everything goes in the mouth, and that's fine—it's how babies learn about textures and shapes. Just make sure materials are safe and large enough.
Fill a basket with safe textured objects and narrate what baby touches — smooth, bumpy, soft, crinkly — pairing sensory exploration with descriptive words.
Use soft rattles and your voice from different positions to encourage your baby to turn toward sounds — a foundational skill for language development.
Introduce simple signs for 'more,' 'all done,' and 'eat' during meals — giving your baby a way to communicate before words come along.
Snuggle up with a high-contrast board book and narrate the pictures using an animated voice — building your newborn's love of stories from day one.
Point to pictures in a sturdy board book and name them with enthusiasm — building your baby's vocabulary long before they can say the words themselves.
Play peek-a-boo with favorite toys, naming each one as it appears — combining the thrill of surprise with vocabulary building.