Do you work with teen parents who are trying to simultaneously take care of their babies and graduate high school? Though these teens are busy with their own learning, they can encourage their babies’ learning during routine, day-to-day activities. Help your teen parents by showing them how to dramatically promote their children’s language acquisition in only a few small steps.

To begin, remind your teen parents that well-timed touches and smiles from trusted adults may encourage babies to make speech-like sounds. A Science News article “Babies Find Their Voice When Given Social Push—Babble Rousers” (June 7, 2003), examines research about how non-verbal support can ramp up babbling and give babies a head start on vocal learning. Tell your teen parents to smile and gently tickle their babies at different times during the day, including the beginning and the end of diaper-changing time. This small action will help babies vocalize expression and help parents learn that ordinary tasks, like changing their babies’ diapers, offer a chance to show their love.

What else can teen parents do to help their infants acquire language skills? When parents send text messages to friends, they can chat with their babies about what they are doing, who they are sending messages to, and why it matters to them. A baby knows she has her mother’s attention when her mother looks at her and talks about what she is doing. A young child may not yet be able to talk, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t listening! Let teen parents know their babies will need lots of listening experience before they begin saying real words. This means that the parents need to spend lots of time talking directly to their babies.

For more ideas on simple ways to encourage language development, share the LearningGames^® with your teens. The LearningGames^® activities provide many examples of ways that parents can talk with their children to help them grow and learn.