Babbling with Inflection
Here's What To Do
Exaggerate your inflection (the tone of your voice) throughout the day, when reading books, or when playing games like "peek-a-boo."
Notice if I'm babbling with a specific tone. I might sound like I'm asking a question, giving you an order, complaining, or being excited! Respond to me as if you understand everything I'm saying.
If possible, interpret aloud what I'm trying to say. If you're not sure what I mean, you can encourage me to keep babbling with a smile and by saying "Oh, really?"
You may hear me having long babbling conversations with myself when I'm alone. I use this time to practice new inflections!
Put PEER Into Action
Pause:
- Try to make eye contact when I babble so you can interpret what I'm 'saying.'
Engage:
- (exaggerate the sad tone of your voice) "Uh oh! I burnt the toast!" This helps me know that something has gone wrong, even if I don't understand the words.
- If I babble something with an excited tone, try to interpret me. Like: "Oh, yes, there's a big dump truck! That's so exciting!"
Encourage:
- After you've interpreted my babbles, ask me a question to encourage me to keep talking. Like: "Yes, I see you're mad at your toy. What happened?"
- Encourage me to practice babbling with new inflections by leaving safe toys in my crib so I have someone to "talk" to.
Reflect:
- Am I changing the tone of my voice to communicate when I babble?
Not quite ready?
Use a variety of exclamations in daily speech to model how you change your inflection. Examples: "Oops!," "Wow!," "Uh-oh!"
Ready for more?
Encourage me to match the tone of sounds in the environment, by saying things like "woo woo" for a fire truck siren, "beep beep" for a car horn, or "moo" for a cow.
As your child masters this skill...
They will vary the tone of their babbling, resembling adult speech.