The Talking Baby: 09/10/10

I'm a parent. I have two children. My youngest will starting kindergarten a year from now. When my oldest was an infant, baby signs as a stop gap for communication was the hot parenting trend. Putting all that effort into a sign language variant seemed futile for both me and my son. Instead I followed my mother's advice which was: "just talk constantly."

So when I was given the opportunity to review The Talking Baby by Jeremy and Karina Sweet I said yes. I was curious to see what suggestions they'd have for encouraging language acquisition for infants.

The Talking Baby is a slim volume, at 57 pages (counting the resources). The book has one to two page topics, each with a cartoon illustration to highlight the key concepts. The topics are things like: providing a happy home, being like a cartoon character, repetition, words to begin with, adding a second language into the mix and so forth. All of the advice is very straight forward and reassuring. It's the sort of stuff parents do naturally but might not think about or understand the benefits of certain techniques.

As other reviewers have said, the book is probably best for parents of children under two. If you're a parent of a child between six and eighteen months, this book should be on your radar.

Comments (6)

Comment #1: Saturday, September, 11, 2010 at 19:16:43

Carin S.

There's a chapter in Nurtureshock by Po Bronson about getting kids to talk and what's helpful (and what isn't.) You might check it out if you're interested. The whole book is interesting too. And I'm not even a parent!

Comment #2: Monday, September 13, 2010 at 21:06:19

Pussreboots

Thank you for the recommendation.

Comment #3: Monday, September, 13, 2010 at 01:12:11

Lu

I have a son that is nearly 2, but not speaking yet. (not real English anyway) He makes all kinds of sounds, and tries to talk, but isn't really using any words yet. There doesn't seem to be any real reason as to why he isn't talking yet, other than he isn't ready. He hears fine, and he understands what I am saying when I am speaking. He seems to understand how conversation works too. He listens when I speak, when I stop, he babbles.

Thanks so much for bringing this book to my attention! I will definitely be looking for it!

I think this book would be good for us.

Comment #4: Monday, September 13, 2010 at 21:08:11

Pussreboots

Some two year olds are like that. Your pediatrician can give you a better sense of where your son is developmentally than either I or the book can. But the book does have good ideas to encourage language.

Comment #5: Wednesday, September, 15, 2010 at 00:16:06

Lu

I think you may have taken my comment in a way other than it was intended. I wasn't expecting anything from the book other than ideas and suggestions on encouraging language. The reason I mentioned that there doesn't seem to be a reason for it is because I have already consulted with his pediatrician, as well as an ENT specialist, amongst other professionals. I was just thanking you for bringing the book to my attention, and telling you a bit about my situation, and why I think we could benefit from the book. I guess I was trying to leave a sincere comment instead of a basic "good review".

Comment #6: Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 20:46:01

Pussreboots

Good. I didn't want to accidentally make promises that the book doesn't make.