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Dr. Kim Mulvihill ReportingA new study shows that babies as young as ten months can quickly learn words, even though they're not saying much at all.
They are so cute, but those little babies are eavesdropping. They're listening in on your conversations and trying to learn words before they can even say them. But make no mistake, they sure are picky about the words they'll learn the fastest.
Meet baby Vinnie. His mom is trying to teach the 11-month old some new words by using some toys.
Mom to Vinnie: "Truck."
But Vinnie isn't interested in his truck. Vinnie only has eyes and little fingers for his mom's cell phone.
Mom to Vinnie: "Which one are you going to get? The cell phone? (Baby repeats what sounds like ‘cell phone.) That's the phone, yes it is."
When it comes to language for young babies, what they want is key. A new study show babies can learn their first words as young as ten months of age, but only if the words are for objects that are of interest to them.
Carmen Houston: "We really encourage, especially in the early years, to follow your child's lead."
Carmen Houston is a speech pathologist at California Pacific Medical Center.
Carmen Houston, CPMC Speech Pathologist: "You can bring something to the table like a rattle or toy, but they might find the whisk is a bit more interesting from the kitchen."
So forget about all those flashcards and expensive baby learning tools. Go to the kitchen and bring out the whisks, or in Vinnie's case, the cell phone.
Bottom line: Talk to your little baby early on and talk about what the baby is interested in.
