Your Baby’s First Noun

A breakthrough moment in a child’s language development is the realization that objects have names. You can help your child reach this breakthrough moment by repeatedly exposing your child to a single object and stating that name of the object.

The best object to use is a ball. The object is extremely simple, so it is easy to process and remember. The word ball is short and simple to understand.

To teach your child the meaning of the word ball, choose a solid-colored ball. Red is the ideal color for this ball since red is visually striking and babies develop the ability to see red at a very early age.

At random times throughout each day, hold the ball one to two feet in front of your baby’s eyes. Look your baby in the eyes and clearly speak, "Ball." Move the ball slightly to refocus the baby’s attention and repeat, "Ball."

Repeat this up to five times and then offer the ball to your baby. To let this lesson sink in, allow your baby to play with the ball for as long as he or she wishes. Repeat this process a few times each day.

Eventually, you will see a glimmer of understanding in your baby’s eyes. Your baby will eventually comprehend that the object has a name. Your baby will know that the word ball is not just a sound that comes from people’s mouths, but a word with actual meaning. Once your baby gains the understanding that objects have names and words have meanings, your baby will begin to travel down the glorious path of understanding language.

To Sign or Not to Sign

A few years ago, it became stylish to teach babies how to communicate with sign language. Teaching babies how to sign has grown in popularity, and many are debating over whether sign language is beneficial, innocuous, or harmful.

It is true that babies can learn sign language effectively. Toddlers are even better at it. The benefit of a child being able to sign is that he or she will be able to communicate long before he or she could possibly speak. The child may also gain an early understanding of the interactive nature of communication. Clearly, these are positive aspects of teaching a child to sign.

Teaching a child to sign has its negatives, however. If a child can effectively communicate wants and needs through sign language, he or she will have little to no incentive to speak. Learning to speak is an extremely difficult task. The child has to experiment over and over to learn how to manipulate the mouth to make proper sounds. There is no incentive to struggle with the pronunciation of the word milk when one can just hold out a hand and squeeze the fist to make the sign for milk.

Learning to speak is a highly important developmental milestone. Unfortunately, some children have a great deal of trouble learning to speak. A delay in speech skills may be a small problem at first; however, the problem compounds rapidly as the child ages and approaches more advanced developmental steps. Since it is possible that relying on sign language may delay a child’s speech development skills, the parent should carefully consider whether the benefits of signing are outweighed by the potential risks.

Plaza Sesamo: The Fun Way to Learn Basic Spanish

Plaza Sesamo, the Spanish Sesame Street, is not only for Spanish-speakers but also for those who want a fun and easy introduction to conversational Spanish. If you want to introduce your child to the sounds and intonations of Spanish, Plaza Sesamo is a great place to start.

Plaza Sesamo’s audience is primarily composed of preschoolers who speak only rudimentary Spanish. To keep things easy to understand, the vocabulary on Plaza Sesamo is very basic, and the sentences are very short and simple. Also, like virtually all children’s programming, the communication is highly expressive and includes an abundance of visual aids. The result is a constant flow of Spanish communication that could not be any easier to understand.

Watching Plaza Sesamo will not magically give your child the ability to speak fluent Spanish, but the show will definitely give the child a taste of the language that could serve as a stepping stone when beginning formal Spanish training in the future.

Plaza Sesamo: The Latino Sesame Street

Plaza Sesamo, Sesame Street’s Latino counterpart, premiered in Mexico and Latin America in 1972. Since its debut, Plaza Sesamo has thrilled millions of Spanish-speaking children.

Abelardo, Big Bird’s Latino cousin, is a giant green, red, pink, and yellow parrot. Much like Big Bird, Abelardo serves as the centerpiece of the show. Each episode, Abelardo and his friends, Lola, Pancho Contreras, Elefancio, etc. lead groups of children in peppy dances and songs as they explore the alphabet, numbers, etc. (All of this is in Spanish, of course.)

Just like Sesame Street, Plaza Sesamo incorporates animation clips and video segments. The show maintains an energetic and exciting pace to keep the attention of its easily distracted preschool audience.

You can find Plaza Sesamo on most major Spanish television stations.