🧠 Wellbeing · From the first few weeks
📚 Language and early reading: getting your baby talking
Language doesn't just kick off with that first word around 12–15 months; it starts right in the first few weeks with eye contact, coos, taking turns to 'speak', and sharing books. The best tools don't cost a penny, mate: your voice, your chats, and simply showing up.
The reading kit
- Board books, cloth books, or textured touch-and-feel books (virtually indestructible and chew-proof).
- Your lap, your voice, and an index finger for pointing at pictures.
Habits to get them talking
1. Give a running commentary
Narrate your day out loud: "Right, let's get you into your green babygrow", "Listen to that rain on the window". They soak up the rhythm, tone, and vocabulary long before they can actually say the words.
2. Use warm responsive speech
Use the language(s) you know best, with expressive sounds, real words, songs and affectionate play. There is no need to ban playful baby words.
3. Take turns
From 2–3 months, when they let out a little coo or babble, answer them back, then pause and wait. You're teaching them the golden rule of every good conversation: listen, then reply.
4. Read from the start
You can share books from birth. Talk about pictures, follow baby’s attention and keep it enjoyable.
5. Real talk
Skip the flashing electronic toys that babble at you: they do all the talking and kill off real interaction. Two chunky board books explored together will do a hundred times more for their brain development.
Classic mistakes
- ❌ Waiting until they can talk to start chatting They learn entirely by listening, months before their first word ever pops out.
- ❌ Insisting on finishing the book If they're flipping pages backwards or just gnawing on the corner, that's completely normal for this age. Let them explore it their way.
A local detail, or your own experience with this guide? Write to the team
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When in doubt, contact your doctor or midwife. For a life-threatening emergency, call 111.