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First Years (0-2)

Brain power Can you help make your baby a genius? By Tamirra StewartPublished: July, 2010

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My 4-year-old niece is enrolled in just about every class and activity known to mankind: Spanish, French, Irish step dancing and so forth. AP Calculus is probably just around the corner. I believe that she expects to be employed as a United Nations translator by the time she’s 6.     Plenty of studies have been done about creating baby geniuses and whether intelligence is innate and genetic or created from interaction and development.     “All new parents should strive to provide their children with an interesting and stimulating environment,” says Dr. Kathy Nickerson, an Irvine clinical psychologist, “but we all need to be careful not to get carried away. If you have math flashcards glued to the ceiling and alphabet cards tucked into the crib, you are going too far.”     Interwoven throughout the many studies done on intelligence and child development is the common thread of language.     By the age of 3 months, babies can distinguish hundreds of sounds, more than are present in any language. When they hear a certain language all the time, they learn to distinguish sounds and connect their meanings. Some claim that the sound that babies make just before crying is a form of communication.     Sign language has recently been shown to be an effective form of communication. Nickerson says that teaching sign language to your child can begin when he is 6 months old.     “Babies can make the mental connection between signs and their meanings, although they are not dexterous enough … to make the signs themselves,” she says.     As for spoken language, babies don’t have the distractions of meanings attached to sounds that adults do. The lack of outside influences makes babies avid scholars of the spoken word.     In the last 10 years, the number of two-language homes has increased 75 percent. Usually it’s a great advantage. However, bilingual households can be confusing; parents must know when to say “when.”     “If kids are struggling or are not learning both languages, or are favoring one over the other, switch to an 80/20 mode, with the primary language being spoken 80 percent of the time.” says Nickerson.     Language isn’t the only thing that helps babies learn. They are learning constantly. Nickerson says that you are unlikely to hurt your baby “unless you do something extreme, like playing Hooked on Phonics at max volume while they sleep.”     It’s important, though, to gauge your child’s reaction while you are interacting with him.     “If you have a passion, share it with your child in small doses and see if he responds,” Nickerson says. “Just use common sense.”     I guess that rules out AP Calculus. Tamirra Stewart is a contributing writer to OC Family magazine. •> WHAT IS YOUR CHILD SAYING? “Neh”  I'm hungry – The sucking reflex is triggered, and the tongue is pushed up onto the roof of the mouth. “Owh”  I'm sleepy – It’s similar in sound to an audible adult yawn. “Heh”  I'm uncomfortable – This doesn’t have to be a dirty diaper. “Uncomfortable” can include stress. The sound may be due to something touching your baby’s skin, such as sweat or an itchy item. “Eairh”  I have intestinal gas – For an upset stomach or other less pleasant bodily functions, the sound is produced when trapped air from a belch is unable to release and travels to the stomach, where the muscles of the intestine tighten to force the air bubble out. “Eh”  I have oral gas – “I need to be burped.” Source: “Five Universal Words,” by Priscilla Dunstan •> INTERACT WITH YOUR CHILD > Talk to your baby.  This is the most important step. Even if your baby isn’t talking back, she is learning by listening. > Play language games. When she makes a sound, repeat it and add a new sound. Take turns “talking” with your baby. Smiling, singing and reciting nursery rhymes are all forms of language interaction. > Read aloud.  Even before she can understand the story, she hears the sounds. > Limit television exposure.  Hearing TV sounds isn't the same as listening to real people. > Have your baby’s hearing checked.  Babies with hearing problems don’t get the language experience they need. > Teach multiple languages early.  If you want your child to speak more than one language, start early! Children growing up in bilingual homes often speak both languages fluently. Source: Diane Bales, Ph.D.

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