Preverbal

Listening is what happens after your child pays attention.  When your child focuses on the words, tone, and sentences that you use, they are listening. It is important for you to “check-in” on your child and really get their attention before expecting them to listen to you.

Listening is only possible if we are certain that a child can hear well. For more information on your child's ability to hear, see our Hearing page!

From a very young age, children use their bodies (and their lungs!) to send us signals and messages.  These non-verbal messages are very powerful and varied (e.g., arms stretched, head turns, finger points, eye contact, smiles, cries, and laughs). They provide important cues to help you care for and teach your child to grow. As a caregiver, you are there to observe and “read” these cues, then react to them as needed throughout your child’s development! 

Taking turns during an activity is one of the most important skills in the development of a child’s language.  A “turn” can be a look, a gesture, an action, or even a sound. Children practice turn-taking by learning to wait for their caregiver to look at them, to pick them up, or to talk to them.  Waiting for a caregiver to finish talking is just as important as learning to take a turn.  It lays the foundation for a child's ability to start, continue and finish a conversation with others.