How Babies Talk: The Magic and Mystery of Language in the First Three Years of Life

How Babies Talk explores how babies learn language, and the ways in which parents and caregivers can nurture these linguistic skills at every stage of their children's development.Organized chronologically, beginning with the unborn child, who can actually tell the difference between similar sounds, this comprehensive book shows how babies learn to recognize words, decipher their meanings, put together sentences, and ask questions. Each chapter contains a section, called "Language Milestones", that explores the amazing things babies know at each age, as well as their hidden capabilities and what parents can do to develop them. "Scientific Sleuthing Pays Off" describes how parents can use the latest scientific findings to enhance everyday interactions and provide the most effective learning environments for their children. This section also helps parents identify the problems that may hinder language development. "Try This" details fun and easy at-home experiments that enable parents to chart their children's progress themselves.From the evolution of infant speech sounds to the toddler's mastery of complex grammar, How Babies Talk is an important guide that will help parents help their children develop the wonderful gift of language.