Tips On Teaching Your Baby
1. First and foremost you have to get into the habit of repetition. Babies learn much faster when they are constantly reminded of what it is they are supposed to be learning. For example, if you want to teach your baby their colors, whenever you see the color blue point and remind your baby that it is the color blue. The same thing applies to teaching your baby letters and numbers. Whenever you see a certain letter or number point and say it out loud. The more that you do this the faster your baby will be able to catch on. You will be surprised when you see a color and your baby is able to point it out to you. You can even try placing a bunch of items that are the same color in front of your baby and constantly repeat the color. This is the best teaching technique for babies. Your child’s mind is like a sponge at this age; it is up to you to fill it up with something.
2. No baby talk!!! Goo Goo Gaa Gaa is so adorable and it is absolutely irresistible whenever you see a cute baby, especially yours, but you can’t talk baby talk. This one is tough but this method is a sure way to get your baby talking and talking right. Try not to speak in baby language around your baby. Just think, you are raising a real person who will one day, God willing, talk in real talk. So the best option is to start speaking to your child like a regular person. Instead of saying baba say bottle, instead of saying num nums say food, you will be surprised at how fast your child will pick up words and soon begin to say them too.
3. Just like any human being, babies love rewards. They love to be told “good job sweetie” with a handclap or two. They love to be hugged and kissed and given yummy treats when they do something that you like. Whenever you baby uses their head while they are learning, it is important that you are there to cheer them on. This way they will know that they are doing something right and that it makes mommy and daddy happy. Believe me they won’t hesitate to do it again, just to see you smile.
4. Read to your baby. You have probably heard this one time and time again, but reading to your child is an excellent way for them to learn. You can point at certain words and get them used to reading exciting stories. Yeah, your baby may be a little squirmy and they may bite on the edge of the book, but you have to keep reading. Your child will soon grow to love books and it won’t be long before they are mimicking you and trying to read on their own.
5. Start early. The earlier you start the easier it will be. Believe it or not people are beginning to successfully potty train their newborns and you can too. Introducing new things to your child early is the best way to teach them. You shouldn’t wait until they are 3 or 4 years old to start teaching them the alphabet, but you should start before they are a year. By the time you baby is a toddler they will be an expert in numbers, letters, and colors, and everyone will be amazed.
6. Be patient!!! Trust me your child will not be a baby genius a week after you start using these methods so you have to stay patient and keep on working with your child. Don’t give up if you don’t see immediate results and don’t get too excited if you do. Just keep up the good work and keep teaching; your baby has a lifetime of learning to do.
7. Let your baby explore. You have to let your baby explore their environment and learn hands on. Touching, smelling, tasting, hearing, and seeing are ways for baby to learn. Don’t confine your baby to one little space where they have to sit and learn numbers from 1-100. Let them explore the world around them, you just be there to explain what certain things are.
8. Make learning fun!!! Teaching your baby doesn’t have to be boring. Making up silly songs and fun learning games will help your baby love learning. You will be amazed at how quick your child will pick up on things that you teach them and be able to apply them to their daily life.
9. Keep it simple!!! Don’t expect your child to be able to write an entire symphony or learn trigonometry before they reach the age of two. You want to keep things simple. The last thing that you want to do is frustrate your baby and make them dislike learning. Yelling and pushing your baby to learn something has the tendency to only cause frustrations and confusions for them. You want your baby to learn not to get stressed out. Have a short number lesson or color review daily with your baby. Don’t make them sit for hours on end learning the alphabet. For one you will not be able to hold their attention that long, and for two, remember your teaching a baby not a college student. Keep things simple and you will be surprised at how much your baby takes in within a short amount of time.
10. Keep at it!!! It is easy to get frustrated, give up, or just space it out. You have to remember; you are trying to get your little sponge all filled up with knowledge, so the best thing to do is to keep adding to it. You have to keep at it. A week or two of extensive learning is not going to cut it. You have to stay persistent and keep at it daily. Your child will begin to get a routine started and expect for you to be there to teach them what they need to know in this world. Don’t give up!!! Stay strong and pretty soon you will be on your way to having a smart baby.
I hope that God willing these methods will be of some help to you.