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Return to Course Home How to Talk to Your Baby
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  • Getting Started
    • Introduction 1m
    • Why YOU Are the Best Person to Teach Your Baby to Listen and Talk 1m
    • What You’ll Take Away 1m
    • Why Your Interactions with Your Baby Are So Important 2m
    • Learning Checkpoint 1m
  • Practical Tips: How to Talk to Your Baby
    • How To: Tune In to Your Baby 1m
    • How To: Talk to Your Baby About Every Little Thing 1m
    • How To: Take Turns with Your Baby 1m
    • How To: Make Listening and Learning Fun 1m
    • Learning Checkpoint 1m
  • Take Action
    • Try It! 2m
    • Make a Game Plan 1m
  • Next Steps
    • Take It To-Go: Download Your Guide to Reaching 40 Million Words 1m
    • Lesson Wrap-Up 1m

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Why YOU Are the Best Person to Teach Your Baby to Listen and Talk

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 Image with text that reads, “YOU have what it takes to help your baby learn to listen and talk.” Click to play the video.

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You have everything it takes to support your baby’s listening and spoken language development during the critical first years of their life!

In the first 3 ½ years of your baby’s life, your little one needs to hear at least 40 million words to build a strong foundation for listening, talking, reading, and doing well in school.1

The early interactions, conversations, and language you share with your baby lay the foundation for their future learning. When you talk to your baby and describe everything around them, you're growing their brain and helping them learn how to listen and talk.

Pro Parent Tip!

Make the 40-million-word goal YOUR goal for your baby to support their listening, talking, and reading skills! Remember to talk, talk, and talk some more with your little one to share lots of words with them during your everyday moments together.

1Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (2003). The early catastrophe: The 30-million-word gap. American Educator, 27(1), 4-9.

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How to Talk to Your Baby

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