Helping Babies Learn Language and Value Communication Todd Risley, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus University of Alaska

Infants and toddlers are completely dependent on their adult caregivers to keep them safe and healthy. So also are they completely dependent on their adult caregivers to fill up the hours of their lives with good feelings, rich experiences and social interaction.

At-risk children are measured against the achievements of “average” children – and a lot of talk goes on between parents and babies in the average American home.

The more parents talk to babies, the more complex and positive their talk becomes – automatically – because the ‘extra’ talk is not about just necessary business.

Talkative parents produce talkative children and taciturn parents produce taciturn children – because children match their parents in what they talk about (only business, or business and conversation).

The amount of family talk is a characteristic of low and high social class. But the amount that parents talk to their babies – not their social class or income or ethnicity – is what predicts their children’s intellectual accomplishments.

During the 10, 20, 30 or 40 hours a week they are in our care, in addition to teaching them specific things, we should strive to eliminate disorganized ‘down’ time, and fill up all the time they are with us with experiences and practice and language.

Facilitating Child-Initiated Conversation Tallgate Follow child around describing and commenting on their actions. (Don’t ask questions). Talk-Ups Turn to the child, comment on their actions, turn away. (Respond to any communication attempts.) Repeat as often as conversationally appropriately. (This is the start-stop of social interaction.) Incidental Teaching Turn to the child, PAUSE, comment on their actions, PAUSE, turn away. When the child takes a turn by imitating or responding during your PAUSE, respond to what they say or do.

EDUCATION AND URBAN SOCIETY / AUGUST 1978 Promoting Productive Language Through Incidental Teaching