baby
Speech support
Like all parents, you want to do everything possible to help your child thrive. The good news is, you don’ t need fancy tools or complex strategies to make it happen.“ You just need connection and consistency,” says Hoosain. Simple, everyday interactions create the biggest difference.
• Talk to your baby often
• Describe what you’ re doing
• Label objects and actions
• Follow your baby’ s interests
• Get face-to-face
• Respond to their sounds
• Use repetition
• Keep language natural and simple
Hoosain adds that you don’ t need to ban screens outright.“ The key difference lies in how it’ s used.”
When a child watches alone, with no interaction( what we call“ passive screen time”), there’ s far less language learning than with real-life human interaction.
“ Interactive screen use, where a parent watches with the child, talks about what’ s on the screen, labels objects, asks questions, and responds to the child’ s reactions, can become a shared communication experience.”
www. babysandbeyond. co. za
Hoosain doesn’ t see the harm in parents using it as a tool for learning, calming, bonding, and connection – in moderation, of course.“ When balanced with talking, reading, play, and responsive interaction, it doesn’ t replace healthy language development.”
Experts caution that age matters: for babies and toddlers, screen time, particularly fast‐paced animation, has been linked in research to attention difficulties and developmental concerns.
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