tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63349683103730775202011-12-04T05:55:21.206-08:00In this blog, we discuss early child development with an emphasis on how babies learn skills that lead to speech and language.Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-33134788540079814202010-11-05T17:02:00.000-07:002010-11-05T17:02:58.944-07:00

This is an excellent article written on the topic of using sign language to enhance language and literacy skills. The bottom line is that signing can be fun and enjoyable and it doesn't hurt language development. But, it's not clear that it helps either. So, if you want to learn to use sign with your baby go for it. At the same time, don't feel that you MUST do this, young children can learn to

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-24354980981066925172010-05-27T05:12:00.000-07:002010-05-27T05:12:00.364-07:00

As you already know, newborn babies communicate mainly through cries. The first cry you probably heard was your baby’s birth cry, which consists of a couple of gasps and a wail lasting about a second. Other cries will tell you things like “I’m hungry,” “I’m in pain,” or “I’m upset.” The hunger cry is typically a pattern of loud crying, silence, whistling inhalation, and rest, which may include a

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-11478119197680849592010-05-22T05:12:00.000-07:002010-05-22T05:16:21.461-07:00

Vision and hearing are relatively well developed in the newborn (compared to other areas). Your newborn can see things best about 7½ inches from his or her face. Babies are sensitive to color and bright light, closing their eyes if the light is too bright. They can recognize an object if it reappears within 2½ seconds—meaning that their memory lasts for a very short time, but is still present.

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-90065064266801490892010-04-28T09:40:00.000-07:002010-04-28T09:40:00.524-07:00

Newborns, soon after birth, typically fall into a long sleep that lasts about 14-18 hours. This deep sleep helps your baby to conserve energy. It also helps him to stabilize functions such as blood circulation, breathing, and digestion. At birth and during the first few days, newborn babies move randomly. These twitching movements and jerks are involuntary and referred to as reflexes. Reflexes

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-48747424001276761022010-04-24T09:38:00.000-07:002010-04-24T09:39:57.817-07:00

Newborns tend to prefer the sound of the human voice. So your singing, cooing, and talking to them soothes them. They’ve heard mommy’s and daddy’s voices in the last 3 months of pregnancy because their auditory system was already functioning, There are some reports of newborns recognizing their parents’ voices at birth. Newborn babies also smile reflexively. This smile typically occurs when the

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-54307803905100230982010-04-12T18:39:00.001-07:002010-04-12T18:39:25.741-07:00

Babies are born with fluid in their middle ear (behind the eardrum), so their hearing is not as sensitive as it will be in about 2 weeks when this fluid is absorbed. Nevertheless, they can tell the difference between loud and soft sounds and between short and long sound duration. The auditory feedback loop is already present and used by your newborn baby. The auditory feedback loop is the

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-30450328946733126252010-04-05T16:49:00.000-07:002010-04-05T16:49:00.563-07:00

Really? I'll say it again really? People thought that Baby Einstein was going to make their babies smart? Okay, if it didn't work you can go get a refund. I'm so glad I never was given a set of those things, I know many people who did. My worry was that I couldn't then in good consciousness go and give the things to the Good Will or somthing, it would be perpetuating the notion that sticking

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-76030536037139299022010-04-03T08:27:00.000-07:002010-04-03T08:27:36.871-07:00

During the first week of life, your baby can focus on your face, making it the first image in his visual memory. He will gaze at your face and look into your eyes. Eye contact is an important form of communication that will aid your baby’s growth and development. It is one of the first ways he can reliably make contact with you, and it provides a way for you and your baby to begin making

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-56332880860476400162010-03-31T17:02:00.000-07:002010-03-31T17:02:07.556-07:00

Commentary - We can all play a part in strengthening families

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-18356442983180357872010-03-26T20:40:00.000-07:002010-03-26T20:40:10.221-07:00

Development of cognition (knowledge about the world), language, and motor skills is highly correlated with brain development. We know that brain development begins during pregnancy. During the 16th week of gestation, cells in your baby’s brain began dividing. Growth occurs very rapidly in the brain stem, which controls basic functions, such as breathing, and in the primary motor (movement) and

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-71446118040358592852010-03-25T07:16:00.000-07:002010-03-26T20:34:35.308-07:00

Talking To Babies Helps With Cognitive Development AHN

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-30592689532792723942010-01-07T18:45:00.001-08:002010-01-07T18:58:46.089-08:00

I read this article today on a new book, NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children. The emphasis is on what it is parents can do to nurture and support learning. It's worth a read.My work with older (preschool children) on mediated learning shows that it's not only about exposing children to language that helps them learn it, it's helping them understand what to pay attention to and to learn to

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-37880351454181148862009-08-09T10:53:00.000-07:002009-08-13T06:25:28.053-07:00

"Your dog may be smarter than your toddler" screams the headline in CNN. Can it be true? What kinds of intelligence do dogs display? And what does it have to do with child language development?Well, there are two claims made in the article. One finding is that dogs understand about 180 words, signs, signals and gestures. How does this compare to young children? Toddlers between 18 and 24 months

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-31040788177721832172009-07-30T11:51:00.000-07:002009-07-31T12:38:26.102-07:00

We know from experience that music can influence how we feel. We can play music to set a mood for dinner. Children seem to respond to music as well, some music is soothing and may help babies sleep while other music seems exciting to them. Can babies tell the difference between happy and sad music? How early can they distinguish these differences?A research study published in the Infant Behavior

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-52269963965336950062009-07-02T14:49:00.000-07:002009-07-02T14:54:12.695-07:00

So you may be wondering what vision, hearing, and crawling have to do with language? Turns out that these are the ways your baby gets information about the world and about you that gives her something to talk about when she gets ready to use words. If you have language, you have to use it to talk about things you know about. So what your baby sees and hears in her first year matters a LOT for

Babshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280898882469711574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-78316008020018033462009-07-01T21:58:00.000-07:002009-07-01T22:44:18.991-07:00

I think in a lot of ways that it makes sense. If young children are watching TV then they're not interacting with adults. Interaction is the way children learn how to communicate, what words to use, and the back and forth of turn-taking. Turn-taking provides a critical foundation for language learning.A recent study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine was reported in the

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-11593543761547851512009-06-28T21:08:00.000-07:002009-06-28T21:14:27.676-07:00

For the last couple of years (okay for the last few years), Babs and I have been working on a newsletter about children's first year of life. We have a free sample of the newsletter that focuses on the first week of development. Future installments will be 8 pages long and available for a small fee. We'll focus on language, social interaction, brain and cognitive development, motor skills, vision

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-73528014358547134512009-06-15T17:37:00.000-07:002009-06-15T19:57:10.960-07:00

June 15Did you ever wonder if babies’ crawling and their babbling had anything to do with each other? Crawling is one arm and foot forward and then the other one, pretty nice organized rhythm. Babbling is opening and closing the mouth and turning on the voice box, another pretty nice organized rhythm. Both of them come from brain planning. Since they start at about the same time and both need for

Babshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280898882469711574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6334968310373077520.post-5636825600845050322009-05-09T07:20:00.000-07:002009-05-09T07:37:45.824-07:00

Today the list of most popular baby names was released. The top girl's name was Emma and the top boy's name for 2008 was Jacob. I was really tickled because my mother's name is Emma. Her mother and my cousin are named Emma. No one in the next generation is named Emma, but maybe the one after-- we'll see. Naming a new baby is an important ritual. Sometimes parents name their children after a

Elizabeth D. Peñahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01182874067248471266noreply@blogger.com0