A baby’s communication development begins in the womb. As early as 16 weeks of pregnancy a baby starts to hear sounds. Between 24-27 weeks a baby begins to recognise their mum’s voice.

Once a baby is born they start to develop the fundamentals of communication such as using eye contact and even imitation, copying simple facial expressions.

Your baby’s brain develops so much in the first early years of life. It doubles in size within the first year, by three it has reached 80% of the size of an adult’s brain (*1,2,3). During this critical time babies are crucial skills.

The communication pyramid above provides a visual guide of the skills developed in the early years. Babble ‘N’ Chat has developed activities specifically for your child’s age to help nurture all the skills required for early language development. We also show you how to nurture these skills at home.

1. Gilmore JH, Lin W, Prasatwa MW, et al. Regional gray matter growth, sexual dimorphism, and cerebral asymmetry in the neonatal brain. Journal of Neuroscience. 2007;27(6):1255-1260.

2. Nowakowski RS. Stable neuron numbers from cradle to grave. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2006;103(33):12219-12220.

3. Rakic, P. No more cortical neurons for you. Science. 2006;313:928-929