Question 1

When is the best age to start Babble Boost class?

Accepted Answer

The class is designed to provide something for everyone from as soon as you are ready to leave the house after giving birth, up until your baby is 2 years old.  All children develop uniquely and the class has been carefully designed to be stimulating for all babies.

Question 2

How do we boost baby talk?

Accepted Answer

We use many different strategies to boost language.

We work on speech and pronunciation, blending sounds together and building their confidence to experiment with new sounds.

We model the essential concept of functional words (in multiple concepts) that can be immediately applied to life outside class.

We model words on their own, in sentences, and we read whole stories together.

We look at and hold letter-shapes.

We show how language can be used in instructions, in narration, and in conversation.

We practice; recasting, turn-taking, establishing joint attention, modelling words clearly and accessibly, being an audience member, being in a group activity, and working one-to-one.

We also practice looking for their focus of development, so we can see what they are currently working on.

For homework we might make a video of them babbling at home, in their comfort zone, to see if we can hear them making any sounds we hadn't noticed before.

Importantly, we practice inviting participation without pressure.

Mostly, we get seriously silly.

Question 3

Does my baby have to speak in class?

Accepted Answer

No, not at all.  
Pressurising babies to speak can be one of the most common roadblocks to language development.

Question 4

Do I have to speak in class?

Accepted Answer

No not if you don't want to.  You will be invited to join in but you will be reminded at the start of every class that you can sit back and watch today if you want to.  Hopefully though, if the host is doing their job well that day, you will get swept up in the silliness and have some ridiculous fun.

Question 5

How do you know that these strategies work?

Accepted Answer

I have taught languages for 7 years, researched language development and language interventions whilst doing an MA (of which half of the modules were focussed on language and communication), and I have read a ton of books about language development.  I. am. obsessed.

Question 6

Can I feed my baby in class?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  
Please breast or bottle feed in the knowledge that we trust you know what is best for you and your baby.  I strongly oppose the idea that mothers should breastfeed at all costs, so please do what you want to do and know that I respect your choice.

Question 7

Can I change a nappy in class?

Accepted Answer

Yes there is usually plenty of room to do a nappy change without you having to move from the mat.  It is highly likely that someone will pass you some wipes if you have forgotten yours.

Question 8

Will my child's language be assessed during the class?

Accepted Answer

No, it would not be possible for me to have an overall idea of a baby's speech development from seeing them in class, and this is not our purpose.  Our purpose is to surround our babies with accessible language learning opportunities.

In class we are not interested in comparing children's development, or chasing milestones or even celebrating when children speak (in fact we talk about how to act cool when they succeed at saying a new word so as not to interrupt their learning process).  So, if you are imagining that children will be graded or ranked according to their current skill-set, please note that this is not what this class is.

However, if you are concerned about your child's speech and language development, I am very happy to talk through with you how to do an assessment yourself, to help you decide whether you want to talk to your GP about your concerns.  As a guide, we want babies to be using 10 'words' (we can talk about what counts as a word - they might have many more than you realise!) when they are 18 months, and then 50 when they are 24 months.  Whether they meet this threshold or not, the way we would "intervene" to support them, will follow the same principles that the class is designed around (such as repetition, joint attention, modelling language to allow them to map it onto their experience, reducing background noise, leaving gaps to invite participation, reducing/eradicating pressure on them to speak... etc. etc. etc...).   We practice these things together and before long it no longer feels like effort, because it has become habit.

Question 9

Why do you invite us to play with natural textures?

Accepted Answer

Natural textures are infinitely varied.  You can imagine that a piece of tree bark has a pattern of grooves, ridges and lines that is unique to any other piece of bark even if it's from the same tree.  These infinite variations make these textures more interesting and more stimulating to a baby's brain, whilst they are discovering what their hands and mouth can feel, what their nose can smell, and their ears can hear, and using this information to develop their eye sight.

I don't use many plastic toys (even though they are easier for me to clean) because plastic textures have limited variations.  For example a plastic frog has a very similar texture to a plastic doll.  This is not to say that plastic toys don't have other uses.

Lastly, for individuals with certain neurotypes, natural textures offer more opportunities for regulation, whereas synthetic textures can be dysregulating.

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