How to Talk to Your Baby

Rating:
Summary: Attn: Teachers and Others working with Parenting Teens
Review: (This review was written by Jeanne Lindsay, Editor of Parenting and Parenting Teens Express (Spring 2001) Book provides a clear guide on enhancing a baby's language development. Focus is on using the five teaching methods of naming, describing, comparing, explaining, and giving directions. It would be especially useful to the teacher working with teen parents, and some of the chapters would be of interest to teen parents themselves.

Rating:
Summary: "delivers it beautifully and understandably"
Review: (This review was written by Mia Cronan for Mainstreetmom.com)
As new parents, we always said we'd never talk "baby talk" to our kids, so that they might grow up with strong communication skills. Well, it takes more than that, as we all now know. How to Talk to Your Baby explains what it does take, and it delivers it beautifully and understandably.
Studies show that good communication affects overall ability to learn. Ms. Dougherty understands that parents today have to make time for so many things that contribute to our kids' development. She teaches us how to teach our babies, all within the framework of our busy daily routines.
You'll find great illustrations, examples of good speech habits, methods for making yourself clear to your child, and fun games that enhance the whole process.
Ms. Dougherty shows us how to have fun helping our tots learn to communicate. I highly recommend this book to parents who would like to round out their own commuication skills for the benefit of their children!

Rating:
Summary: "delivers it beautifully and understandably"
Review: (This review was written by Mia Cronan for Mainstreetmom.com)
As new parents, we always said we'd never talk "baby talk" to our kids, so that they might grow up with strong communication skills. Well, it takes more than that, as we all now know. How to Talk to Your Baby explains what it does take, and it delivers it beautifully and understandably.
Studies show that good communication affects overall ability to learn. Ms. Dougherty understands that parents today have to make time for so many things that contribute to our kids' development. She teaches us how to teach our babies, all within the framework of our busy daily routines.
You'll find great illustrations, examples of good speech habits, methods for making yourself clear to your child, and fun games that enhance the whole process.
Ms. Dougherty shows us how to have fun helping our tots learn to communicate. I highly recommend this book to parents who would like to round out their own commuication skills for the benefit of their children!

Rating:
Summary: "A perfect gift for the new or expecting mother"
Review: (This reviewed appeared 4/11/01 on Your Baby Today) When a new baby enters our lives, we're all experts at cooing, oohing, aahing and that ever-popular higj-pitched "baby talk" tone. One perusal of How to Talk to Your Baby will change all that. Dougherty explains how the brain develops physically, and then details how we can use this information to create a language-rich environment for baby. Dougherty outlines the five mthods of language learning - naming, describing, comparing, explaining, and giving directions-- and then shows parents how to implement them in a variety of different locations, such as the playground and the supermarket. Dougherty keeps this dense topic light and engaging by including cute sketches and bulleted lists. In addition, the book features stages and guidelines for language development, rhymes and songs for different aged babies, a parent worksheet, a glossary, and a list of helpful resources. An easy read,packed with useful information, HTYB is a perfect gift for the new or expecting mother.

Rating:
Summary: Written by Paula Rosenthal, Publisher, Hearing Exchange.com
Review: A terrific book for parents who are teaching their deaf and hard of hearing children to talk. Particularly noteworthy chapters include, "Creating a Language-Rich Environment," "The Five Methods of Language Learning" and "The Stages of Language Development." Ms. Dougherty's book also offers many easy language lessons parents can incorporate during everyday activities at home, at the supermarket, at the playground and in the car. Check it out!

Rating:
Summary: Develop Language Skills in Babies
Review: Any parent that would like to increase the language skills of their babies/children should implement the easy to follow recommendations made in this pleasant to read book.

Rating:
Summary: Very Valuable Information - Not obvious
Review: As a professional and parent of a 15 month old, I found the information in How to Talk to Your Baby very helpful. This book offers a fun step by step program that is easy to do. I feel, many times, chances to help my child learn would have been overlooked. I feel it is incorrect to assume that parents instinctively know how to create the best learning environment for their child. The author explains what to do, why you should do it and how to do it. I have read many baby books, and found this to be one of the most valuable because the suggestions could be used anywhere. This book offered a more in depth look at language development. We learned what to expect at each level. It was easy to read, and packed with lots of great research. This is definitely worth the read. I have recommended to many of my friends and they all have learned new things and enjoyed this book.

Rating:
Summary: Book Talk - Calkins Newspapers
Review: Below are excerpts from a review that apppeared in Calkins Newspapers on 11/21/1999 edited by Darlene B. Waties. When you read her book, it is obvious Dougherty is a parent. She has a sensitive tone when speaking about children and their relationships with their parents. She takes extra care to suggest ways to help your child's speech development without neglecting to realize that in today's world, time and energy come in limited quantities. There's no time for difficult or lengthy exercises for many of today's parents. And her book doesn't require a doctorate degree to understand. As a matter of fact, it's a relaxing book that teaches along the way.

Rating:
Summary: Time to cut back on the kiddie videos!
Review: Dorothy Dougherty is a Speech/Language Specialist who works with adults and children. She is the co-founder of the Atlantic Behavioral Care - a center developed to aid people with speech difficulties. Dorothy believes that ". . . during the first three years of life, parents help "shape" their baby's brain and set the foundation for their life's learning." Now, that is both an exciting and terrifying realization for me, personally. My daughter is now 2 ½, and I sure hope that I haven't already blown it. Dorothy's book explains that communication is made up of three basic parts. The first is Receptive Language; this is when we attach meaning to a particular word. The next part is called Expressive Language which includes word choice, vocal tone, any gestures, and rate of speech. The final part is the actual Speech, the sounds that you create with your mouth to form words. The book is divided up into sections dealing with creating "a language-rich environment," a list of language milestones, ideas and toys to help increase vocabulary, a sample case story, a glossary, and an extensive list of resources. The book is easy to read, written in simple terms, and in a conversational style. When I read it, I found myself making many notes about activities to try with my daughter and I can't wait to pass the book along to my sister, who has a one-year-old. So many of the suggestions are easy and natural: talk to your baby, follow their cues, don't push, be a good model, no baby talk (okay, I'm not so good at this one) and use the proper pronouns, play song and word games, read to your child, and "praise, praise, praise", among many others. Most importantly, I have learned that it is important to talk to your child and that the television does not work as well as your "live" interaction. I guess that means it's time to cut back on the Blue's Clues and Teletubbie videos.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful suggestions every parent can follow.
Review: I am a learning disabilities consultant and author of BEYOND THE BUS STOP: 180 WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD SUCCEED IN SCHOOL. Ms. Dougherty has given parents tools for helping their child succeed in life. The ability to communicate not only separates humans from all other species, but also separates children who will succeed in school from those who will not. Most children with learning disabilities also have language disabilities. Parents who help their child develop good language skills are laying the groundwork for their child's future success. Ms. Dougherty shows parents exactly what to do and she does it in simple, concise text that busy parents will really appreciate.