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Spending time face to face with your child plays a key role in their development.
Face-to-face interaction opens so many doors for speech and language as well as helping you to bond.
Benefits of spending time face to face with your baby
The more you talk to your little one up close, the more they'll begin to pick up on the words you use and how you form the sounds using your mouth.
Your child will begin to learn recognise facial indicators we give when we are communicating such as eye contact, facial expressions and body language.
Focused attention helps your little one learn newwords, as the more interested they are in something, the more they are going to pay attention to your words and make connections between your words and what they see, hear and feel.
As you are face to face with your child, they're taking in the expressions you make. The more you are face to face, they get to learn about different facial expressions, and facial features.
Your little one will benefit from spending quality time with you. Whether you're singing or getting dressed, you both get to spend quality time bonding.
Image caption, When you are playing together, make sure your baby can see your face as they love to watch your facial expressions.
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Spending time face to face with your little one
Your baby is drawn to your face - so get up close and personal!
You can copy their facial expressions and sounds and let them watch your face as you talk. This is a great way for them to work out how you form different word sounds.
Spending time face to face allows your child to pay attention and take notice of facial features and expressions. When you are playing together, make sure your baby can see your face as they’ll pick up on when you smile or frown.
Over time, they’ll begin to follow the expressions you make and tell between them.
When chatting to your baby, watch their face and wait for them to respond. This helps them understand how to take turns, key to conversation later on.
You could play a game of peek-a-boo. This helps your child experience anticipation and excitement and builds their ability to pay attention.
Opportunities to get face to face with your baby
• Playtime
If you're able, try and get down to your child's level at playtime so that they can see your face as you play.
• Getting dressed
Chat face to face with your child about what they’re putting on, what it looks and feels like.
• Morning & bath time routine
Routines may feel hectic, but they could also be ready-made times to spend chatting. Morning routines like teeth brushing and evening routines like baths allow you to bond and talk about the day's activities.
