Not always the most pleasant routine of the day, but diaper changes can be a great learning opportunity for your baby! During this time, you are usually face to face. This gives your baby the perfect view of your mouth. As your baby watches you move your mouth, and hears the sounds/words you make, they will begin to imitate(as long as hearing is in tact). Not only are they imitating the motor actions of your mouth, but their tiny brains will make new connections, and the output will be imitation of sounds! So, as many times as you change diapers all day, will be the number of times you are teaching them speech and language!
This is a great time to make silly faces and sounds(raspberries, ooooh, ahhhh, etc). Talk about what you are doing(up, lay down, pants off, wipe, all clean, socks!, etc). Sing songs to your baby and gain eye contact with them. So many ways to engage with them and teach them during this routine! As they get older and begin to wiggle, protesting the process, any of these strategies can work to distract them from their protest.
Diaper changes can be a perfect time to gain interest and increase imitation for those kiddos who are not imitating or using sounds and words. Watching your mouth as they listen can be helpful to their ability to imitate. See developmental milestones in the resources tab for more information regarding when and what you should expect.
*If you have concerns that your baby is not reaching speech and language milestones, speak to your pediatrician or reach out to your local Early Intervention program.
Sounds/words to include: diaper, shirt, pants, socks, up, down, on, off, ooooh, yuck, stinky, wet, dry, all clean, all done, eye, nose, mouth, ears, head, arms, legs, feet, make “raspberries”, pop lips, click tongue, make any silly sound
