Birth to three matters - Communities and Local Government

then language grows in a safe and familiars p a ce of wo rd s, co nve r s at i o n s, rhymesand songs.The key developmental notes includedin the Framework ‘Birth to Three Matters’for Listening & Responding are:-Long before young babies cancommunicate verbally, they listen to,distinguish and respond to intonationsin adults’ voices.In a familiar context, with a key person,babies can understand and respondto the different things said to them.Young children are able to respondto simple requests and grasp meaningfrom context.Children learn new words very rapidlyand are able to use them in talkingabout matters which interest them.So parents and practitioners need timeto listen to and enjoy the sounds andlanguage of babies and toddlers whenthey are secure and comfortable, perhapsin their cots/beds, or playing in a familiarsetting. Throughout these early years,adults need to engage in rhythmic songs,dances and finger plays, share picturebooks, especially those with repetitive,lyrical words. They also need to show theytoo relish particular words and phrases,sometimes using hand and armmovements, as well as facial expressionsand expressive intonation, to help childrenunderstand meanings.‘Children are enthusiastic to struggle tomake meaning of adults’ communicationsand they need to encounter adults whoare equally enthusiastic to make meaningof their communication.’ Elfer et al (2002draft version: 15).MAKING MEANING‘Social realities are not bricks that we tripover or bruise ourselves on when we kickat them,but the meanings that we achieveby the sharing of human cognitions.’(Bruner 1986:122)The close physical and emotional bondthat exists between mother and child inthe earliest days of a baby’s life enable heroften to interpret the nature of the baby’scry, its purpose and need (see chapter 3).As the relationship develops and feedingand sleeping routines are negotiated andpatterned, each learns something aboutthe roles and rituals involved in family lifeand the baby is initiated into family culture(Bruner 1986). Indeed, from birth, Sterntells us that babies often occupy a statecalled ‘alert inactivity’ when they are quietbut taking in events around them (Stern1985:39). The first recorded smile of a babyis always an event of celebration and joyand although it is claimed that the firstsocial smiling emerges by two monthsof age (Rochat et al 1999) smiles andopen-mouthed responses have beenanecdotally recorded before that age.However, the smile is a signpost,at whatever age, that the baby is now able77