Bilingual Homes
There is growing evidence that children benefit from exposure to multiple languages even at 8 months. At birth, a baby can already differentiate between the language of their mother and different languages. In fact, language differentiation is one thing your baby can definitely do better than you–a baby can discern all 800 sounds that make up the languages of the world.
However, babies in monolingual homes begin to specialize in that language between 6 to 12 months. In part, this happens because their minds are learning to become more efficient. Around 9 months, the brain will begin to prune away language synapses that are not actively used. Thus, immersing babies in multiple languages while they’re young may make it easier for them to be multilingual in the future.
Bilingual Homes
There is growing evidence that children benefit from exposure to multiple languages even at 8 months. At birth, a baby can already differentiate between the language of their mother and different languages. In fact, language differentiation is one thing your baby can definitely do better than you–a baby can discern all 800 sounds that make up the languages of the world.
However, babies in monolingual homes begin to specialize in that language between 6 to 12 months. In part, this happens because their minds are learning to become more efficient. Around 9 months, the brain will begin to prune away language synapses that are not actively used. Thus, immersing babies in multiple languages while they’re young may make it easier for them to be multilingual in the future.
Your Little Poker Champ
As adults, probability is part of everyday life – we make tiny calculations every day. At 8 months, babies are honing in on this logic. In one study, researchers at the University of British Columbia showed 8-month-old infants a box containing red and white balls. They pulled out five balls – four of one color and one of the other color. Then they revealed the contents of the box, which were either mostly red balls or mostly white balls. Interestingly, when the outcome was unexpected, such as 4 white balls pulled from a mainly red box, infants stared at the box for about 2 seconds longer, indicating that they were surprised that the box didn’t match their expectations.
Replace Screens with Sounds
As tempting as it may be to give a fussy infant a YouTube video or a fancy, high-tech toy, research suggests that lo-tech is still best for development and communication skills. In one study in 2016, infants that played with electronic toys were exposed to fewer adult words, fewer parental interactions and were less vocal during play versus time spent with more traditional toys and books. So play your favorite podcast in front of your little one instead of a movie.
Summary
It is time to baby proof your home because your eight-month-old is a little explorer. They are crawling everywhere and are discovering new things by (of course) sticking them in their mouth. Every baby develops at a different pace, so don’t be concerned if your little one can’t crawl yet. Talk to your pediatrician if your baby can’t bring items to their mouth yet or is not responding to/making sounds.
