First Words

As each child is beginning to learn new words, I encourage parents to keep a "word diary" posted on the refrigerator or on a bulletin board. Each time they hear their child say a new word they can add it to the list. Ivan's mother is very committed to encouraging her child's development as well as to our home visitation program, resulting in a long list of "new words" for Ivan. Mom expressed surprise and pride in her son's language skills and, of course, I thanked her for doing the homework and bragged on her for being such a dedicated parent. It is so rewarding to watch these children as they achieve developmental milestones but watching a first time mom as she observes and records her own child's milestones is an added bonus. MJ