2 Listening to babies’ voices
Some of the most important experiences that will shape the architecture of a baby’s brain come from their interactions with the significant adults in their lives. Babies naturally reach out for interaction through babbling, facial expressions and movements. The adults caring for them respond in kind with sounds and gestures. This back-and-forth process, known as ‘serve and return’, plays a vital role in developing the brain’s architecture.
Activity 6.1 Actvity 2 Serve and return
The video below gives an example of a ‘serve and return’ situation between a baby and their mother, and also shows what happens if the baby’s interactions are not responded to. As you watch it, use the box below to make a note of all the ways that the baby uses to communicate their feelings. (Open the video in a new tab or window by holding down Ctrl [or Cmd on a Mac] when you click on the link.)
Discussion
In the clip the baby uses her eyes to make sure her mother is paying attention, she smiles, she squeals, she points, she cries and she moves her body. When her mother is responding the baby shows her happiness and pleasure, but when there is no response given to her communications she shows confusion, worry and sadness. This video clearly shows what effective communicators babies are, they can tell us how they are feeling or what they want. They have lots of skills that they can use to get our attention. It’s important for practitioners to recognise the communication skills that babies have and remember the role that they play in responding to these.