By Jaime Herndon

Reading to babies is a great way to encourage cognitive development, but New York Magazine's The Science of Us blog reports there may be a better way to develop their language skills.

A study, published in the Language Teaching and Therapy, reports that the talking we tend to do with babies, i.e. that one-sided, steady conversation we have with them, is actually more beneficial to them than reading.

The study by Aisling Murray of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland, and Suzanne M Egan of Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland, published by the Child Language Teaching & Therapy, found that parents who simply talked to their 9-month old babies, while doing everyday things, had been practicing the best method for developing the babies' language and overall cognitive skills.

The parents were asked about their habits of reading to their babies, showing pictures to their babies, and/or talking to their babies. Those infants whose parents talked to them while doing things, scored higher on a test that evaluated problem-solving and communication skills. Babies who were read to, and/or shown pictures to, also had higher scores in these areas compared to the infants whose parents did not read regularly to them, but not as high as those who were talked to.

So Savvy Aunties, next time you’re with your baby niece or nephew, talk away – you're not only bonding and having fun with them, you’re helping their cognitive development, too!

By the way, don't shy away from that high-pitched tone we often use when talking to babies. This "infant directed speech" or IDS isn't babbling like a baby, but rather elongating our vowels and speaking more slowly. This "baby talk" helps them pick up language and vocabulary. And that high-pitch "sing-song" tone? It's their cue that Auntie is talking to them, not mom or dad.

Keep talking, baby!

For more information on this topic and other learning and development skills for nieces and nephews, read the national bestseller: Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids by Melanie Notkin

Published: January 7, 2015