
Teach your kids with movement. As you pick your child up, tell them “now we’re going up”, or “now we’re moving down.” Say things like “daddy’s closer – now he’s far away,” or “daddy’s here, now daddy’s there”, and make sure to mimic the actions with physical movement. The word “Up” was one of the first words my daughter ever said and I believe it was because she saw the physical action that corresponded with being lifted in the air while also hearing the word. Babies have a variety of ways to determine language and using different methods to demonstrate the meaning of words can help them get an early start on building their vocabulary.