Taking Turns with Sounds

Safety

When holding a young infant face to face, support their head and neck until they hold their head steady.
An infant who falls asleep during the exchange goes on their back in a crib or bassinet with nothing else in it.

Presentation

1
Choose a time when the infant is awake and calm. Turn off music and other background sound.
2
Bring your face in front of the infant's face, about 20–30 cm (8–12 in.) away. With a newborn, hold them in your arms or lie beside them on the mat.
3
Say something short to start: "Hello, Sam. I see you." Then stop talking and wait, looking at the infant.
4
Wait 5–10 seconds for a response: a sound, a mouth movement, a smile, a kick. Young infants take several seconds to answer. This is the point of interest: the infant answers in the pause.
5
When the infant makes a sound, answer it. Copy the sound back ("Ahh") and then add real words: "Ahh. You are talking to me."
6
Pause again and wait for the infant's next turn. Continue as long as the infant keeps looking at you.
7
When the infant looks away, arches, yawns, or fusses, stop and let them rest. Looking away is how the infant ends the exchange.

Extensions, easiest to hardest

Copy the infant's new sounds as they appear (such as "ba" and "da" from about 6 months), then answer with a real word that uses the sound
Take turns with gestures: wave, clap, or open and close the hands, and wait for the infant to copy
Turn-taking games such as peekaboo, with a pause before the face appears for the infant to react
Name what the infant points at and wait for a sound in reply

Control of error

None in the material. The infant's signals show the adult whether to continue: looking and making sounds mean continue; looking away, yawning, or fussing mean stop.

Ready to move on when the child…

Makes a sound in reply after the adult speaks and pauses
Waits for the adult to finish before making the next sound
Starts an exchange by making a sound or reaching toward the adult and looking at them
Copies a sound or gesture the adult makes (from about 9 months)

Guide note

Research on infant language links the number of back-and-forth turns between adult and infant to later language, not only the number of words the infant hears. Television, recordings, and apps do not answer the infant, so they give no turns; the AAP advises no screen media before 18 months except video chat with family, which does include turns. Families who speak another language at home take turns in that language.