Talking to a baby is one of the most important things parents can do for their child. It is critical in a baby’s
growth-and it can’t start too soon. After all, at about 6 months, the fetus hears sounds, the loudest (and the one remembered) being mother’s voice. Studies show infants actually recognize mother’s voice and prefer it
over others.

This ability to distinguish sounds continues after birth and becomes more refined as baby starts to
understand her native language. Around the sixth month, you’ll wake up one morning to the cooing and babbling sounds of your baby in her crib entertaining herself. Listen closely and you’ll hear her having a cute "conversation" with a favorite stuffed animal.
  
Conversation starters 
At this age, most babies can hold a "conversation" with you, alternately babbling and then listening. Try calling out to your baby from another room, however, and you’ll be ignored. Baby needs to see you talking to her in order to connect your voice with a conversation. She’ll be most talkative when she’s happy, and very quiet when she’s not.
 
Help build your baby’s language skills
Don’t expect to hear any real words quite yet. Most of your baby’s vocalizations will be one-syllable sounds like "moo," "maa," and "baa." Although your baby is still developing language skills, she’ll be able to understand you well before she can say the words. There are a few things you can do right now to help baby develop language skills-as well as social skills.
 
Here are some of the best ways to talk to baby:

• Talk to your baby a lot, particularly about what’s going on at the moment. If you’re putting on baby’s socks, talk about that. If you’re holding up a rattle, chat about the rattle. Then shake the rattle and talk about the noise. Keep your conversation centered around baby’s world and make sure you’re talking directly to baby.

• Use short sentences and simple words. At first, baby can only process simple information.

• Use nouns consistently to identify things. For instance, ask, "Where is your book?" rather than, "Where is it?" Refer to your baby by name. She’s still too young to grasp the concept of pronouns like "you," "me," "yours," and so on. Instead say, "Jennifer did a good job."

• Talk about objects the baby can see rather than things she has to recall. Seeing the object and hearing the word at the same time will help baby make a stronger connection.

• Refer often to pictures. Faces and people will be especially intriguing at this time in baby’s life. Picture books can be great conversation-starters!

• Talk in a happy-sounding voice. That’s pretty easy, actually, since most adults come with a built-in sing-songy voice that automatically takes over whenever they’re face-to-face with an infant.

• Emphasize facial expressions and gestures as you speak. You may feel silly, but this will help your baby understand you better. Also make sure the facial expressions you use look happy. This way baby will begin to identify talking as something pleasant.

Talking to toddler
As your child grows, gradually adapt the way you converse by:

• Paying attention when your toddler talks. This is easy because just listening to your little one talk is fascinating. As a matter of fact, parents who haven’t spent much time talking with their baby change once baby becomes a talkative toddler.

• Expanding on what your toddler says. For example, if she says, "see the dog", ask "What sound does the dog make?" or "What color is the dog?" This expansion helps increase baby’s appreciation for the seemingly limitless possibilities of language.

• Echoing back what your toddler says. (This is a good tip, no matter how old the child! It keeps everybody on the same page.)

• Asking questions. Because you’re little one is now talking, this is a wonderful opportunity to find out what’s going on in that little mind.

• Interpreting what’s happening at a level a bit beyond where you assume your toddler’s operating. Youngsters can operate at a higher level than we assume, so a little stretch will make for a healthy conversation. For example, if she says, "See the dog," respond by explaining why the dog is on a leash or why you shouldn’t pet a dog that is unfamiliar to you.