How Does a Baby's Brain Learn to Communicate?

From around 6 months onwards, babies are very  responsive to sounds. A baby's brain forms connections to enable them to eventually talk and communicate. A baby often communicates through crying. But over time they begin cooing and babbling their way to language skills.

They respond best to  higher pitch, short simple sentences with longer vowel sounds. This is called 'parantese speech'. By speaking to babies and letting them imitate you, they learn new sounds and how a conversation works.

Babies babble or furrow their brow to signal they are focused and eager to learn more. They also begin to have an emotional reaction when someone or something is missing. This is why babies at this age may begin to experience 'stranger anxiety'.

By around 8 months babies can recognise objects and people they've seen before and they can also 'recalt' them when they are on their own. Between 8-12 months babies begin to learn that objects exist even when they can't see them. This concept is called 'object permanence'.