As you spend time reading to the infants and toddlers in your care you are helping to develop their understanding of words. As language develops, a lifelong love for books can also be developed.
Babies begin life with the ability to perceive and reproduce sounds from any language.
Yet by about 6 months of age the brain has been wired for whatever language baby hears daily and their babbling is in the sounds of that native language. During the first year babies move from coos to babbling and then produce their first words. The language experiences of babies are profoundly important. Children deprived of early language experiences never seem to develop typical skills. While children work on their own timetable in developing language, there are warning signs of possible problems that should concern the provider.