Babies may thrive on wordless conversation
By Bruce Bower
At 4 months of age, babies are at a loss for words. They’re not at a loss for conversational skills, though.
A new study finds that 4-month-olds engage in precisely timed vocal interactions with adults. By this age, the researchers report, most babies have learned when to make sounds to a partner, when to pause and for how long, when to join in with a partner, and how to take turns vocalizing. In other words, they exhibit the same patterns of rhythmic give-and-take that adults use to converse.