My friend Stephen is extremely bright and verbal. His IQ is in the genius range but he did not begin to speak until he was three years old. When I asked his mother why it took so long for such a bright kid to speak, she told me "I figured there was no point in talking to him since he couldn't understand me anyway." Stephen's early childhood experience and subsequent late speech development speaks to the importance of verbal communication with infants and young children.

Twin studies show that language development is as much as 50 percent genetic, yet researchers say that the single biggest determinant in a child's language acquisition is exposure to language. Infants who have more early language exposure score higher in IQ tests, perform better academically and are more socially competent. Apparently, every word counts. According to a study done by Dr. Betty Hart and Dr. Todd Ridley, babies who heard an average of 2,100 words per hour scored higher on standardized tests at age 3 than did children whose parents hadn't been as verbal.

Many parents wonder if children who say their first word earlier than the average are actually smarter. According to Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, authors of How Babies Talk: The Magic and Mystery of Language in the First Three Years, for children who are in the "normal range" there is no correlation between the age that a child's first word is spoken and their later IQ score. That said, earlier speech does seem to have advantages for children. According to Dr. Lise Eliot author of What's Going On In There: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years, "Earlier talkers are obviously better able to communicate their needs, initiate interactions with others, and understand what's going on around them. So, an earlier start at language seemingly can't help but accelerate all aspects of a child's emotional, social, and cognitive development."

Many parents want to know what they can do to help their infants with language development but aren't sure how to go about doing that. Here are some tips.

Aim For Quantity And Quality. It has been shown that the sheer number of words spoken to a child is directly proportionate to the size of her later vocabulary. However, this only applies to conversations with the child, not simply words that the child overhears. The words must be addressed to the child; conversation in the child's presence does not count nor does television, videos or radio. Some language experts say parents should aim for 30,000 words per day with their child. If you would like to know how many words you are speaking to your child, there is a new device you can buy that actually measures it for you.

Use Lots Of Repetition. While repetition may be boring for you, it is fascinating to your baby. In very young children, it actually helps reinforce neural pathways that link sound and meaning in a child's brain. Repetition also gives your child the opportunity to search her memory for the concept you are presenting and, ultimately, to confirm it in her mind. According to Dr. Sally Ward, author of Baby Talk: Strengthen Your Child's Ability to Listen, Understand, and Communicate, by the time your child is one year old, he has most of the necessary speech sounds he needs in his repertoire but he does not yet speak well because he doesn't know where those sounds belong. Repetition is the key to helping him conquer this task.

Talk With Your Baby, Not At Him. Start having "conversations" when your child is still preverbal. Respond to her coos and cries and don't talk over her responses to your words. Allowing this type of conversational template to develop sets the stage for later communication. This encourages her to be an active participant and helps her to learn the social rules of communications. This also teaches her that you are interested in what she has to say which will encourage her to communicate with you.

Look For Opportunities To Talk. In the early years, there are three particularly great opportunities to engage with your infant. The first is when your child gazes at you or an object. The second is when your child gestures (i.e. points, reaches, or shows you an object). The third is vocalization or cooing. All three of these attempts at communication are great opportunities to open up conversation with your child.

Let Your Child Lead. A study in the Journal of Speech and Hearing Research found that parents who followed their child's lead and gave them opportunities to communicate, also known as facilitative parents, were able to assist in their children's language development far more than parents with a directive style in which they chose the play objects, subjects to talk about and over-anticipated their children's needs.

Use Sign Language. Many parents think that if they teach their child sign language the child will not be motivated to speak when, in fact, the opposite is true. "Signs and gestures enhance your baby's ability to communicate and motivate her to begin to speak," says Dr. Robert Owens author of Help Your Baby Talk: Introducing the New Shared Communication Method to Jump Start Language and Have a Smarter and Happier Baby. Studies have also shown that children without hearing impairments who learn to sign have better recognition of letters and sounds, larger vocabularies, more advanced communications skills, and higher reading levels.

Read To Your Child. Reading is a great opportunity for language stimulation. It is engaging and can set the stage for a life-long love of books. It is never too early to start! By eight months of age, babies can recognize specific words up to two weeks after having been read a storybook. In addition, studies of two-year-olds who were frequently read to starting at an early age found that those children had more advanced language skills than children who were read to less frequently.

Have questions for Dr. Jenn? Email her at drjenn@familymagazinegroup