Instead you’re allegedly better off rambling at them about household tasks and the family pet.
In a study of over 7,000 nine-month-olds, Limerick University found that talking to your baby as you go about your daily tasks helps them learn about their surroundings.
Author Tracey Blake, who co-wrote Small Talk: Simple Ways to Boost Your Child’s Speech, told a UK newspaper: “Our book Small Talk encourages parents to talk to their babies from birth for just this reason – from the moment they are born babies’ brains constantly process and absorb what we say.
“If parents are pottering around the house with their little one, commenting on what they are doing, ‘Let’s mop the floor, mop, mop, mop,’ ‘There’s the cat, hello cat,’ then babies are listening to words in the correct context and when the words are repeated over and over again they are hardwired into their brains so that, at some point, they will attempt to say the words.”
That’s not to say you should ban a story at bed time, as it’s still interaction with your child.
Tracey added: “Parents are their child’s best model for speech and the sooner they start chatting to them the better. Although we’d still recommend a bed-time book too.”
Dr Frederick Zimmerman, of UCLA School of Public Health, insists you must engage your baby in conversation.
He previously said: “It’s not enough to speak to children. Parents should also engage them in conversation.
“Kids love to hear you speak, but they thrive on trying speech out for themselves. Give them a chance to say what’s on their minds, even if it’s ‘goo goo gah’.”