Helping Baby Talk: A Pressure-Free Approach to Your Child's First Words from Birth to 3 Years

Parents who worry that their 14-month-old doesn't yet have a William Buckley-esque vocabulary will sigh with relief after perusing this book, which advises that kids talk when they're ready, that parents most help simply by chatting with them in a natural way and that being an early talker doesn't necessarily indicate unusual brightness or maturity. The explanation of language acquisition is straightforward and easy to understand, with various citations of studies by experts, but the arguments are redundant. Moreover, it's hard to imagine parents who need to be told exactly what to say to their children (Sample script: ``Look! There's a bubble! Look at it fly! Uh-oh. It popped!''). The authors flirt with danger when, for example, they suggest tying a balloon to a six-month-old's wrist or ankle to stimulate conversation: it seems imprudent to put a baby in close proximity with an object that can burst, and the authors further fail to warn that a ruptured balloon can choke an infant. Rocissano is a child-development professional; Fitzpatrick wrote The Superbaby Syndrome. (Mar.)