Pointing and naming

Why do it?

This activity helps baby expand their vocabulary. Baby will have noticed whānau pointing to and naming things and people — both in books and in the real world. Before too long, baby will begin to point too, wanting whānau to give names to things.
When baby points and looks at their whānau to hear their response, baby is learning about conversations, how people take turns when they’re talking together.

Point to what baby seems to be looking at and name it for them — follow their interest.
If you notice things that are interesting, point to them and tell baby what they see.
Baby probably already enjoys repetition, and soon this ‘pointing and naming’ will become a game.
When you think baby is ready, try using a couple of extra descriptive words when baby points — for example, ‘Ball. It’s a red ball!’ (This is known as ‘stretch talk’.)
This is a simple way of playing together and baby learns a lot — they have their own ‘personal advisor’ on the world.