Make a silly sound, then pause and wait. More often than not, your six-month-old will “answer” back with a babble, a squeal, or a grin, and that small exchange is the real beginning of conversation. Conversation Games build early language and turn-taking long before any real words arrive.
Why this game matters
Around six months, babies begin experimenting with sounds like “ga,” “ma,” and “ba,” and responding to those sounds, rather than simply talking at your baby, teaches the fundamental back-and-forth rhythm of real conversation: one person speaks, pauses, and waits for the other to respond. That pattern, practised here through babbles and silly faces, is the same structure every later conversation will follow.
What you need
Nothing but your own voice, face, and a willingness to be silly.
How to play
Sit your baby facing you on your lap and make a playful, silly sound, a raspberry, a sing-song “ba-ba-ba,” an exaggerated vowel sound. Then pause and genuinely wait, watching your baby’s face for any response, a babble, a squeal, a grin, a change in expression.
When they respond, mirror it back as closely as you can, the same sound, the same face, which reinforces that you’re genuinely listening and responding to what they offered, not just performing at them.
A second version: telling a real story
Tell your baby a story that’s genuinely meaningful to you, the day they were born, an important memory from your own life. Pause occasionally and ask them a direct question, even though you won’t get a literal answer back. Babies often fill these pauses with their own babbled “response,” which is worth treating as a real contribution to the conversation, continuing warmly as though they’d actually answered.
Why waiting for a response matters so much
It’s tempting, especially with a baby who isn’t yet talking in words, to simply keep speaking without pausing for a reply. Resist that instinct here. The deliberate pause, genuinely waiting to see what your baby does, is what turns this from one-sided narration into something closer to an actual exchange, and that practised back-and-forth rhythm is exactly the skill this game is building.
A silly sound, a genuine pause, and a baby’s babbled reply is a small, everyday moment that happens dozens of times a day without much notice. Treating it deliberately, as an actual conversation rather than background noise, gives your baby real, repeated practice at the turn-taking structure underneath every conversation they’ll ever have.
