Observe a parent and child age 2 or younger talking for at least 30 minutes. Don’t include any of your own interpretations. For example, say that the baby cried loudly, not that it was hungry or needed a diaper change. You can say that it ate quickly when fed, though. Explain exactly what you saw and heard.

How did the parent talk to the child? Did he/she use “baby talk,” talk slower or otherwise make it easier for the child to understand? Did he/she use gestures to reinforce their talking/

What level of language has the child reached? (Babbling all sounds, babbling mostly sounds from the language used, one-word, two-words, full sentences) Does the child use gestures along with words to get the message across? What else is the child doing to communicate?