Ever get the feeling like you are babbling more than your baby? It turns out that going gaga over your baby actually serves a purpose. It helps them with language acquisition! Their brains are taking in loads of information from these back-and-forth interactions.   Jessica Rolph welcomes Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek to this episode to explore the characteristics of this early communication. Kathy is a  professor in psychology at Temple University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is also co-author of Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children.    Key Takeaways: [1:12] How can a parent contribute to the building of communication skills? [2:30] Remember to pause and create space for your baby to respond. [3:24] Kathy talks about infant-directed speech. [5:30] The back-and-forth conversation with a baby might be more important than we thought. [6:30] Technology sometimes gets in the way of opportunities to communicate with our babies.    Mentioned in this episode: Brought to you by Lovevery.com Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children