Hearing your baby utter his first word is a memorable event. And what parent hasn't wished for -- and encouraged -- that moment to come sooner than it does? But it's important to remember that babies develop language skills at their own pace. There are tremendous individual differences during the first year of life, says Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, director of the Infant Language Project at University of Delaware and co-author of How Babies Talk (Penguin Putnam).

That's not to say that a parent can't create a supportive and interactive environment for language learning. Doctors Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (the other co-author of How Babies Talk, and director of the Infant Language Laboratory at Temple University) are two key researchers in the field of baby language comprehension and development. They've designed some simple tests that a parent can do at home to help gauge and enhance language development. Below are a few of the exercises to try during the first year. (For an accurate reading, make certain your baby is alert and well-rested before doing.)

In the event your child doesn't respond to or make progress with these exercises, speak with your pediatrician about her hearing and vocal sounds. Ear infections are very common during the first year and, according to Golinkoff, recurrent ear infections can impede language development. But hopefully, these exercises will only prove to be playful, constructive, and full of promise.

• Newborn to Three Months: According to Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pasek, babies crave interaction and will even try to elicit it with certain sounds. To see if your baby attempts to evoke interaction, place yourself in a position that is conducive to talking to her (no more than 18 inches away from her face) and do not say anything. Present your baby with an expressionless, still face. Listen and look for a reaction from her that may be interpreted as an attempt to get you to socially engage. For example, your baby may sounds or move her arms and hands.
  
  
  
• Four to Eight Months: Babies learn a language by picking up on stress patterns in words (to remember the sounds that they'll eventually associate with a person or object). To determine if your baby is beginning to understand the meaning of words, see if he differentiates his name from a name with similar and different stress patterns.
  

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