Hello on the Phone

1. 1

   Babies learn by copying familiar actions. When your baby sees you use a phone, they may lift a block to their ear and imitate “Hello?”

2. 2

   Join the pretend call: “Hello? Is that you?”

3. 3

   If your baby babbles into the block, put a possible meaning into words and respond: “Oh, it’s you! What are you doing?”

4. 4

   If they pick up the block but lose the idea, follow their movement and model dialing: “Ring, ring—Mom is calling you.”

5. 5

   Let your baby repeat a sound, listen, or pretend to dial in their own way.

6. 6

   Finish by saying “Goodbye” and pretending to hang up. Start another call if your baby wants more.

What to notice

• Holds a block beside their ear and copies your pretend phone call Imitation and Symbolic Representation and Play
• Holds the pretend phone and responds to you with babbling sounds Communicating and Speaking

Tips

• Your baby may pick up a banana or ball and use it as a phone. That is a normal part of pretend play, so avoid correcting how they hold it.
• Once the game is familiar, invite different family members to take pretend calls so your baby can experience a variety of exchanges.

Developmental benefits

• Cognitive: Using a block or another object as a pretend phone helps your child imitate a familiar action and understand that one object can represent another.
• Language: A pretend phone call gives your child practice taking conversational turns and using words to keep an exchange going.