Talk to me gently - what is 'serve and return'?

You might have heard the term, ‘serve and return’ and wonder what this means, ‘serve and return’ is a term used to describe the reciprocal interactions that adults have with babies and children. In these interactions the baby or child offers a ‘serve’ this could be as simple as looking at you or at an object, making a sound or moving their arms and legs and then, as your baby develops, it could be making sounds or saying a word.  The adult notices this serve and returns it, so this could be by looking where the baby is looking, pointing, commenting, offering a gentle touch or a smile.  Responding to your baby’s ‘serves’ helps to build your relationship with them, shows them that their interests will be noticed and encourages curiosity. Your responses also provide the opportunity for them to hear the words to name the things that they are looking at, it might be a while before they say words but hearing the names of objects helps them to link words and the things that they see.

Read more about playing with your baby in our blog post - 'Serve and return! Playing with your baby'.