You are your child's first and most important teacher.  Never underestimate the impact you have on your child.  He/She looks up to you more than anyone else and models your behavior.  He also looks to you for your approval.  When she can look in your eyes and see that you believe in her it gives her the confidence to move forward and venture out on her own.  So don’t ever doubt for a second how important you are!

Links:

http://www.parentsasteachers.org

http://nextgenparenting.com/blog/?p=658

http://betterkidcare.psu.edu/TIPS/TIPS303.pdf

http://www.parenthood.com/index.php

http://www.nationalcac.org/families/early_learning/parents/

My absolute most favorite resource for learning about my daughters development is Baby’s First Wish.

They are monthly newsletters that tell you what you can expect your child to be doing that month as well as little games and activities you can do to help them grow and learn.

Go check it out.  I know you will love it!

Talk to your child….A LOT. It takes hearing a word a ridiculous amount of times before they can actually say their first word. When your child is learning to talk (and when they are infants) you can read them books or just talk to them about what you are doing throughout the day as if they understand everything you are saying. It feels awkward at first but you get used to it.
Another great technique to use is when you are sitting and playing you can emphasize just one word of whatever it is they are interested in at the moment. Then when they get that word down you can add another one, and so on and so on. Some great words to start with (besides mommy and daddy of course) are “more, up, down, eat, drink, milk, dog”. But basically just whatever your child is most interested in.