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My name is Vivienne, I'm a health visitor and I'm here to share some tips and ideas that parents can use to help develop their children's communication skills.

So for a newborn for example, they see most clearly at about eight to twelve inches.

It means that the thing they focus most on is a human face and that is kind of the distance that you hold them at feeding and when you're changing them.

Some good wee games to play are just simple, using your hands to play peek a boo.

Why this game is good is babies at an early age think when they can't see something, it doesn't exist any more and they can get quite panicky when Mum or Dad leave the room.

But later on, they'll realise that just because they can't see it, it still exists.

Anticipation games then are games where there is a little tickle round and round the garden and then tickle under the arm.

Over time, the baby will know that that's going to come and they'll get excited at that point and start to giggle.

Lots of different nursery rhymes help to develop a child's literacy skills and that's because of the repetitive nature.

Babies love repetition and they love when something exciting happens at the end of a rhyme as well.

It's important too when you are playing with toys with your children that you don't give them too many at once.

It's better to focus just on one toy and use as much description as you can around that toy.

Keep sentences short and simple as well.

So that there's more chance that they might copy some of your words.

Just get into the habit of chatting to your child throughout the day.

When you share a quality interaction with your child.

You're helping to develop their literacy skills for later life.