TOUCHING HOME

Baby talk: Chitchat's better than cooing for jogging your baby'sbrain, since the first 12 months are crucial to building lifelongprocessing and reasoning abilities.

According to August's Parenting magazine, infants who werespoken to often - in a tone that engaged their attention - had higherintelligence by ages 3 and 9.

Parenting offers a guide for talking through baby's first year:One- to 3-week-olds are sensitive to overstimulation, so don't worryabout chatting.At 1 to 3 months, babies are taking more in but can't process much.So turn off background noise (TV, radio) when you're talking.Three- to 6-month-olds benefit from a running play-by-play of whatyou're both doing. While they won't understand the words, they'llstore the sounds for later.By 6 to 9 months, babies understand tone of voice. "No!" won'tmean much, but babies catch the tone's urgency.Nine- to 12-month-olds start to assign meaning to the words theyhear. Use gestures to help connect sound and meaning.Gannett News ServiceTick time: Since kids are prone to ticks and the Lyme diseasethey carry, August's Parents magazine urges moms and dads to doroutine tick checks. Lyme disease's symptoms - rash, muscle andjoint aches, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes - can appear two to 40days after the bite.Parents should pay special attention to the back of the neck,armpits, behind the knees and ears, and the groin. Look forsomething that resembles a pin head or a sesame seed. Usingtweezers, grab the tick close to the skin and pull gently. To killticks on clothing, wash in hot water.Gannett News ServiceBetter remedies: Over-the-counter remedies often can do moreharm than good, according to Family Circle magazine. Instead ofself-medicating, take a look at what's causing the problem. Dry andred eyes may not need eye drops, but moist air and less consumptionof alcohol. Multisymptom cold remedies aren't right for every cold.Tea with a bit of honey is usually better for coughs than acough suppressant. And chicken soup really can help a stuffy nose.For minor cuts, wash with soap and water and disinfect with peroxide.Ointments can seal off the wound, trapping dirt and causinginfection.Gannett News ServiceClarification: A photo of churchgoers published on the July 27Family page was taken at Broadview Baptist Church in south suburbanBroadview.