Increasingly, research is indicating the need to consider language development in the particular cultural, socio-economic and child-rearing context in which it is occurring. The observations in this paper, conducted over a period of nine months while the first author lived with a family in a village in Botswana, highlight the need for a more thorough understanding of the "local" child-rearing practices and the nature of typically developing children's communicative interactions. Mothers' orientation towards interacting with their babies, as well as the interaction style with their young children, is described. Implications for further research are discussed.