Babies are like a gift from heaven. With their pure innocence and adorable tactics, these little munchkins win all of our hearts. If you have a little child at home, sister, brother, son, daughter, or whatever the relationship might be, you will never feel bored. They keep a person engaged unknowingly. Every milestone they take fills our hearts with pleasure and a sense of achievement. We wait eagerly, especially to hear them talk. So, when do babies start talking?
Talking does not happen overnight. It is a gradual arc that starts with the babies observing everyone talking around them and ends with them learning to say words. In this article, we will find out when do babies start talking and how you can help them improve their skills.
In This Article
- When Do Babies Start Talking?
- What Are the Stages of Baby Talking?
- How Can You Help Your Baby Learn to Talk?
- What to Do if Your Baby is Not Able to Talk?
- When to Consult a Doctor?
- FAQ’s
When Do Babies Start Talking?
The only way a child communicates is by crying or weeping their heart out. Hungry, sleepy, tired, sad, and lonely, they cry to express their any and every feeling. It is not long until they start to understand and grasp the meanings of words that they hear regularly and try to get them out by babbling and making sounds that they can generate. Most of the time, a child’s first words are either his parents, ‘mama’ or ‘dada’ or some gibberish words.
What Are the Stages of Baby Talking?
Babies do not start speaking suddenly, and it is a process that takes months before they talk in a way that everyone can understand (i.e) anywhere between 9 and 14 months.
By 3 Months
They don’t speak from the first day itself. But it does not mean that they ignore the noises and sounds of their surroundings. Babies hear and learn to associate sounds with a particular action or thing it is coming from—for example, the rattle toy. They rattle to produce the sound it emits and often laugh over it when given.
In the first three months, a child does not speak; instead, they use their arms or legs to direct attention toward themselves. With their jerky and wobbly movements, they learn how to laugh, coo, and move their hands and legs in excitement. By cooing and laughing, babies develop muscles and learn to use their lips and mouth to form words and produce sounds.
By 6 Months
In the next few months, the baby will start to babble and say some gibberish, non-sense words often, like ‘ooh,’ ‘aahhh,’ ‘bababa,’ ‘dadada.’ Babies will also try to copy some of the sounds that they hear the parents make.They will also raise and lower the pitch of their voice as if they are communicating with you. Overall, they will learn to make vowel sounds and work on consonants to get new words.
By 9 Months
Babies still use their little language to get your attention and talk to you at this stage. They might start using words like ‘mama’/’mum,’ ‘dada,’ but they would not know their meaning. In many households, you must have heard babies using the word ‘mum’ for water.
[Read : When Will My Baby Speak Her First Word?]
By 12 Months
They understand the meaning of ‘mama’ ‘papa’ and use them accordingly. They also learn to associate a few materials with their names, like flowers, fruits, etc. When said in front of them, they try to find the things mentioned and the source of the sound. They will use greetings, ‘hi,’ and ‘bye’ as they are short and straightforward. Gestures also become a part of their language.
How Can You Help Your Baby Learn to Talk?
People surrounding the baby, be it parents, siblings, or guardians, really influence a baby. They don’t know anything, and they learn and behave based on what they hear and see. So, it is necessary to use appropriate behavior and words with and in front of them. There are some tricks that you can use to develop your child’s verbal skills:
1. Pay Attention
When they don’t know how to form words, they often attempt to communicate with gestures and motions. For example, they stretch their arms when they want you to hold them. Try to be alert and attentive towards them, so they don’t feel ignored.
2. Listen to Them
The baby talk does not make sense. So, it is entirely understandable if you cannot follow their words. However, you must ensure that they know you are listening to their terms and do gestures like nodding, smiling, or laughing to assure them that you are paying attention to their babbling.
3. Read Stories
Grab a children’s storybook and narrate it to them. Everyone loves hearing stories, especially children. Tell them a short story at any time of the day, be it noon, evening or night. It will help them learn new words and identify some regular day-to-day items.
[Read : Reading to Your Baby]
4. Talk to Them
Whenever you are cooking, bathing, feeding the baby, or playing with them, talk. Tell them about how you are doing such and such if you are cooking or how they are a good baby when they finish their food correctly. It will encourage them to talk too.
5. Let Them Decide
When you are playing with your child, don’t just say, “let’s play with this today!”. No. Let the kid decide what he wants to play with, and you follow the lead. It will help them to know that communication goes both ways.
What to Do if Your Baby is Not Able to Talk?
It is not easy to identify the reason for a baby’s silence because most of the time while growing up, they make a whole lot of noise. You will never find peace once they start to talk. Babies tend to speak more words only after they are a year old.
But if, after two years, they still don’t talk, then you should consider a visit to the doctor as soon as possible. It can be due to slow learning, which means they are taking their time to learn the language and speech. Or it can be because of some physical problems or developmental issues such as the autism spectrum disorder.
When to Consult a Doctor?
It is a severe issue if the child speaks less than 10-20 words at 18 months. You should get them checked by a pediatrician if they fail to produce words and sounds but can do actions; they repeat the same kind of words repeatedly or have problems understanding the words you use daily to familiarize them with. Many fun activities and exercises will help them learn to speak if it is just a delay in learning and speech.
Are you also one of the parents waiting for their little one’s first words? A whole lot of excitement and anticipation must be there. Worry not; that little bundle of joy will be developing verbal skills for months, slowly but surely. Do keep in mind the methods that can help them in learn fast.
[Read : When will, my Baby understand Words, Behaviour and People]
FAQ’s
1. What Age is the Average For a Baby to Start Talking?
By 6 months, they start speaking small words, mainly gibberish. When a year old, they know more words along with their meanings. And by 2-3 years, they talk in sentences.
2. Does TV Cause Speech Delay?
Yes. It was found in a study that babies under 12 months of age with more than 2 hours of screen time were likely to develop speech delays.
3. How Do You Encourage Babies to Talk?
Well, to encourage babies, talk in front of them. Tell them stories, sing to them or play engaging games to keep their attention on you.
Read Also: Speaking In Sentences – Toddler Development
