Whats the Right Age for Baby’s Talk?

There are a few moments that you never want to miss, primarily when those moments are related to your children. Your baby’s talk, glance, first smile, first laugh, first cry, everything is a beautiful memory that lasts for a lifetime. Your son’s first step towards you or your daughter’s first word addressing you, you would never want to miss out on such things.

Well, it is needless to say, but the communication between you and your child begins with the news of his or her arrival. And when you lay your eyes for the first time on her, she giggles with laughter, cries for your warmth, points to things that seek her attention. But each one of us waits eagerly for them to speak more during their early childhood development.

As we often say, every kid is different, and hence child development varies in every aspect. From taking their first step to developing an understanding of the surrounding context, it is different from every kid, and language is no other aspect. So, there is no mainly defined age for a baby’s talk.

The Development of a Baby’s Talk

Talking about language development skills, a baby’s talk is indeed a slow process. It takes quite a long time for children to establish the vocabulary in their memory to register and speak meaningful sentences—usually, baby talks from the early age of six months. The first word by babies often comes around between 11 and 14 months of age. Most of the time, it is “mama” or “papa,” but it could be any word they have heard the most. As they grow up to 16 months, girls register a vocabulary of about 50 words, whereas boys can say an average of around 30 words. When babies are two years old, they know 200-300 words that are enough to communicate short sentences with ease. By the third birthday, the vocabulary is developed well enough to have advanced conversations with you.

It is quite exciting and interesting to note that during early childhood development, they understand more than they can express. They build their language skills by understanding the language surrounding them. So, when you speak to your child or siblings play together, they know and develop their narrative.

Ways To Develop Your Baby’s Talk

1. Communicate Early

Babies try to communicate with signs and gestures when they can’t speak. For early childhood development, acknowledge these signs and respond to them. If she is raising her arms, again and again, pick her up, maybe she is pointing towards a toy, bring her that, if she is shaking her head, or laughing at some gestures, don’t stop doing them. This makes them feel understood and motivated them to communicate more with you.

2. Be a Gasbag

Your baby might not be able to talk right now, but she hears everything. Her tiny brain is registering those big words and adding to her vocabulary. Talk to her in-depth about your day, tell her about things around, narrate her stories. Make her listen to more words to blossom her language development skills. The more words she will repeatedly hear, the more she will understand. This is a crucial aspect of a baby’s talk.

Language development skills work the same at any age. In case you are trying to learn a foreign language, you first register the maximum words in that language to have a clear understanding of things. This remains the same with the babies too.

3. Read Books

Reading is an ideal way to build a strong vocabulary and language development skills. Read to your child from her initial years. Make this a habit to read out to your newborn for significant and early childhood development. New words every day in your voice will help her understand the stories with time.

4. Sing

Rhymes, lullabies, action songs are great ways to keep your child engaged. Not only do they attract the attention of the child, but they are beneficial for language development skills. Your baby will enjoy repeating actions and will even try to sing along with you.

5. Babble

Kids start babbling from six months of age. Respond to a baby’s talk and repeat their sounds. Engage in communication with them in their language. Your baby will enjoy a fun session of babble talking. Make new sounds and let the kid imitate them. This will encourage kids to be more vocal.

6. Listen

Listen to their laughs, cries, and their attempts to communicate with you with all the attention. Let your baby talk as this will help them to attempt more.

7. Elaborate

When your kid starts talking in one or two words, reply to them with full sentences. Use proper words and speak in elaborated sentences to help her understand more about forming sentences.

Things To Avoid During Your Baby’s Talk

• Babies are very well aware of their surroundings, and hence they get distracted easily. Switch off any background noise from TV or Radio and let your baby concentrate on what you are saying.
• Screen time should be limited. Babies grow up and develop habits by observing the people around them. If you spend your time on phones or watching TV, your child would want to do the same, and this can have a detrimental impact on your kid during early childhood development.
• Do not emphasize much on correcting your child while communicating with them. Kids are bound to make mistakes initially. They may form new words and refer to things accordingly. As they grow, they begin to understand to differentiate the items and will name them correctly. Encourage them to speak more and respond to their baby talk.

When to Worry About Your Baby’s Talk

Child development varies at a different rate, but if you are worried about your child not meeting the language milestones with time, consult the doctor for talking therapy. The sooner a problem gets diagnosed, the sooner it can get treated.

Contact your doctor if:

• Your baby is nine months old and yet to babble
• They are not responding to you when you are calling him or her by name.
• Your baby is unable to follow basic instructions and is yet to form sentences by his second birthday.