It is
incredible, but within a
years time your baby
will progress from
random crying to
talking. This is quite
an achievement for your
baby and in a very short
period of time. In this
chapter we will look at
your baby’s development
when it comes to
language. You’ll also
discover what you can
expect to see every
month but it’s important
to remember that these
stages of your baby’s
development are broad
and because every baby
is different these are
not meant as exact
milestones.
One month. Your baby
will be able to
understand speech long
before actually talking.
From birth he will look
at your face and listen
to your voice. He may
make a small range of
noises that will start
to mean something to you
- these may be made when
he experiences feelings
of hunger or pain (such
as crying and certain
sounds while he is
breathing). When your
baby is eating, you may
notice him making
sucking type noises and
sounds of contentment.
The way that your baby
cries is an important
communication method
while he is actually
unable to talk. Crying
lays the foundation for
speech as your baby
learns to control his
vocal cords. Crying is
also a baby’s way of
indicating hunger,
discontentment, or
general discomfort.
Through responding to
this crying you let your
baby know that she is
important to you – and
this can really be
reassuring for a young
infant.
Two months. As a
child enters his second
month he is far more
aware of the world –
things such as sounds,
even that of your voice,
will amuse and fascinate
your child. Change the
tone of your voice and
this will keep him
amused. Your baby will
respond with a variety
of cooing sounds,
vowel-like sounds, and
sometimes some consonant
sounds such as a “k”.
You will find that your
baby has quite a
collection of cooing
sounds that she uses to
communicate with you as
well as discover how to
use the sound of her own
voice. During this time,
try and talk with your
baby – this will
encourage her response
and help in the
development process. By
looking into your baby’s
eyes you are
communicating an
important thing to her –
that you are listening.
Three months. By now
you will find that your
baby is able to
recognize your voice and
may come to you or face
you when your voice is
heard. You may notice
him laugh out aloud and
may even scare himself
by doing this (as he
does not initially know
that he is the one
making the sounds). Your
baby will be making
sounds such as “ahhhh
gooo”. He will squeal
when he is happy and
content, again often
startling himself as he
learns his own
abilities.
At this stage you
should not only talk to
your baby but also
introduce other
communication forms such
as singing and story
telling. The greater
your effort in trying to
talk with him, the
better his response is
likely to be.
Four months. By now
more and more
communication should be
taking place with your
baby. You may notice a
greater amount of
smiling – while his
babbling may have a
noticeably singsong
quality to it, often
ranging into a high
pitch that delights him
as he learns to like the
sound of his own voice.
There will be lots of
repetition to the sounds
that your baby makes.
It is important that
you always respond to
your baby’s “oohs” and “ahhs”
and whatever other
communication methods
she is using - respond
with your own voice
tones. This is your
chance to have a “chat
time” with your baby and
you should take
advantage of these times
– you are helping him to
discover the art of
conversation. There will
also be certain times
when your baby may also
not be in the mood for
talking. He will turn
his head in the other
direction and may put
his arm over his face.
He may be showing signs
of anger or frustration
by crying out,
especially if something
is taken away from him.
Five months. As each
month progresses you
will find that your baby
is becoming better at
communicating. It’s
possible that you will
notice him imitate some
sounds and gestures. By
now he’ll most likely be
able to let you know if
he’s happy or sad. When
attention is wanted your
baby will babble until
he is given the
attention he feels he
deserves. Interestingly,
if you always respond to
his communication
efforts (whatever these
may be) he’ll repeat
them whenever he wants
your attention this way.
During this month
it’s likely that your
baby will be looking at
your mouth moving while
you talk. Talk to him
from across the room and
he’ll be able to find
you with ease. He is
learning to control his
vocal sounds as he
watches your response to
his sounds.
Six months. Your baby
may now be using
consonant-vowel
combinations. It’s quite
possible that he has
discovered his mirror
reflection and is
probably having
conversations with
himself. Your baby’s
language is becoming
much more precise.
Here are some ways
that you can help your
baby develop her
language skills:
· Speak very slowly
and clearly.
· Identify and point
out items, objects and
people as you talk about
them.
· Use shorter
sentences sentences.
· Using repetition
when singing songs and
nursery rhymes helps the
learning process.
· Reading to your
baby is a good idea and
should be done as often
as possible – ask your
baby questions and point
things out to make the
process as interactive
as possible.
· Let your baby
respond in his own way
when communicating with
her.
Seven months. Your
baby is now continuing
to learn how to use his
newfound language
skills. He may be able
to do things such as
wave goodbye and may
accompany his wave with
babbling sounds. He can
say “mama” or “dada”.
Eight months. Your
baby is playing games
such as pat a cake and
peek-a-boo. Even though
he can’t speak the words
that belong to these
games, he can babble and
talk to himself. It’s
likely that your baby
knows what the word “No”
means by now as well.
Nine to twelve
months. It’s possible
that by now your baby
understands requests and
commands such as “give
it” or “don’t touch
that”. Similarly, she
may understand simple
questions such as
“where’s your rattle?”
At this time you should
be encouraging your baby
to use gestures (and you
should respond to them).
For example if your baby
indicates she wants to
be picked up then say
“you want to be picked
up?” while picking her
up. This helps the
learning process. You
should also talk about
everything that you do,
and use gestures (and
short sentences) as
you’re doing them.
Here are some ways to
help your baby with the
learning process:
· Look at books and
talk about the pictures
in simple languages.
Where possible try and
use books that your baby
is able to hold.
· Talk often to your
baby using simple words
to identify objects in
his life. Name trees,
numbers, colours, and
animals as you take your
baby for a walk. You
should also use your
baby’s name often – this
way she will be able to
recognise it.
· Talk back to your
child when she talks
with you.
· Introduce concepts
to your baby, such as
the “big” dog or the
“little” mouse.
· Give your baby time
to get his words out;
don’t be tempted to
complete sentences for
him.
· Continue to read to
your baby as much as
possible. Reading should
be part of your daily
routine.
· From day one start
to talk in a simple,
short and uncomplicated
way with your baby –
even though she will not
understand what you are
saying this is laying
the foundations for
learning language.
Twelve months. After
one year babies are
generally able to say
one or two words and are
able to understand 25
words or more. For
example if a person in
the room asks, “where is
daddy?” your baby will
look for you. Your baby
is also able to point at
things (and ask for
things in this way).
