If all of your
friends toddlers are
babbling away and
your toddler is not
talking yet you may
have reason to
become concerned.
One of the things
parents often use to
gauge their child's
development is how
early they start
talking. Babies
start off
experimenting with
noises from an early
age, usually
consisting of
babbling noises, the
typical "goo goo"
and "gaa gaa"
sounds, these will
turn into "ma ma"
and "da da". These
babbling sounds
eventually progress
into Mommy and
Daddy. So how do you
determine whether
your child has
delayed speech
development and what
do you do if your
toddler is not
talking yet?
On a daily basis
your child will find
different ways to
shape their mouth
and change the noise
they are making; the
first step in their
speech
development. Parents
naturally spend a
great deal of time
talking to their
baby's but they do
this instinctually
and mostly to enjoy
the social
interaction it
offers. Many don't
realize that this is
also essential for
the development of
their speech and
language skills.
Babies recognize
the sound of their
parent's voices from
even before birth;
they become familiar
with us when they
are in the womb.
Parent's voices are
comforting for them,
especially for
newborns before
their vision is
fully developed.
Babies and toddlers
mimic their parents;
that's how they
learn. The more
verbal communication
you engage in with
your child, the
faster they will
learn.
By the time your
child is the age of
twelve to eighteen
months your baby
should be saying
words like Mommy and
Daddy. Over the next
year of your child's
speech development,
they will learn to
put together small
sentences and
communicate their
needs to their
family members. By
the age of 21 months
most children can be
understood by their
family. If your
child cannot
communicate with
family members and
be understood by the
age of 30 months
there would be cause
for concern. At any
stage, if your child
is not meeting the
age appropriate
developmental
timelines you should
seek professional
opinion. Trust your
instincts, more
often than not
parents know best.
If your toddler
isn't talking yet
there are things you
can do to encourage
speech development.
Keyword signing,
otherwise known as
baby sign language
has been shown by
researchers to
increase language
acquisition by up to
3 months. Children
using sign language
have the language
re-enforced to them
by the parent as the
gestures are used in
conjunction with the
word. Parent's who
use sign language
with their children
are often more aware
of their
communication with
their baby's and
flood them with
language on a daily
basis. Gesture based
baby sign language
also improves word
comprehension as the
gesture is a natural
movement that mimics
the meaning of the
word. Reading to
your child is
another important
strategy that will
go a long way to
improving your
child's language
skills. When they
are exposed to
reading at an early
age they pick up on
the way language
ebbs and flows and
are more likely to
have an interest in
books later on.
So if you are
concerned that your
toddler is not
talking yet, assess
the developmental
timeline as make
sure they are
reaching the
recommended
milestones. Not all
babies develop at
the same rate and
the normal range can
differ by months. If
you are looking for
ways to encourage
speech development
because your toddler
is not talking yet,
keyword signing and
reading are both
great places to
start.
