Straight Talk on Baby Talk
Understanding Your Child’s Early Communication
All children, even the most well-behaved, will use the most primitive form of communication—crying. Crying is the baby’s way of telling you that they need something from you, that they need your attention. But beyond that, there are a number of fundamental speech milestones that should be carefully observed as your child grows and develops. Some variance may be exhibited based on the individual child, but for the most part, there are specific benchmarks that children of a certain age should effectively reach.
Babies and toddlers have language and communication skills long before they are able to create what we think of as “speech.” Sounds ranging from simple noises and single syllables to words and sentences all comprise your child’s developing communication skill set. As the child’s caregiver, it’s important to understand how and why your child is attempting to communicate with you, what’s appropriate based on the child’s age, as well as how you should respond to their communication.
As a developing newborn between the ages of one and four months, your child will most likely communicate through smiling, cooing or gurgling sounds. These expressions may be a direct response to something in the environment—perhaps a sound or a familiar face—and represent the beginning stages of your child’s language and communication development. As a caregiver, it’s important to interact with your child as this initial communication effort is occurring. Smile back when your child smiles at you and acknowledge their cooing. Speak to your baby using the familiar cooing, singsong pattern or rhythm, as that’s what babies respond to. Speaking to a baby the way that you’d speak to an adult certainly won’t elicit the smiles and giggles you’re aiming for.
As your child transitions into the three- to six-month age bracket, you’ll likely notice that making sounds has become an enjoyable experience for your little one. Laughter and squealing may be more frequent, and blowing raspberries may be a common sound around your household. Most children will begin to imitate sounds, developing their own cadence of speech. Again, as a caregiver, it’s important to acknowledge your child’s efforts and directly communicate. Talk to your baby even though they can’t talk back. Also, at this point, it’s suggested that you start naming objects and repeating the names, so your child will begin to make the appropriate associations and reproduce your speech.
In the first year or so of life, many adults shorten words to make them more baby-friendly (e.g., “baba” for bottle or “binkie” for pacifier). While that’s appropriate when your child is very young, when they begin making words, you should encourage the use of the correct “adult” words so that your child appropriately imitates your language. If you’ve continued to use those “baby” words, don’t worry, as it’s never too late to alter your language.
Babbling will likely be your child’s preferred method of communication when they reach the age of six to nine months. Your child should now be capable of creating a variety of consonant sounds or communicating word-like utterances to let you know they have something to say. You’ll also begin to notice that your child understands what you say. For example, if you ask your baby where Daddy is, don’t be surprised if they turn their head to look for him. You must be actively communicating and observing, however, to recognize these types of developmental milestones.
Over the next few months, be prepared to hear multi-syllable babbling and sound imitation that will likely take place. And that exciting milestone that all parents and caregivers look forward to —their first word—may happen during this stage.
When it’s time to celebrate your child’s first birthday, it’s likely that they will be able to say two or more words, and by the time they’re two, they’ll likely be putting together two words. In addition to speaking, the average child will also be able to recognize objects by name. Again, hopefully you’ve started calling objects by their correct name instead of using “baby” words.
Your child’s ongoing and developing speech skills should be a topic during every visit to your pediatric physician. Tell your doctor how your baby is communicating with you and what specific concerns you have. Parents often worry that their child isn’t “speaking,” without realizing that during the learning phases, a child’s speech won’t sound like that of an adult. It may not be clear or distinct. At 15 months, your child may still say “tu” for truck or “duh” for dog, and that’s okay. In those situations, help your child by acknowledging what they’re trying to say, provide positive reinforcement and model the proper way to say the word. For example, if your child says “tu” for truck, try saying, “Yes, truck! That’s a truck!” At 15 months or even two years of age, it doesn’t need to be a full word to count as a word.
If your child is not developing speech patterns at the appropriate rate for their age, speech or language therapy is highly effective. Again, if you have concerns, talk to your physician about your observations and an effective course of action for helping your child reach the appropriate developmental milestones.