By: Child Testing Researcher Nicole Mackiewicz, M.S., an Early Childhood Development Researcher at the Fisher-Price Lab, and mum of two boys.<\/p>\n
New mums anxiously await the day their child will say their first \u201creal\u201d words. And sometimes, let\u2019s just say they decide to take their sweet time. This experience gives mums a new perspective: Every child takes a unique path to reach their developmental milestones.<\/p>\n
So, what age do kids start talking? The short answer: when they\u2019re ready. Their communication skills will begin with smiles, giggles, claps and babbles before any words make it out. But while you wait for your tot to say full words, sentences and more, use these tips to help promote their language development right now.<\/p>\n
How to get tots talking: Conversation starters<\/b><\/p>\n
1. Start story time early.<\/strong> 2. Sing, rhyme and even dance.<\/strong> 3. Play with toys that bring their world down to size.<\/strong> 4. Narrate and label anything, everywhere.<\/strong> 5. Praise your little talker.<\/strong> 6. Keep some banter going.<\/strong> 7. Show them how to talk the talk.<\/strong> Language development timeline: How and when babies start talking<\/b> So, it will take your baby some time to figure out how to talk. Until they utter that very first word, they\u2019ll develop many other important communication skills. Helping babies ages 6-36 months learn their first words is easy with the Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Puppy, a musical plush toy for baby with 75+ songs, sounds, tunes and phrases! Puppy\u2019s hands, foot, ear, and light-up heart respond to baby\u2019s touch (five activations in all!) Press and hold his light-up heart to hear all his songs. Puppy teaches 100 first words and introduces parts of the body, shapes, counting, the alphabet and more.<\/p>\n Baby\u2019s communication and language development: 0-12 months<\/b><\/p>\n 0-3 months<\/strong> 3-6 months<\/strong> 6-9 months<\/strong> 9-12 months<\/strong> Once your child starts learning a few words, the talking train can really pick up steam. They\u2019ll go from babbling to pointing at and naming things. Between 18 and 24 months they may encounter a \u2018word spurt\u2019, increasing their vocabulary dramatically. By age two, kids can typically string two words together (e.g. \u2018mama car\u2019).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Child Testing Researcher Nicole Mackiewicz, M.S., an Early Childhood Development Researcher at the Fisher-Price Lab, and mum of two boys. New mums anxiously await the day their child will say their first \u201creal\u201d words. And sometimes, let\u2019s just say they decide to take their sweet time. This experience gives mums a new perspective: Every […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":20500,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20499","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-editor-picks"},"yoast_head":"\n
\nThey might not understand everything right away, but reading introduces your baby to the flow of language. Point to and identify the pictures in the book; if there are animals, make each animal\u2019s noise! The illustration and exciting sounds will keep your child engaged and having fun.<\/p>\n
\nMusic is a great way to introduce your baby to words. Babies love simple rhymes and sing-along songs, while repetition reinforces key words or phrases. Music also introduces them to fun physical movement – in my house, it\u2019s led to many family dance parties!<\/p>\n
\nToys that resemble familiar objects and places – like animal and people figures and playsets – help children identify real-world concepts up close and encourage pretend play.<\/p>\n
\nTalk and identify items through your everyday tasks: \u201cTime to get into Mummy\u2019s car.\u201d \u201cTime to get dressed, let\u2019s get your blue pants on.\u201d If they can touch it, see it and hear it (especially repeatedly), they are making that connection between words, concepts and objects.<\/p>\n
\nPositive reinforcement is key. Let your little one know they are on the right track by keeping the praise and encouragement coming when they identify objects and use words correctly.<\/p>\n
\nShow them how to carry a conversation by asking them questions, waiting for them to \u201canswer\u201d and responding to their babbles or one-word statements. Continue chatting about whatever they seem interested in (e.g. if they point at someone, say, \u201cThere\u2019s a person, wave hello!\u201d).<\/p>\n
\nHave your little one look at you when you\u2019re talking, and emphasise the movements of your mouth while pronouncing words. This allows your child to begin physically mimicking speech based on sight as well as sound.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/b>Talking may seem super easy to us grown-ups; we just open our mouths and our thoughts flow out. But talking is actually pretty hard to do. First, babies have to learn the unique collection of sounds that create a word. Then they need to make the connection between a word\u2019s sounds and its meaning. Then their vocal cords, mouths and tongues must co-ordinate to make the correct sounds required to speak the words they want to say.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Listens and responds by quieting, smiling or cooing when name is said
\n\u2022 Vocalises pleasure through laughs, coos and squeals
\n\u2022 Vocalises displeasure with grunts and cries
\n\u2022 May start to babble as they figure out how sounds work.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Lifts arms to indicate a desire to be held
\n\u2022 Turns toward the direction of sound when own name is heard
\n\u2022 Babbles consonant chains, such as \u201cbaba-baba\u201d
\n\u2022 May start to mimic the rhythm and intonation of what\u2019s spoken around them.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Points at interesting\/relevant objects or people
\n\u2022 May connect word sounds to meanings (e.g., saying \u201cba\u201d to refer to their bottle).<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Expresses \u2018mama\u2019 or \u2018dada\u2019 when they enter the room
\n\u2022 Imitates and waves back at adults
\n\u2022 Initiates game of peek-a-boo by hiding face behind blanket
\n\u2022 Responds to simple questions with \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019.<\/p>\n