Saturday 3 December 2016

Age Babies Should Start Talking

Parents wonder at what age their babies should be talking. 

The age babies should start to speak and say real words differs a lot from one baby to the next and depends on how much encouragement to talk the baby gets from the parents or carers. 

The usual baby speech development follows a pattern where the first real words can be expected any age between ten months and fifteen months.  


A Lot to Do With Parents and Carers

Parents and caregivers need to realize that the age babies start talking depends a lot on what the parents or carers do to encourage their baby to start talking right from the day baby is born.

Many of the babbling sounds babies make before a real word is produced have a purpose. A baby makes the first cooing sounds at around six weeks to two months,  eh, ah, oo, then later will add a consonant to make, meh, bah, goo. These are the best sounds a baby can say with the strength of the muscles in the mouth, throat and face. And the baby is actually trying to communicate. He hears your voice, sees your mouth moving and thinks,  " Wonder if I can do that? ".

Here's a Youtube video showing a 3 month old baby and her mother " talking"




Repeat Sounds Back To Baby


When you repeat the sounds baby makes back to baby and smile, you are showing baby that talking is a very important skill to learn and that you appreciate the sounds baby is making and the effort he is making. 

With this encouragement, baby will realise that a conversation means taking turns and start to 'reply' by repeating the sound or making a different sound. This is great fun - baby and you watching each other, making sounds, wondering what sound will come next, smiling and laughing. 

At this point the actual sounds are associated with the baby's brain loving the stimulation and something to learn that is also enjoyable. If he could, he would say " Isn't  this a great game?"  


Baby's Brain Development

So something amazing and wonderful is happening inside baby's brain. The brain cells associated with the following things are growing and being strengthened:
  • making the mouth muscles move
  • listening
  • copying sound and movement
  • sharing pleasure
  • recognising emotion in a face
  • learning about caring and  love

Baby Speech 6-8 Months

Around six to eight months of age, when baby starts to babble it can sound very funny like a foreign language. Baby is practicing putting sounds together in patterns, changing the tone of voice to a rising and falling, like in a conversation. 

These sounds have no special meaning but powerful learning is taking place. Baby is learning how to make all the sounds he'll need to start talking with real words.  


Baby Babbling

So when babies are babbling it is like their talking exercise program for strengthening the muscles in the mouth that will be used for saying real words. 

At this stage baby is not attaching any meaning to the sounds, but generally she or he will be enjoying the sound of his or her own voice! 


Beware of Pacifiers, Soothers or Dummies

it is important at this stage not to allow a baby to use a pacifier (soother or dummy) during the day, but only when it is naptime or bed time.   Sometimes at this stage, babies learn how to shout,  and loudly. 

It may be tempting to stick a pacifier in baby's mouth if you find that annoying but please don't.  Anything that prevents all that babbling and practicing will cause a delay in the age baby starts talking real words. Better to do something distracting like play a hide and seek game or sing a gentle song, but you may need to put up with it until baby gets tired of his own game.


Baby Speech 12-15 Months

By the time baby is twelve to fifteen months you should be noticing he is repeating certain sounds to show he wants something or wanting you to do something like give more food, juice or milk, or to want to be lifted. 

He may be saying mama, dada, papa when he sees those important people in his life. At this point you can say your baby has started talking!

You can learn more about what age babies should start to talk 

Ella





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