Your baby’s brain is ‘wired’ at birth to listen to and learn the language spoken around him. Babies need to listen to and participate in ‘conversations’ with other people, especially their parents. Leaving a baby in a crib all day or putting him in front of a television is not helpful for language development.
Reading baby’s signals
Long before your baby speaks words, he communicates using sounds, facial expressions and gestures. A hungry baby may cry loudly. But first, he will nuzzle at his mother’s breast, open his mouth or make sucking sounds. New parents commonly miss these simple signals. When babies are ready to interact, they gaze at peoples’ faces and smile. When a baby wants to stop interacting, he may look away, stiffen or change his expression. These early signals are reflexive, non-conscious reactions as to how he feels, hears and sees. Every baby learns new skills at his own rate. (Premature babies may take longer.) Move close to your baby, look him in the eye and speak to him gently. Watching your features and facial expressions and listening to your voice helps him to learn about speaking. The first true smile happens when your child is about six weeks old.
Your baby will respond when you speak to him by smiling and waving his arms and legs. About a month later, he will start making cooing sounds. At about three months, he will make sounds and smile while you listen, then listen as you respond. This is the beginning of conversation.
Moving on
From six to 12 months, babies start using gestures to communicate. He will reach with his hands for things he wants. Later, he will point at things he wants you to look at. When your baby turns away from certain foods, he is telling you he doesn’t want it. Later, he learns to use the more sophisticated gesture of shaking his head. The dreaded word “NO” has arrived! Your baby will display different sounds with different meanings. For example, a loud scream gets your attention. Different tones of voice tell you how he feels. Another milestone at this age is babbling. These sounds are a ‘practice’ period for language.
First steps, first words
Many babies speak their first words about the same time they take their first steps – between nine and 15 months. First words fall into five categories: Names of people or things (such as “Mommy” or “juice”), action words (“go” or “eat”), places or directions (“up” or “down”), describing words (“hot”) and social words (“bye”). These words are important building blocks for later word combinations and for simple sentences that start at around two years. At this point, a child understands much more language than he can speak. Toddlers may not speak clearly at first. They may drop endings from words and simplify longer words. After children can say about 50 words, they go through an important language explosion. From 18 to 24 months, they start joining words into small sentences, such as “more juice” and “doggie gone.” If your child does not do this by this stage, he should see a speech-language pathologist.
Helping toddlers talk
Speak slowly and use simple, complete sentences. “Put shoes on” is more helpful for an 18-month-old than “Put your shoes on because we have to go to the store to get milk.” And “Put your shoosies on your tootsiewootsies” is baby talk you don’t want to teach. Follow your child’s lead in conversation. If he says “car,” say “Yes, that’s Daddy’s car.” Repeat yourself. Children need to hear words many times before using them. Try not to ask too many questions. Too many questions make a child feel as if he is being tested. Instead, try describing what’s happening. You could say “That’s a ball, a big ball.” Don’t do all the talking. If you do, your child may stop trying to join in the conversation. Take time to listen to your child’s ‘babble.’ Play turn-taking games such as pat-a-cake and peekaboo to encourage conversation. Nursery rhymes and songs with actions help children learn about listening and copying language. Introduce books early. Try to read to your child every day. Surround him with books. Start with simple board or cloth books when he is young, and then from six to 12 months of age, move to books with simple illustrations and a few concepts per page. Can your child hear properly? Frequent ear infections and undetected hearing loss are major causes of speech/ language delays.
Getting help
If you’re concerned about your child’s language development, speak to your doctor and ask for a referral to a speech-language pathologist. Language is too important a skill to ‘wait and see.
