Hearing your baby talk clearly for the first time is one of the most exciting moments that any parent can have. That's why you see a lot of parents constantly talking to their little ones, in hopes that they'll start talking soon. But, when do babies start talking clearly?
Should you also be worried if your child isn't speaking as clearly as other kids?
What can you read in this article?
- When do babies talk clearly
- Signs baby will talk soon
- How to encourage baby to talk
When do babies talk clearly?
For the most part, children usually start "talking" at around 6 months. However, it's mostly babbling and them trying to imitate the sounds that they hear whenever they hear you talk. It's what your child does to practice and learn how to speak.
At around 12 months, children usually start saying their first words. It's not always clear, since kids are still getting used to speaking. And instead of mommy and daddy, you'll probably hear something closer to "gaga" and "dada". But at this point, your child is definitely trying to communicate with you and not simply imitating what they hear.
As your child grows older, they start to learn even more words, and will start to speak in full sentences, particularly around the ages of 2-3.
However, their speech at this point won't always be clear. You'll probably still to have to do a bit of guessing to find out what exactly your child is saying. But for the most part, you'll be able to understand what your child is trying to tell you.
To answer the question of "when do babies start talking clearly", they are usually able to do so by the time they're about 3 or 4 years old. They'll start speaking in clear and full sentences, and you won't have any difficulty figuring out what they're trying to communicate.
However, there are cases wherein older kids, such as 7 or 8 year olds, still aren't able to talk clearly at their age. At that point, getting a speech therapist to help out your child is a good idea.
When do babies say their first words?
Here are some language milestones that your baby can achieve from the third month up to 3 years old.
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3 months
By this time, your baby can clearly listen to your voice. He might even shift her attention to sudden voices, sounds, or music he hears around the house. By the end of this month, your baby will start cooing. Just talk to him like you understand him, even when what he can only do for now is coo.
At this time, you may wonder, when do babies say their first words? Don’t fret because your baby may actually say his first word soon!
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6 months
At 6 months, your baby will start to babble and can form distinct sounds such as “baba” or “dada”. He might also start to respond to his own name so try introducing this to him often. Some mommies get disappointed when their newborn say “dada” as their first word, but don’t worry, babies normally babble such syllables and it doesn’t necessarily mean “daddy”.
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9 months
At the 9th month, your baby is able to understand a few basic words such as “no” and “bye”. He may also start to use more syllables and consonant sounds, as well as voice tones to mean if they are happy, sad, or upset.
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12-18 months
By 12 to 19 months, your baby may start to pronounce words with meaning such as “mama” and “dada”. This is your moment! He can also start to understand more words that you say and what they mean when you say them.
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18 months
By more than a year old, your baby may start to say simple phrases and associate words to people, objects, and body parts. He may also imitate the words or noises you say or they hear from others.
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2 years old
By 2 years old, your baby must be able to form two to four-word phrases like, “Mama milk” or “Dada please”. Here he continues to learn more words that are more complex than just associating them with objects. For example, knowing what “my” or “mine” means.
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3 years old
By 3 years old, your baby must have grown significantly that he is able to understand symbolic and abstract words such as “later”, or feelings such as “mad” or “sad”.
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When a baby boy should start talking
Could there be any differences as to when a baby boy should start talking and when a baby girl would? Some studies suggest that there are significant differences between how baby boys and baby girls respond to their environment. For example, newborn girls tend to spend more time maintaining eye contact than newborn boys. Thus, newborn girls are more able to recognize faces at 4 months compared to newborn boys."Baby boys have higher levels of testosterone than girls and lower levels of serotonin, which causes them to be more easily stressed and harder to calm down. Infant girls, on the other hand, show a greater tendency to comfort themselves by sucking their thumbs. Higher levels of testosterone are also responsible for boys’ typically more “aggressive” behavior."
Moreover, experts believe that girls are able to accomplish developmental milestones earlier than boys. This includes talking, hand-eye coordination, and controlling emotions. The difference is associated with hormones.
There are more differences in how girls and boys learn, grow, and develop but what’s important is providing them with the same supportive and nurturing learning environment where they can discover themselves at their own pace.
If in any case, you feel that there is something wrong with how your baby is pacing when it comes to talking, don’t hesitate to ask for professional help.
Medical experts will help you understand when a baby boy should start talking or when do babies say their first words. Doctors can also examine your baby if there really is something wrong.
Signs baby will talk soon
Can’t wait to hear your baby talk? Here are a few signs baby will talk soon. Watch out for these!
- Your child imitates your speech as they babble
- He is able to understand some of the words or phrases you say and sometimes even responds to them.
- She starts to point at objects and may be a sign that she is trying to put together words with meaning.
- He listens to you intently. The more they hear you talk, the more they are able to learn how to talk.
- She may sound gibberish at times but she is able to babble and speak to you meaningfully.
Nevertheless, if your baby doesn't exhibit these signs yet, give it more time!
"According to a study in the journal Pediatrics, studies have also found that late-talkers (children at 2 years old who hadn't reached the language milestones they are "expected" to) did not have any increased risk of behavioral or emotional problems throughout their childhood and adolescence. In fact, they seemed to be just fine and had developed just as well as toddlers who were hitting all of the language milestones at the right time."
How to encourage baby to talk
As mentioned earlier, the more you talk to your baby, the more he or she is likely to pick up and learn how to talk. To help you assist your baby into talking, here’s how to encourage baby to talk:
- Talk to your baby, and by this we mean, create conversations. Do not just coo or babble, rather talk to them about real stuff and respond to them as they do to you.
- After saying something, wait for them to process what you’ve said and respond. After this, talk to them again as if you’ve understood everything they said. Yes, even if it was just a coo or a babble.
- Get created with your syllables and voice tones. Introduce how you would speak if you are happy, empathetic, sad, or upset.
- Help them explain what they are trying to communicate. If they babble even just a “babababa”, ask them questions on what they want from you, “You want milk?”, “Oh where’s your toy, are you looking for your toy?”
Should I be worried if my child doesn't talk clearly?
One of the worries that almost every parent has is if their child would be able to speak clearly. And it's a valid fear since parents don't want their child to be left behind. They also don't want their child to have trouble communicating with other people.
If you feel that your child's speech is not on track, or if they're still having trouble saying some words, then a speech therapist might be able to help.
What do speech therapists do?
Speech therapists can help children with problems concerning their language and speech and can help kids communicate better. Aside from talking, speech therapists also help kids with their reading ability if they're also having trouble with that.
They usually work one-on-one with kids so that they can address their problems better. But it's not uncommon to have them working with kids in a group, or in a classroom.
Speech therapists are able to identify the cause of your child's speech problems, and they can create a program to help address those concerns. Parents shouldn't be worried if their child's speech is delayed since SPs can and will help your child.
If you're looking for a speech therapist to help your child, here's a link to a list of speech therapists/pathologists here in the Philippines.
Having speech delays doesn't mean that your child automatically has mental problems or a learning disability. There are a lot of factors involved in speech delays. Additionally, a lot of kids who had speech delays grow up to be regular adults.
Source:
Web MD, Everyday Health, Romper, Parents