And now, when will our baby say their first word? When are they supposed to start talking? We can say that it depends on several factors. What's more, we can also help the baby through the various changes in their development.
We all know that the first three years of a baby's life are crucial. They are characterised by a long and intense period of growth and development, both motor and cognitive. In today's context, language, there's a whole process that we didn't know about. You already know how curious we are, so we went to find out more about the development of a baby's language. Let's say, until that day when they say their first word, until the moment when they can understand others and become a small adult and can establish a dialogue with their mother or father.
It may seem like a very long time, but don't be fooled: the famous phrase "time passes very quickly" will start to make sense when you realise that your baby is already talking to you.
Well, we can start this language development in the first few months after leaving mum's tummy. We realise that in this period, the baby has a tone of voice that can be heard by everyone, through crying. It's a period when the little one begins to use the mother tongue, using vowels. So you need to start talking to your baby right away, as a way of stimulating them and getting them to use their voice.
From the age of three months, some changes begin. It's a period when babies start to want to organise their verbal understanding and language. As such, babies start to use different noises. Before, their way of communicating was through body language and facial expressions. Now, the first "screams" of joy and a mixture of different expressions are beginning to appear. But don't worry parents, as your little ones use this way of communicating, you will learn new ways of communicating and what he or she wants to say.
The period between six and eight months will see more changes. This time, the baby begins to speak and to understand that people respond and react to what they say. At first, there may not be a specific meaning, but your little one will realise that words have meaning.
After realising that they can get a reaction from people by the words they use, between the eighth and twelfth month of life, your baby begins to say their first words. We know that parents will be very curious to know if the words "mummy" or "daddy" will be their first. From what we can tell, this is a period of great evolution in your baby's communication. It's important for parents to keep stimulating, for example by giving names to situations and objects. In this way, we should take advantage of every moment to react and collaborate in the little dialogues we have with our little ones.
Between 12 and 20 months, simple speech and the repeating of sounds and onomatopoeia appear. We begin to realise that our baby understands more than they speak. During this period, we should also talk to our little one in a normal way, in order to enrich and stimulate their language.
By the age of 2, our baby will have an almost complete vocabulary, but it will depend on the context of each baby. It's expected that they'll already be able to say some words and, on the other hand, they may struggle to say others. Something we can highlight is that your little one will start to be more interested in other words that people might say. To capture your baby's attention, you can tell them stories and explain what's going on around them. He or she will love listening to every word their parents say.
However, the changes aren't over yet. There is still the period between the ages of 2 and 3, when babies can already understand that words have meaning. However, they can still make some mistakes in their speech, such as using the verb tense at the beginning of a sentence. Our help is crucial and we know that sooner or later they will have perfectly normal speech.
Generally speaking, we can say that it's a fun period in a baby's growth and development process. The little one learns a lot, but they're not alone, their parents are their best friends in this learning process and are there to support and stimulate them.
Today we wanted to bring this topic to the blog and we have to agree that a baby's growth and development is extremely fascinating and a process with its own particularities and its own way of happening. However, we must always bear in mind that this process of language development will take place at the pace dictated by the child themselves.
What about you? What was this learning period like? What was the first word your baby said? What fascinated you the most? We want to know your opinion.
