A toddler’s sweet voice can be as beautiful as music when they try to communicate. You, as new parents, are likely excited about your child’s baby’s language development.
Learning to speak is an essential part of child development. The communication style that babies develop is unique to them. Most babies start by cooing and then begin to talk.
Find out how your baby develops language skills and how you could be a vital part of this process.
Stages of Baby Language Skills
In the first year, your baby’s communication skills improve rapidly. This is the crucial stage of language development. It is when babies begin to feel connected with others emotionally. Your baby will show you they understand emotions by making eye contact, smiling, cooing, and asking for attention.
These stages are for developing baby language skills.
The Cooing stage (0-6 Months): In the first six months of life, the baby can smile, make cooing sounds, and utter vowel/consonant sounds. The infant might say, “Oo, aa,” “Uu,” “m,” “p,” etc.
The Babbling stage (6-9 Months): This is when your baby begins to repeat vowel/consonant sounds. For eg: ma/ma, pa/pa, mum/mum , etc.
The one-word stage (9-18months): Most babies communicate with single words soon after nine months. They might be able to communicate clearly with their parents up to 18 months of age, such as no, yes, and stop.
Two-word stage (18-24 Months): You’ll hear two-word sentences in this stage. You may see your little one forming tiny sentences to express their feelings. E.g., mamma doll, cat meow, etc.
Every baby is different, and takes time to reach the stage of language development. You don’t have to worry if your baby is slower than the stage.
Parent Role in Building Baby Language Skills
A baby should be able to move at his own pace. However, parents can encourage their children by giving them a little push. You can do these things for your child to learn their first language.
Talk with them: Parents are a baby’s first teachers. Talk to your baby often and help them find their words.
Tell your story. Talk about your day with your child. Talk about what you’re doing when you cook. They can relate to actions and words by doing this.