When and how do babies start talking?

Most parents are excited on their babies reaching various milestones in their life; one such important milestone is when a baby learns and starts speaking. Most parents seek expert opinion in this regard.  Questions were asked all about talking to pediatricians and they offered various useful outputs.

Some questions asked about talking and the various answers to them:

1) At what time do babies start talking?

Most babies start talking during the first two years of life; they learn the rules of language and how to communicate like adults by imitation long before uttering the first word. Babies start off with crying, making sounds like “oohs”and “ahhs” and then babbling using their tongue, lips, palate, and emerging teeth. Subsequently at 6 months the baby utters dada and mama much to the joy of parents and grandparents.

Between 18 months to 24 months the baby learns to form 2 to 4 letter words merely by imitating others around them; as he/she develops mentally, emotionally and behaviorally, he/she soon freely what one feels, sees, hears thinks and wants.

2) How does a baby learn to talk?

Here are some important points to be noted about how a baby learns to talk:
A baby starts understanding the human language when he/she is still in the uterus of the mother. As the unborn baby gets used to the steady heartbeat of the mother, he/she recognizes the voice of the mother and distinguishes it from others.  

A baby’s first form of communication is crying; a piercing scream signifies hunger, while a staccato cry/ whimpering communicates a diaper change. Soon the baby loves to gurgle, coo, sigh and learns how to recognize word sounds, how sentences are made and the language by active listening of people around him/her.

Around 4 months a baby will babble and learns to combine vowels and consonants and say words like "baba" or "yaya". He/she responds to one’s name at 6 months and says his/her first "mama" or "dada" though he/she would equate these words with you only when at one year.
Vocalizing is loved by babies and he/she would string endless words together and use one’s tongue, teeth, vocal cords and palate to make all sorts of funny noises. At around 6 months your baby loves the sounds and how the mouth feels with sounds like "ka" and "da" and will repeat them often.

Your baby will babble and vocalize a lot between the ages of 7 and 12 months; though they look like making sense they are just the baby’s experiment with tones and patterns that are used by you Promote talking in your baby by talking, reading and listening to your baby.  
As a responsible and conscientious parent you could talk to your baby when you both are together; you could describe what you are doing, ask questions, point to objects and name them and also sing songs. Avoid cooing and babbling and use simple speech to promote good speech in your baby.

Reading is the next method to foster good and clear speech in your young baby; it helps to start exposing your baby to new vocabulary, sentence formation and to how stories flow. Your toddler would not only enjoy the pictures, stories and sound of your voice, but will soon narrate the stories to you as a preschooler.

Fostering talking skills in your baby also means being a good listener and responsive; most babies attempt talking when they are sure they are being listened to.

As you foster talking in your baby, between 13 and 18 months you will find that your baby uses word understanding them, practices reflection and modulating ones voice when asking questions or making requests. Realizing the importance of language, he/she communicate ones needs.

It would be most important to realize at this stage that even babies raised in bilingual environment will reach language milestones usually at the same time in both languages.
Your baby between the ages of 19 and 24 months understands better than he/she talks; he/she may have a vocabulary of just 50 words, but may form sentences of two words by joining them. He/she picks up new words, so it is prudent for parents to mind their language.

Most babies use 2 to 4 letter words and can sing simple tunes when 2 years of age; he/she matures and soon express his/her likes, dislikes, thoughts and feelings. They may have confusion about pronouns and may say "Baby throw" instead of "I throw."

The ages of 2 to 3 years are the right time when your child's vocabulary and understanding of what is told to him/her expands and he/she also forms simple sentences by stringing together nouns and verbs such as "I go now." Your baby may initially struggle to find the right words while talking, but will soon learn, especially pronouns as ; "I," "me," and "you."

Delight in your 3 year baby who will not only contain a sustained conversation understanding everything, but will also be able to accomplish more than one task at the same time when asked like he/she will get a book and also put it on a book shelf when asked.

At 4 your child will speak 5 to 6 worded sentences and also understand and follow some rules of grammar. He/she will delight you with the stories that even strangers would understand and would also tell you one’s first and last name.

3) What is the action to be taken for a baby that does not talk?

You as a parent are the best judge of your child’s speech development. If you suspect delayed speech, you could consult a pediatrician’s for opinion regarding language delay or hearing problem. He/she will refer you to a speech-language pathologist for an evaluation. It is also possible that your pediatrician, daycare provider, or local school might direct you to an early intervention program in your area for free screening for language problems.

Look out for these signs:

Difficulty in talking and hearing could be suspected in 6 month babies that do not  make sounds or eye contact, respond to vowel sounds, name or sounds at 6 months. Such babies do not babble at 9 months, and do not say a single word like "mama" or "dada" at 12 months.
Next come babies that do not point out objects to you, doesn’t learn new words and start losing language skills one once had. It is advisable here to note that most babies at 18 should know at least 6 words.

There is a cause for concern if a 2 year baby fails to point out body parts, to follow simple instructions and to copy words and action.

You need to be on the alert if your child at 3 has not started using 2 to 3 word phrases, fails or finds it difficult to follow simple instructions and speak coherently.

Stuttering in a child doesn’t necessarily denote a problem; it could be a normal phase in a child when her communication skills are expanding. It just signifies your baby’s loss of words to communicate when her/his mind is excited and the mind works faster than the speech.  

However stuttering above the age of 4 could be a cause of concern, especially when your child tenses ones jaws and tries to get the word out; have a word with your doctor. If the stuttering persists over 6 months most schools help by testing and evaluating your child.

To conclude once your baby starts talking he/she will become a chatter-box with parents craving for quite periods of speechlessness. You will soon delight hearing what happened in preschool, about dinosaurs, and about his/her friends. You will soon have to be all set to answer his/her questions about everything under the sun.

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