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3 - 12 Months
Understanding
- From 6 months of age, they can tell how you are by feeling the tone of your voice and look on your face
Spoken Language Development
- In this period they will initially coo and laugh and play with sounds such as babbling ('ma-ma-ma-ma'). They will do this in a conversational manner where they will take turns with you to 'talk'.
- From 6 months, your baby will be vocalising tunefully, using different volumes and sounds e.g. ga-brrrr-le-dada-mmmm'
- From 9 months, they will be making longer sequence of sounds which might sound like normal speech often called jargon
How else are they communicating?
- From 3 months, your baby will turn their head to a sound and will quieten to a familiar voice
- From 6 months your baby will be showing more emotion and copying your sounds, facial expressions and gestures. For example 'raspberries', laughing, squealing, growling and using gestures (e.g. putting their arms up when they want to be carried)
How can I help?
Talk with your child, naming and talking about everything and anything. From counting out loud, the steps as you walk down the stairs, to telling them what piece of clothing you are folding when you are doing the laundry. Even if you think your child doesn't understand, talking about what is happening in your daily lives will increase the number of words your child hears. Repetition does help.
Remember to keep your words and sentences short and simple. Try not to bombard them. Take turns to talk. Make sure that you leave some 'gaps' in your talking so that your child has a chance to answer you.
Build your child's communication skills by:
- Noting and commenting on their interest e.g. 'Look a dog. Dog is running. Dog is happy. Bye bye, Dog.'
- Giving them time to respond back to you e.g. pause whilst looking them in the eye
- Avoid asking them questions. Instead, you say that words that they might say. For example, 'oh, you're hungry. You want some food. You want a cracker'.
Actively listening to what they have to say
- Model the correct answer whilst ignoring what was wrong e.g. if they say whilst looking at a lorry 'look, bus', you would respond "yes it is a lorry"
- Build on what they have said e.g. "Look it's a red bus. I see a red coat. I see a red post box. What can you see.
What else can I do?
- Sing to them. Children love the predictability of simple, repetitive songs especially those with actions.
- Start reading to them at an early age. Link the words to the pictures in the book and also in your own lives. As they get older, pointing to the words as you say them helps them understand the link between written and spoken words to develop their skills in literacy
When should I be concerned?
All children are different when it comes to developing language skills. If you feel there is a difference between your child and other children of a similar age, be reassured that most will catch up. However, it is best to seek professional advice if you see any of the following signs:
By 12 months of age if your baby isn't:
- turning their heads to soft sounds
- trying to communicate with you in a variety of ways using sounds, gestures, eye contacts, and/or words, particularly when needing help or wanting something.
