Your baby learns to talk during his first two years of life. Long before he utters his first word, he's learning the rules of language and how adults use it to communicate.
He'll begin by using his tongue, lips, palate, and any emerging teeth to make sounds (cries at first, then "ooh's" and "ahh's" in the first month or two, and babbling shortly thereafter). Soon those sounds will become real words – "mama" and "dada" may slip out and bring tears to your eyes as early as 6 months.
From then on, your baby will pick up more words from you and everyone else around him. And sometime between 18 months and 2 years, he'll begin to form two- to four-word sentences. As your baby makes mental, emotional, and behavioral leaps, he's increasingly able to use words to describe what he sees, hears, feels, thinks, and wants.
Here's how you can expect your baby's talking to progress. If she's being raised in a bilingual environment, language milestones usually occur at about the same time in both languages.
In utero
Many researchers believe the work of understanding language begins while a baby is still in utero. Just as your unborn baby gets used to the steady beat of your heart, she tunes into the sound of your voice and can discern yours among others.
Birth to 3 months
Crying is your baby's first form of communication. And one cry doesn't fit all: A piercing scream may mean she's hungry, while a whimpering, staccato cry may signal that she needs a diaper change. As she gets older, she'll develop a delightful repertoire of gurgles, sighs, and coos.
As for her ability to understand language, she's starting to recognize what words sound like and how sentences are structured as she listens to those around her.
4 to 6 months
At this stage, your child starts to babble, combining consonants and vowels (such as "baba" or "yaya"). At about 6 months she can respond to her name. You may hear the first "mama" or "dada" now and then too. Though it's sure to melt your heart, your baby doesn't equate those words with you quite yet. That comes later, when she's almost a year old.
Your baby's attempts at talking will sound like stream-of-consciousness monologues in another language with endless words strung together. Vocalization is a game to your baby, who's experimenting with using her tongue, teeth, palate, and vocal cords to make all sorts of funny noises.
At this stage, babbling sounds the same, whether you speak English, French, or Japanese in your home. You may notice your child favoring certain sounds (like "ka" or "da"), repeating them over and over because she likes the way they sound and how her mouth feels when she says them.
7 to 12 months
When she babbles and vocalizes now, your baby sounds as if she's making sense. That's because she's trying out tones and patterns similar to the ones you use. Foster her babbling by talking and reading to her.
13 to 18 months
Now your child is using one or more words, and she knows what they mean. She'll even practice inflection, raising her tone when asking a question by saying "Up-py?" when she wants to be carried, for example. She's realizing the importance of language as she taps into the power of communicating her needs.
19 to 24 months
Though she probably says fewer than 50 words, your child now understands much more than she can say. And she picks up more words every day, so watch your language! She may even string two words together, making basic sentences such as "Carry me."
By the time she's 2, your child may use two- to four-word sentences and sing simple tunes. As her sense of self matures, she'll start talking about what she likes and doesn't like, what she thinks and feels. Pronouns may confuse her, which is why she might say "Baby throw" instead of "I throw."
25 to 36 months
Your toddler may struggle for a while to find the appropriate volume to use when talking, but she'll learn soon enough. She's also starting to get the hang of pronouns, such as "I," "me," and "you." Between ages 2 and 3, your child's vocabulary continues to expand and she understands most of what you say to her. She'll string nouns and verbs together to form simple sentences, such as "I go now."
By the time your child turns 3, she may be a pretty sophisticated talker. She'll be able to carry on a sustained conversation and you'll be able to understand most of what she says. She'll even oblige when you ask her to do more than one thing at a time. ("Get the book and put it on the bookshelf.")
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