Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash
You will have probably heard this question asked many times by new mums but when do children actually start talking? In this bite-size blog post, we breakdown the milestones your baby will go through, when they should happen and what to do if they aren’t quite there yet.
Let’s dive right in.
Your babies first words are rightly a huge milestone in their early development, and so with this can bring concern if your little one is still struggling to say their first word or expand their vocabulary. Every child being unique, this can happen at different ages. However it can still be reassuring to have a generalised overview of when these milestones should occur.
12 Months Old
By the time your baby is one year old, they will most likely be able to say one to three simple (if not whole) words. If they haven’t yet reached this stage there is no idea to worry, so long as they are trying to make the sounds and seemingly understanding you.
Talking and reading can go a long way to help your child’s language development and so will would recommend you start doing this no later than 6 months of age.
Between 10 - 14 months most children should have spoken their first word.
12 - 18 Months Old
Gestures should now be forming into words more and more as time goes by. Try a game of naming parts of their body, your child should be able to recognise what you’re saying and point to them.
At this stage, they should enjoy being read to and listening to rhymes. By 18 months most children will have at least ten words that they can say.
After 18 Months Old
From now on your child’s vocabulary should start to rapidly increase and as they grow older, you will be able to have simple back and forth.
When you should raise your concerns
During their first year, you will have many visits with a paediatrician. Among other things your doctor will be checking on their language development, if you are having concerns, this is when they should be raised.
Possible concerns to raise:
- By 15 months of age your child still does not understand ‘baby words’ such as “no”, “bye-bye” and “bottle”.
- By 15 months of age your child still cannot use single words.
- By 18 months of age your child has less than a 10-word vocabulary.As we stated in the beginning of this post, every child is different and will pick up things at different stages, so try not to worry too much - you’re doing great just by reading this blog!
Early Development Toys
We have a selection of toys on our website that are specifically designed to help with the early development of your baby, you can check out the full range here.
For helping your little own master their first words, we’ve picked out these:
The ABC tablet plays 20 melodies as well as 15 animal and piano key sounds that will help your toddler learn to sense sounds and develop hearing and motor skills.
Fisher Price Linkamals Play Together Panda
The Play Together Panda is your babies very own learning friend! Featuring exciting lights, songs and phrases that will help introduce counting, greetings and manners.
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