Beginning to Talk

For Your baby to talk, she must first understand what you say. Her understanding will increase rapidly toward the end of the first year. From six months onward, she will understand when you say "no" firmly, and at nine months can follow simple orders like waving bye bye. You can help her by making meanings clear with theatrical emphasis and gestures: read to her, show her pictures and repeat the names of the things she can see, and give her a clear, slow running commentary about everyday actions.

Children who are sung to, have nursery rhymes repeated to them, are spoken to in a rhythmical way, and are involved in singing and rhyming and clapping games speak earlier and better than children who don't, so you should do all these things from your child's earliest days. As soon as your child says her first word, or what you think might be a word, repeat it to her. Tell her she's a clever girl and show her how pleased you are with her.

7 months - By now you will be able to discern clear syllables in your baby's sounds, such as "ba" or "ka." She will probably use a special sound to attract your attention, such as a cough or a squeal, and will have started to play games with her tongue and lips.

8-9 months - Your baby's range of sounds is increasing, and she has added the consonants "t," "d," and "w" to her repertoire. She will start to imitate real speech sounds, and may use one word with meaning. She pays close attention to adult conversations.

11 months - By now your baby is almost certainly using one word with meaning, and can understand a few simple words, such as "bath," "drink," and "dinner." Praise her for every new word, and repeat it; she will say it over and over when she sees your approval. You are your child's first model of good speech, so speak clearly and slowly to her.

15 months - Your baby is breaking gradually into jargon - that is, strings of sounds with the occasional recognizable word and with the phrasing and inflections of real speech. This is a sign that she is just about to start talking. She may start to use some favorite phrase of yours, such as "oh dear," in appropriate situations.

18 months - Your baby may be able to use about ten words with meaning. Her understanding is increasing all the time, and she can point out many objects in her picture books or in the world around her if you ask her to.