{"id":10852,"date":"2018-07-30T11:45:43","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T15:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/10852\/when-do-most-babies-start-talking\/"},"modified":"2021-12-28T13:30:16","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T18:30:16","slug":"when-do-most-babies-start-talking","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/10852\/when-do-most-babies-start-talking\/","title":{"rendered":"When do most babies start talking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s the usual disclaimer: \u201cnormal\u201d can be a pretty hard concept to pin down in babies’ development because there is such a range of ages that still fall under the umbrella of perfectly healthy learning. Still, there is a basic timeline for the usual stages of learning to speak that babies move through.<\/p>\n

Cooing and crying<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Baby<\/span>\u2019s cries are their<\/span> first way of communicating. Over time, you may have started to notice that different cries communicate different needs. Around 3 months, Baby<\/span> may have started \u2018cooing,\u2019 their<\/span> first attempt to imitate language. A great way to encourage them<\/span> to coo more is to respond with a smile, and to talk back to them<\/span> – either by imitating them<\/span> or by talking back in your normal tone of voice. They will<\/span> love the interaction.<\/p>\n

Babbling<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As Baby<\/span> starts to become more aware of the world around them<\/span>, they will<\/span> start to experiment with different things they can<\/span> do with their<\/span> mouth – like making repetitive sounds which imitate speech patterns like “bah bah bah” or “gah gah gah,” or trying to eat rocks. The imitation of speech patterns often happens sometime around 6 to 9 months, though the rock-eating can happen at any time. Studies indicate that you can help babbling arrive sooner just by talking to Baby<\/span> more – especially if you make eye-contact with them<\/span> and speak to them<\/span> clearly and directly. More than that, to speed up the variety of sounds Baby<\/span> knows, you can say other repeating sounds to or around them<\/span>, like “ma ma ma” or “la la la,” to give them<\/span> the chance to pick it up.<\/p>\n

Starting to understand<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Around the time Baby<\/span> is 8 months old, or a little older, they is<\/span> probably starting to understand a lot of the simple, often-used words in their<\/span> life, like \u201cno,\u201d \u201cyes,\u201d the names of favorite toys, \u201cbye,\u201d or \u201cgood night,\u201d even if they can\u2019t<\/span> use these words themselves<\/span> yet. Around this time, they is<\/span> also very aware of their<\/span> environment, and the responses they gets<\/span> back, including the word “no.” They may<\/span> be testing limits at this point, but it’s a good idea to try to limit how often they hears<\/span> “no,” so they isn’t<\/span> discouraged from exploring.<\/p>\n

Little words<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The first few words that make their way into Baby<\/span>\u2019s vocabulary may be the names they calls<\/span> their<\/span> parents, the names of objects, and simple verbs, like “eat,” or “go.” They may<\/span> also be able to understand simple sentences and follow simple instructions and requests. This stage often happens around a year to 18 months.<\/p>\n

Simple sentences<\/strong><\/h4>\n

By around 2, Baby<\/span> will probably be able to make themselves<\/span> understood using gestures and simple sentences, and may be starting to learn inflections as well. At this point, they understands<\/span> a lot more than they can<\/span> speak, and they’s<\/span> learning more every day, so every word you say counts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s always going to be that one overachiever at {{ PRONOUN_BABY }}’s playgroup who starts talking at 6 months and leaves all the other parents vaguely concerned that their kid isn’t talking yet (and who knows? 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