Language Development of Your Baby: 7 Easy Ways You Can Enhance It

There is nothing more magical than the sight of watching your little child attempting to talk in his cute little broken speech. It is like a miracle, isn’t it!

The most exciting events for parents is to hear the baby uttering the first words. But when do babies start talking? Most babies will start saying 3 to 5 words by the age of one year. And as early as 6 months they would babble words.

You probably want to know the various stages of this phase, and in this article, we give you an idea of how your child achieves language development on his own.

Baby Language Development In Early Childhood:

At what age do babies start talking? Behavioral therapists believe that language is a result of reinforcement and imitation. By the time a child reaches three years of age, he would have developed a vocabulary of around 3000 words.

It has been found that infants are able to distinguish between the sounds of different languages. Early childhood marks the children’s ability to comprehend language at a more complicated level.

[ Read: Baby Sign Language ]

The Pre-Talk Phase:

Young children develop their speech wonderfully in just a short time, and you, as a parent, may want to keep track of your child’s speech developments.

Before your child actually learns to speak, he will try to interact with the people around him by the following actions:

• Crying and squealing.
• Using expressions to communicate – frowning, smiling, etc.
• Listening to sounds and trying to respond to them.
• Giggling at something interesting.
• Trying to blurt out something in an attempt to communicate.
• Babbling at the sight of someone they like.
• Looking at toys or pictures, and pointing out to them.
• Copying other’s actions.
• Exploring objects by banging them together, mouthing them, etc.
• Staying calm at the sight of certain known faces.
• Cooing at the sight of certain people.

The First Words:

As your child grows, he will learn to develop and speak more meaningful communication by:

• Using simple words such as “mama” and “dada” for the parents.
• Trying to express yes or no by nodding the head.
• Making up words for certain objects or animals.
• Starting to recognize and learn the names of things they are in contact with for a long time, such as a pet or a toy.
• Using words like up, gone or more.
• Babbling while trying to speak certain complex words.
• Using simple words in an attempt to communicate.
• Following simple instructions such as come here, sit down, clap hands, wave bye, etc.

Parent’s Role In Language Development In Infants:

Researchers have found that the parents play a huge role in language development of a child. Trying to talk to a child using simple words, this in medical terms is known as infant directed speech.

• Infant directed speech will make your baby more used to language communication and encourage him to speak.
• Use shortened and simplified vocabulary and words that your child is familiar with.
• Use exaggerated expressions and shortened speech with some actions if possible to instruct your child and encourage him to talk.
• As children grow, they automatically adapt themselves to their parent’s speaking patterns, and will learn new words every few days.

[ Read: Baby Care ]

What You Can Do?

When your child makes an attempt to speak, smile and listen intently. Praise his attempt to talk. Following the simple tips given below can help your growing pick up words easily and learn to communicate better:

1. Break down complex sentences into simple words. Try to expand simple words
2. Go through picture books together. Sing songs and rhymes together with your baby.
3. Ask him to fetch a particular object and help him describe it.
4. Talk about his clothes as you dress him up and the environment around him as he takes a bath.
5. Copy your child’s playful sounds and broken words to encourage him to speak.
6. Take your child for a walk, go to fun places to help him explore new settings, and talk to him about his experiences there.
7. Talk often, using simple sentences.

Remember that your baby is still learning, and every child has his own learning phase. Don’t try to rush through it, just go with the flow.

Hope you liked our post on ways to enhance baby language development. Do let us know of your joyful experiences in watching your child learn to speak in the comments section below.

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