Baby Talk

A lot of parents wonder whether their baby can actually understand what they are saying. In fact, at 1 to 3 months, babies already love to hear the sound of your voice and may smile, laugh, get quiet, or get excited and wave their arms when you talk or sing to them. Your infant's baby talk usually starts with cooing and gurgling, with some vowel sounds, like "ooh," appearing at around two months. It is also never too early to start reading to your infant, which helps stimulate the developing brain. At 4 to 7 months, babies now realize that their baby talk has an impact on their parents. They babble more and watch for their parents' reaction. Babies experiment with more sounds and intonations. They begin to raise and lower the pitch of their voices as they babble, just as adults do when asking a question or adding emphasis. It is very helpful to hold up the object when saying simple words like "cup" and "ball." At 8 to 12 months, it's a unique joy for parents to hear their baby say "mama" or "dada" for the first time. But the first few times may actually be accidental. Baby talk at this age is still primarily a hit-or-miss playing with sounds like "ga-ga," "da-da," and "ba-ba." Smile, face your baby, and continue to repeat simple words clearly throughout the day. This will help your baby's growing brain to store the sounds and meanings of words for everyday objects.