Baby's First Words: A Guide to Speech Milestones

The journey of language acquisition in babies is a fascinating process, filled with delightful milestones that parents eagerly anticipate. From the first coos and babbles to the formation of complete sentences, watching a child learn to talk is a rewarding experience. While every baby develops at their own pace, understanding the typical speech milestones can help parents support their child's language development and identify any potential delays.

The Foundation of Communication: Pre-Verbal Stages

Believe it or not, a baby’s journey to two-way communication begins earlier than you might think. Here’s further proof that babies are pretty incredible: They start learning language even before birth! That’s because baby could hear you speaking while in the womb and got familiar with the rhythm and sounds of the language you spoke. In fact, studies show that babies whose moms read specific books to them while pregnant go on to prefer hearing those books once they’re born, as measured by an increase in their sucking motion.

Before uttering their first words, babies engage in various pre-verbal communication methods that lay the groundwork for language development.

Crying, Gurgling, and Cooing (Birth to 2 Months)

From birth, babies communicate through crying, gurgling, and sighing, expressing their needs and emotions. Good parents learn to listen and interpret their baby's different cries.

Smiling (Around 2 Months)

Around 2 months, babies begin to smile, marking the start of social communication.

Read also: When Babies Sit Up

Babbling (4-6 Months)

Babbling is a crucial stage in language development, serving as practice for future speech. Many babies will be babbling by the six-month mark, and begin using multiple syllables around 9 months old. As mentioned above, most babies are babbling regularly by 6 months, making short strings of consonant-vowel sounds such as ba-ba, ma-ma and da-da. “Babies exposed to two languages will even babble in ways that are consistent with both languages,” says Casasola.

Babbling often includes sighing and cooing sounds, which eventually develop into consonant sounds. For example, baby might start making the “m” sound. With plenty of practice, that sound may turn into “ma,” and before you know it: “ma-ma.”

First Words and Expanding Vocabulary

The appearance of the first word is a momentous occasion for parents.

The First Word (9-12 Months)

"There is a range when babies say their first words,” says Jocelyn Wood, CCC-SLP, a speech language pathologist. “In general, babies will say their first words between 9 and 12 months of age.” Babies say their first word around 12 months, and will talk more clearly and have more words by about 18 months. Get ready for your heart to melt to the sounds of “mama” and “dada.”

Rapid Vocabulary Growth (18-24 Months)

“Eighteen- to 24-month-old toddlers go through a period of rapid growth, when they are learning new word(s) every day,” Wood says. At this point your budding linguist may have a vocabulary of 50 to 100 words. “The 100 word milestone is important because this is when toddlers really start combining words to make simple phrases,” she explains.

Read also: Understanding Infant Respiration

Combining Words (2 Years)

By age 2, you may start to hear your child say two-word phrases. Some examples are: "Dog sit.", "Mommy go.", "My toy." Babies at this age say several simple words and can point to people, objects, and body parts you name for them. They repeat words or sounds they hear you say, like the last word in a sentence. But they often leave off endings or beginnings of words. For example, they may say “daw” for “dog” or “noo-noo's” for “noodles.”

Developing Sentences (3 Years)

By 36 months, your toddler is likely to have a vocabulary of 200 words or more, though you probably won’t be counting anymore. Many kids this age can string together sentences of three or four words. You’ll also notice that your toddler speaks more clearly now; you should be able to understand at least 75 percent of what your little one says, which can also help reduce the number of tantrums (hurray!). By age 3, your child will understand nearly all the words you say and have words for almost everything they encounter. And they’ll start using three-word phrases.

Milestones by Age: A Detailed Breakdown

While individual development varies, these milestones provide a general guideline for speech development:

Birth to 3 Months: Seems to know your voice and quiets down if crying. Reacts to loud sounds with a startle reflex. Is awakened by loud voices and sounds. Vocalizes pleasure and displeasure sounds differently (laughs, giggles, coos, cries, or fusses Makes noise and smiles when spoken to Responds to sound of rattle
4 to 6 Months: Looks or turns toward a new sound. Responds to “no” and changes in tone of voice. Enjoys rattles and other toys that make sounds. Vocalizes back when talked to. Begins to repeat sounds (such as, “ooh,” “aah,” and “ba-ba”)
7 to 11 Months: Responds to his or her own name, telephone ringing, or someone’s voice even when not loud. Knows words for common things (such as, “cup” or “shoe”) and sayings (such as, “bye-bye”). Babbles (says "ba-ba-ba," "ma-ma" or "da-da"). Tries to communicate by actions or gestures. Looks at things or pictures when someone talks about them. Starts to respond to requests (such as, “come here”). Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. Makes babbling sounds, even when alone. Imitates simple words and sounds; may use a few single words or baby signs meaningfully.
12 to 17 Months: Understands simple phrases (such as, “put the ball in the box” or “put the car on the table”). Enjoys being read to. Follows one-step commands when shown by a gesture. Answers simple questions by shaking his/her head or going to get an item when asked. Says two to three words to label a person or object (pronunciation may not be clear). Tries to imitate simple words. Vocabulary includes four to six words or more. Says more words as each month passes.
18 to 23 Months: Understands the meaning of action words (such as clap, sit or jump). Points to some body parts when asked. Understands and answers simple “yes-no” questions (such as, “Are you hungry?”). Understands “not now” and “no more”. Chooses things by size (such as, “big” or “little”). Uses a vocabulary of 50 words, pronunciation is often unclear. Asks for common foods by name. Makes animal sounds (such as, "moo"). Starts to combine words into 2- to 3-word phrases to talk about and ask for things (such as, "more milk"). Begins to use pronouns (such as, "mine").
2 to 3 Years: Knows some spatial concepts (such as "in" or "on"). Understands and uses more pronouns (such as, "you," "me" or "her"). Knows descriptive words (such as, "big" or "happy"). Answers many simple questions. Follows two-step commands (such as, “Get your shoes and come here.”). Uses three- to four-word sentences. Uses at least 100 words by 2 years of age. Uses question inflection to ask for something (such as, "My ball?"). Begins to use plurals, such as "shoes" or "socks" and regular past tense verbs (such as, "jumped"). Speech pronunciation is improving, but may still leave off ending sounds; strangers may not be able to understand much of what is said
3 to 4 Years: Answers simple questions (such as, "What do you do when you are hungry?"). Groups objects into categories (such as, foods or clothes). Recognizes colors. Uses 300 to 500 words by 3 years of age. Describes the use of objects (such as, "You eat with a fork"). Has fun with language; enjoys poems and recognizes language absurdities such as, "Is that an elephant on your head?"). Expresses ideas and feelings rather than just talking about the world around him. Uses verbs that end in "ing" (such as, "walking" or "talking"). Uses most speech sounds, but may distort some of the more difficult or later developing sounds, (such as l, r, s, sh, ch, v, z, th) Uses consonants in the beginning, middle, and ends of words.

Factors Influencing Speech Development

Several factors can influence a baby's ability to talk, including:

Hearing: Children learn to talk by listening to and imitating the adults around them.
Environment: If a child does not get a lot of exposure to language and interaction, the age of a child's first words may be later.
Underlying Conditions: Sometimes language and speech development is delayed if your baby has certain conditions, including Intellectual or learning disability, Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Problems with the tongue, Cerebral palsy.
Being a Twin: Studies show twins tend to develop language later than singletons, due to genes and possibly birth complications. But they catch up to their peers by age 5.
Bilingualism: Bilingualism doesn't cause speech delay. The bilingual child may have a smaller vocabulary in each language than a child from a monolingual home but their total vocabulary should equal that of a monolingual child.

Encouraging Language Development: Tips for Parents

Parents play a vital role in fostering their child's language development. Here are some effective strategies:

Read also: When Babies Smile

Talk Frequently: The more baby gets familiar with the sounds and words in the language, the more inclined they’ll be to start trying them out for themselves. “Studies show that how much you talk to your child is directly related to the number of words they learn, so simply chatting with them does wonders,” Casasola says.
Narrate Daily Activities: Narrate what you’re doing-and be sure to use specific words-when you’re with baby to help them learn to label their world. You might say, “Mommy is scrambling eggs with a spoon for Brianna’s breakfast. Can you say ‘egg?’” Look her in the eye and say “egg” a few times to see if she tries to mimic you. You can also use words to describe baby’s actions as well.
Read Aloud: There’s a reason that reading books and singing songs to babies is an age-old practice. “Music and language have always been very interconnected,” says Susan Darrow, a child development expert and CEO of Music Together. “Mothers instinctively know to speak to babies in higher, sing-songy voices, and research confirms that this higher-pitched, rhythmic, slower speech facilitates language comprehension in infants.”
Respond to Babbling: Baby’s babbling may signal that they’re focused and ready to learn, so offer specific words in response to their babbles and repeat them a few times. For example, if baby says “baba” while pointing to a banana, touch the banana and say the word a few times to help it start to stick.
Play and Interact: The key is to interact and have fun, because every interaction is an opportunity to teach them language. Any type of play - with balls, toys or pots and pans - contributes to babies' language development. They imitate what you do and say.
Use Visual Cues: Visual cues help too, so point to the ball or hold it up for baby to see as you say its name.
Play cause and effect Toys: Loeffler recommends choosing toys that show cause and effect. Some examples of cause-and-effect toys include: You put a ball in a hole, and it goes down a slide. You put a coin in a piggy bank, and it sings a song. You wind up a box, and a stuffed animal pops out.

Addressing Speech Delays

It’s important to know that every baby is on their own unique timeline. The truth is that the questions, “when do babies say their first word?” and “when do babies start talking?” don’t have concrete answers. Try not to worry if your little one isn’t chatting away just yet-some babies are simply late talkers. However, if baby’s first word hasn’t been said by 15 months, or if by age 2, baby has less than 25 words, speak to your doctor.

When to Seek Professional Help

Talk to your child's care professional if you're worried that your child has a speech delay. “It’s important that parents be aware of the signs of a speech delay so that they can receive support as early as possible,” Wood says. “The sooner you recognize any potential problems, the sooner you can get help that could enable your child to catch up developmentally,” Casasola says. “Trust your gut as a parent if you think something might be abnormal. If your baby isn't saying words by 12-18 months, you want to have them evaluated for speech delays.

Here are some signs that your child may need help with speech and language development:

By 15 months: Is not making sound combinations, ex. “puh” or “buh”, Is not playing games such as pat-a-cake or peekaboo, Does not respond to his name Stop to listen while someone is talking Anticipates what will happen next
By 18 months: Does not show interest or attempt to communicate (such as pointing or gesturing) Does not demonstrate play appropriately with simple cause-effect toys Does not attempt to imitate what he hears from you or people nearby Does not use word-like expressions to name and/or request for items
By age 2: Does not use sound combinations with inflection similar to adult speech Unable to identify body parts/common objects Imitates words but doesn’t come up with their own words Not demonstrating understanding of new words each week
By age 3: Not using at least 5 words Not using a variety of word combinations Difficulty understanding verb Difficulty engaging in pretend play Seems to have a good vocabulary but you and other caregivers have trouble understanding their words.
By 4 years: Has trouble forming sentences or tends to leave out words from sentences.

Types of Evaluations

Your child's care professional might send your child to a hearing specialist, called an audiologist, or a specialist in speech and language, called a speech-language pathologist. If your child hears or speaks two languages, called bilingual, a bilingual speech-language pathologist can test your child in both languages. After talking with your pediatrician, here are things to do to help with delayed speech:

Hearing tests: If your child has trouble hearing, there’s a good chance they’ll also have speech delays.
Speech evaluation: Speech-language pathologists are specialists who help with communication issues of all kinds, from stuttering and lisps to language comprehension. The type of testing and therapy baby may need will depend on their particular challenges.
Developmental screenings: These screenings are typically done at well-child visits and are a way for your doctor to tell if baby is hitting typical milestones for their age or if they might be delayed.

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