When does your child start practicing speaking?

Speaking is the strongest way for children to interact with their surroundings. Speech development is important for the development of the baby. If a child is unable to communicate verbally, he or she can easily get discouraged and even withdraw socially.

Babies begin to get used to the sound from the very beginning, many babies right from the womb. By the 3rd month – 4 babies really begin to practice speaking. Speaking practice takes place within the first 3 years of life with constant changes that prove the child's ability to absorb and learn extremely quickly.

1.1 Children

• Born up to 3 months of age: At this time, babies often hear the sounds of mother's sleep. Babies are just beginning to make their first sounds, mostly monosymic, like ahhhh.
• 2 to 3 months old: The language is mostly crying. Cries manifest differently in different situations. When you get used to your baby, you can distinguish hungry cries from cries when they are tired.
• 3 to 4 months old: The baby makes more complex sounds and begins to babbling to make sounds such as "muh-muh" or "bah-bah".
• 5 to 6 months old: Your child begins to practice intonation, volume up and down, intensity in response to your words and facial expressions.

Attention: If your baby does not make a sound at the age of 6 months, take him to see a doctor.

• 7 to 12 months old: Babbling babies make more diverse sounds. Your child tries to imitate your words with phrases like "bah-bah-bah" or "dee-dee-dah".

Attention: If your baby does not make a sound at the age of 7 months, take him to see a doctor.

1.2 Toddlers

• 12 months old: Children begin to say meaningful words. Your child has the ability to imitate a few words in the phrase you say.
• 14 months old: Children change their intonation more and use additional hand gestures to express their words more clearly.

Attention: If your child doesn't say anything before the age of 15 months, take him to see a doctor.

• 16 months old: The child speaks more words, begins to call you "mommy" to attract attention, nods and shakes his head for the question yes – no. The baby begins to pronounce such negatives as t, d, n, w and h.
• 18 months old: The child already has a vocabulary of about 10-20 words, including the name "mother", some words and an words. The child has the ability to say the simple phrase "want the doll".
• 18 to 24 months: Children begin to say phrases of 2 or more words for more novel purposes.

1.3 Preschool

• 24 months: Children know 50 to 100 words, using short sentences of 2-3 words and personal pronouns to communicate.
• 2 to 3 years: Children can communicate basically with capital from 200 – 300 words, and expand the phrase from 3 – 6 words.

Attention: If your child is 2 or 3 years old repeating your question instead of answering it on a regular basis, take them to the doctor. This may be an early sign of language slowdown.

• 3 to 4 years: Children often use words like "why," "what," and "who." Your child can say what happened when you left the house.

Note:Your baby can sound as if he stutters if he is in a state of excitement when communicating. This is completely normal. However, if the condition lasts for more than 6 months, or must try to speak, see and talk to your doctor.

2.1 Smile and attention

You should encourage your child to try to communicate with you with care and love:

• Smile often with your baby, especially when he is trying to talk to you.
• Look at your baby and laugh, instead of looking away, interrupting or talking to others.
• Be patient when you try to decipher your infant's speechless language, such as facial expressions, babbling that can signal that your baby is sad or happy.
• Take the time to care for and love your baby, even if you are busy with other jobs.

2.2 Imitation of babies

• By imitating your baby, you send an important message: "I'm trying to understand you better"
• Have back-and-back conversations to teach your child how to talk.
• Imitate the pronunciation of the baby, "ba-ba" or "goo-goo", then wait for the baby to make another sound and repeat it.
• Do your best to answer, even if you don't understand what your child is trying to say.
• Enhance communication by smiling and reflecting facial expressions.

2.3 Talk to your child regularly

The children love to hear you speak, especially with a warm, cheerful voice. Children learn to speak by imitating the sounds they hear around them. So the more you talk to your baby, the faster he will develop speaking skills. Many adults use a special tone when talking to children as soaring voices with exaggerated expressions or female voices.

Improve your listening skills by talking to your child regularly throughout the day, recounting your activities with them. Talk when you are feeding, dressing, carrying and bathing your baby, so she begins to link these sounds of language to objects and daily activities. Repeat simple words like "mama" and "papa" regularly and clearly so that the child begins to hear familiar words.

0-6 months

• Keep the baby at close range and look at the baby's face when talking. He likes to look at his face and will be more interested in responding to your words.
• Talk to your baby when you do anything from feeding, changing clothes, or bathing them.
• Sing to your child to help them adjust the rhythm of the language.
• Repeating the words your child has spoken helps teach him how to listen well.
• Speak in a voice to get your child's attention.

6-12 months

• Name and point out things you can see, for example, "Look, a cat." This will help the child learn from, over time he will imitate you. As your baby get older, add more detailed information to the saying ("Look, a black cat").
• Start watching books with your child: You don't need to read all the words on the page, just talk about the drawings seen.
• Talk to dummies: Some children's toys such as dolls and teddy bears are tools to help children practice talking.
• Play games: Some games like "peek-a-boo" and "around the garden" will help teach your child important skills like turning around, paying attention, and listening.

12-18 months

• If your child is trying to say a word but is wrong, say it again and help them correct the word. For example, if your baby points to a cat and says "Meo", you should say, "That's right, it's a cat." Don't criticize your child for misreading it.
• Increase your child's vocabulary by asking choice questions, such as, "Do you want to eat an apple or a banana?".
• Toys and books that sound will help improve your child's listening skills.
• Enjoy fun, age-appropriate songs, especially those with actions like "Pat-a-cake", "Row, row, row your Boat" and "Wind the bobbin up". Perform illustrative actions to help your child remember words better.

18-24 months

• Repeat words like: "Where are your shoes?", "Shoes are blue, right?" and "Put your shoes on your feet." Repeating words will help your child remember words faster.
• Use simple sayings that make it easy for your child to understand, such as "Get a jacket" or "Close the door."
• Try asking the same questions as "Where's the Cup" and asking your child to point to your ears, nose, legs, etc.
• Limit daily TV watch time to no more than half an hour for children under 2 years old. Playing and listening to stories is more useful when children learn to speak.

2-3 years

• Help your child build sentences: They start pairing simple sentences together at about 2 years old. Try to answer using sentences longer than one or two words. For example, if your child says, "take off your socks" say "I'll take my socks off."
• Get your baby's attention by calling her name at the beginning of a sentence. If you ask, wait patiently for your child to answer.
• Turn off the television and radio, the noise because they make it harder for the child to hear you.
• Talk to your child when you're free: Children at this age love to get help. Chat at any time when you go shopping, cooking, and cleaning with your baby.

If you are worried about your baby's ability todevelop language , talk to your family doctor or health visitors. If necessary, your doctor will refer you to the language therapy department. You can also take your baby to a speech therapy for a timely visit.

Psychological Health Clinic – Share99 Times City International Health Hub has the function of examining, consulting, outpatient treatment of psychological and mental health issues. With modern equipment, Share99 Psychological Clinic is currently cooperating with experienced experts. Along with combining the implementation of psychological tests, intensive psychological therapy for diagnosis and treatment, in order to bring the best medical examination and treatment effect.

Customers can go directly to Share99 Times City International Health Hub for examination or contact hotline 0243 9743 556 for assistance.