Your Baby’s First Words

Watching your baby develop is utterly fascinating. Every day they are learning and absorbing new things. And soon enough, you’ll see these observations turn into actions. Your baby’s first word is a prime example.

Many parents anxiously and excitedly anticipate their baby’s first word. Is it going to be mummy or daddy, or something completely random like tree? Understanding how a baby’s language develops can not only assist you in your understanding, but it can also give you the tools to help your baby communicate effectively.

Starting out

Right from birth, babies are acquiring new skills. They are listening to sounds, observing their surroundings, and hearing your conversations. Developing their language can start from the get-go. Sing them nursery rhymes, read them stories and have conversations with them. They won’t talk back, but they will find their own way to respond, and slowly these responses will become sounds, and eventually words.

At around the three-month mark, many babies will begin experimenting with sounds such as squealing, yelling or babbling. By responding to these sounds, you’re reinforcing the idea that your baby has a right to speak, and encouraging them to continue to do so.

By the six-month mark, babies generally begin to giggle and introduce more syllables into their vocabulary. Rather than mere gurgles, some babies are actually making sounds that resemble words, for example ba-ba. They may also begin to imitate sounds, so the more you talk to them, the more they’ll learn.

It’s for this reason that many children actually say their first word between six and nine months. They experiment with their mouths, their voices and their tones and as they listen to you, they tend to pick up a lot. For Aimee from Suitcases & Strollers, her baby’s first word was Nanoo at between six and nine months. Her son probably picked it up from hearing mum and dad using the name to refer to the cat.

While Aimee says it’s quite ironic that her child chose it as his first word, because the cat in question wasn’t the baby’s biggest fan, going so far as to spray urine at anything baby-related, it’s proof that a child absorbs everything you are saying. According to Aimee, “[it’s also] proof that younger sibling adoration and older sibling jealousy is a completely natural phenomenon, no matter your age or your species.”

Generally, by around the age of one, many children are saying a few words. However, this isn’t always the case and each child will develop in his or her own time. It can be concerning for parents if children aren’t talking, but don’t fear, most of the time, it’s just your little one taking their time to adapt to the world. For some parents, the fact that their child is a quieter individual, content to observe rather than jumping into activities, can cause stress.

But many children will pick up language in their own time, and these kids can turn out to be the chatterboxes. This was the case for Angie from Life’s Tiny Miracles.

“For our son, Alexander, we were initially concerned as he was a quieter baby. But when he started sprouting words after his second birthday, there was no turning back,” Angie explains. “Now, at two and a half years old, he is very inquisitive about his surroundings and talks all the time. But we don’t mind; it shows that he is able to express himself and verbalise his feelings.”

Remember, some babies are just the quiet type. Many completely understand what you are saying, they simply choose not to be talkers too early. And for those parents with two, or more, languages in the home, there’s even less to be worried about. Because when it comes to bilingual babies, it’s actually been found that babies who are exposed to two languages learn faster than those exposed to only one, giving them a six-month head start on negotiating the rules of language, including tone.

What to expect

Unsurprisingly, the most common first words are mama and dada. The reason for this is probably because your baby has started forming these syllables from as young as six months. Now, they’re just putting them together. You’re also the people who they see the most and because many parents refer to themselves as mama, dada, mummy or daddy, it tends to roll off your child’s tongue much easier.

For other babies, it can be the words they hear most frequently, including hi, bye, milk and no. The perfect example of this is Little Miss Honey blogger Honey’s son. “My husband would often point at cars passing by our window and say ‘car’. So one day, we were out, a red car passed by and our son just exclaimed ‘car’ while pointing at it,” she says. “Now, he is obsessed with cars. In fact, he loves any vehicle with wheels.”

For Evelyn from The Bottomsup Blog, her little one’s choice of words revealed something to mum. “My daughter’s first word was milk. But she had a phase where she ran around our home screaming ‘Starbucks’, which was when I knew I was drinking way too much coffee!”

There will also come a time when babies will start to mimic everything you say, including tone and inflection. Additionally, babies will gravitate towards objects that are most in their field of vision, adding these to their vocabulary quickly by using their visual memory.

By the age of two, usually the questions creep in. But for some, the questions are where it starts. Mama Wear Papa Shirt blogger June’s little daughter simply wanted help finding her toys. “While most parents take pride in their baby saying either ‘mama’ or ‘papa’ as their first word, ours uttered ‘where’ clearly and distinctly. Suffice to say she was extremely motivated in getting us to help her search for her favourite ball.”

How to help

As parents, there are a multitude of things you can do to help your baby’s language development.

Speak their language

While many people may say babytalk only hinders a child’s development, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instinctively, adults will launch into a more melodic sing-song voice when talking to babies. This actually draws babies into the conversation as it makes it easier for babies to tell the difference between sounds and tones and consequently, learn their language.

Read to them

Reading to your children doesn’t necessarily mean reading just the words. Many books for infants merely have a single word per page but that doesn’t mean you need to stop. Describe the pictures in the book, and point to each object as you say the word. For example, if the book is about animals, point to the lion as you say lion. This helps your baby learn associations and they will learn to recognise the picture and then identify it by name.

Interact, don’t instruct

Play is the best form of learning for little ones. Find toys that your baby loves the most and engage with them. Babies absorb much more information if they are focused on the object or the event in question. For example, if your baby loves cars, talk about all the aspects of the vehicle, including the sounds a car makes, who may be driving it, and what colours a car may be. Language-learning experiences work wonders for your child’s vocabulary and let your child know that you’re interested in what they love.

Speak up

The best thing you can do, however, is simply to talk to them and sing to them. Remember to look at them directly when doing it so they associate the language with a response. Narrate your activities even if it’s something as mundane as putting their dinner in a bowl. There has been research done that shows children as young as newborns prefer their mother’s voice over that of another female and prefer language over music. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t play them music, but don’t be afraid to simply have a conversation with them too. As you change their nappy, make them a meal or even while you’re doing the laundry, talk to your baby and soon, they’ll talk back.

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