How Children Learn Language
Most children say their first word around 12 months old. Tracking your child’s first word is a common developmental milestone, along with rolling over, standing, and first steps. We track the milestones that happen before children take their first steps, but we often don’t think about the communication milestones that happen children say their first word.
Your child’s first word is like the roof on the house of communication. There are many skills that your child needs to master before they say their first word; these skills build the foundation and walls for the house.
From birth until three months old, children begin to calm when they hear familiar voices, smile with eye contact, and begin to make “cooing” sounds.
From four to six months, children move their eyes toward sounds; coo and babble when they are playing or interacting with people; and begin to babble with speech sounds like “p”, “b”, and “m".”
From seven months to one year, children look at things you point to, understand their name, understand words you say often, babble with lots of longer strings of sounds (e.g., babababa, mamamama), and start to imitate sounds and words. All of these foundational skills work together and culminate in a child’s first word.
If you have concerns about your child’s ability to do any of the foundational skills of communication, or if your child is late to say their first word (e.g., they don’t say their first word by 15 months), ask your child’s pediatrician for a referral for a speech-language evaluation with a speech-language pathologist.
References:
Birth to One Year. (n.d.). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01/
