How can I help my child develop language?

Talking is an important milestone in a child's development. However, in order for your child to speak, be the first teacher to help your child develop language.

Baby's first sounds before language begins are cooing and babbling when hearing sounds around them. You will hear these sounds during the first 3 months of your life, when your brain develops rapidly. Your baby's speech will gradually develop over the next few months.

When does your baby start to say first words?

In the 8-9 month period, if you hear your baby emit a "daddy" or "ghost" sound, don't be too happy. At this time, the baby still does not really understand the meaning of these words but just reacts to what they hear around. Usually, babies will say their first words at 11-14 months. At this point, the brain begins to connect objects with their names. By the 18th month, your baby will reach an important milestone in learning to speak and will begin to speak more than before. At this point, you can only help your baby develop at the correct pace and encourage him to talk more.

Milestones for language development of babies before 1 year old

Except for the first few words, there are many other important first year language development milestones you should know. If you find your baby is missing out on certain milestones, see your doctor for advice.

3 months

3-month-old baby has started to listen to sounds around him. It could be a parent's voice or other home sounds. When listening, your baby will observe your facial expressions and memorize the voice. Most babies love to hear voices and music; often prefer women's voices than men. At the end of this period, your baby will begin to make simple sounds.

6 months old

At 6 months of age , babies will begin to babble two-sound words like "baba", "mama" ... but don't understand the meaning of these words. However, at this stage, your baby is able to respond to his or her language, tone and name.

9 months old

By 9 months , your baby can understand a few simple words like “goodbye”, “no” or nod and he begins to pronounce ee elongated into a string of intonation sounds like the voice of an adult. .

1 year old

Children 1 year old can start saying "baba", "mama" and understand the meaning of these words. Your baby can even follow some of your simple requests such as putting a toy down, pointing a beautiful head, kissing ...

How to help children develop language?

When your baby starts to speak first words, you should start helping your baby develop language skills. To do that, you need to provide your baby with an environment with lots of communication such as:

1. Talk to your baby

Talk to your baby more. It can be just a simple conversation like you and your baby naming objects together, naming them together, describing familiar objects or more simply, let your baby sleep lullaby. This will help your baby understand the meaning of words, not just unconsciously.

2. Read stories to your baby before going to bed

Reading stories to your baby is the best way to expose your baby to new sentences, characters and words. Children will enjoy the reader's voice and start looking for pictures of characters in each page. Gradually, when the baby is 3 - 4 years old, he or she will be able to tell the story in a book that he has heard many times.

3. Listen

Listen when your baby talks to you and answer attentively as this will help him speak his mind boldly.

4. Name the object

When your baby points to an object, name the object, such as a spoon, board, cup ... This way, your baby will build a rich vocabulary for himself.

5. Let your baby listen to music

Music is a way to improve your baby's vocabulary. Let your baby listen to children's songs like "Little Stork", "I'm three years old" ... or sing lullaby songs to your baby. This will help your baby learn about the world around him through rhythm and words he hears.

When to see a doctor?

One out of every 4 babies can speak late and need treatment to reach this developmental milestone. If your baby is 2.5 years old and he or she still cannot speak, take him to the pediatrician because at this age, most babies already know how to talk. Symptoms show that your baby can speak late:

2 years old, babies only use one word to ask questions

Children can only say words with 1 syllable

Stop talking often when your baby feels you don't understand.

If you notice your baby has these symptoms, take him or her to a doctor for advice.