While parents are understandably excited to
hear their baby's first words, psychologists say that words aren't
the only indication of language development.
Here are four signs that your baby could be talking in no
time:
1. Famous First Words
When babies are about 10 months old, they may suddenly produce
their first recognizable words. More often than not, the very first
words are "Da-da" and "Ma-ma." These utterances are really
abbreviations of words. "Ba" is short for bottle, "cuh" for cup,
"mo" for more and "soo" for shoe. For the time being, simple sounds
like these are all a baby can manage, and they're easy enough for
parents to translate.
2. Understanding What You Say
One very important sign that your baby is learning to talk is that
he or she understands more and more of what you say. Words such as
Mommy, Daddy, baby, shoe, ball, juice and cookie are probably
understood now, or will be soon. A baby may now also understand
names of family members or pets.
3. Waving Bye-Bye
For the first time, baby may be able to follow a simple instruction
such as "Wave bye-bye," "Bring me the teddy bear," "Stop that" or
"Kiss me." This shows that your baby has learned not only separate
words and their meanings but can understand a whole idea expressed
in words. This is an important milestone in language development,
and it is a good sign that your baby will be talking before you
know it
4. Babbling
A baby may also begin what psychologists call "jargon" or "pseudo"
conversations. Your baby will babble just as if talking in
sentences-imitating an adult's speech pattern, facial expression
and tone of voice. This conversational babble is another sure sign
that your baby is getting ready to talk. Keep Talking!
Keep on talking to your baby in ordinary conversation, repeating
the names of familiar objects and describing what you're doing… a
major event in the lives of babies and parents alike is about to
take place-baby's first words!