Your baby learns language in stages. From birth, she receives information about language by hearing people make sounds and watching how they communicate with one another. At first she is most interested in the pitch and level of your voice. When you talk to her in a soothing way, she’ll stop crying because she hears that you want to comfort her. By contrast, if you shout out in anger, she probably will cry, because your voice is telling her something is wrong. By four months, she’ll begin noticing not only the way you talk but the individual sounds you make. She’ll listen to the vowels and consonants and begin to notice the way these combine into syllables, words, and sentences.
Besides receiving sounds, your baby also has been producing them from the very beginning, first in the form of cries and then as coos. At about four months, she’ll start to babble, using many of the rhythms and characteristics of her native language. Although it may sound like gibberish, if you listen closely, you’ll hear her raise and drop her voice as if she were making a statement or asking a question. Encourage her by talking to her throughout the day. When she says a recognizable syllable, repeat it back to her and then say some simple words that contain that sound. For example, if her sound of the day is “bah,” introduce her to “bottle,” “box,” “bonnet,” and “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.”
Last Updated 8/1/2009
Source Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 (Copyright © 2009 American Academy of Pediatrics)
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
