Did you know that infant stages of development also include babbling in infants? There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the sweet baby coos and baby sounds. They are very important for the development of future speech skills.
As you read through these- I want you to think about the prelinguistic skills that are also emerging in development.
Babbling Infant
Between 0-3 months, babies begin to alert to sounds, quiet or smile when someone speaks to them, make sounds back and forth with caregivers, and vary in sounds to show happiness or sadness. Babies begin to recognize loved ones and some everyday objects. They don’t have a label for these items, but they begin to apply meaning to the object. For example, babies may begin to vocalize and move their bodies when they see a bottle because they know having the bottle will satisfy their hunger. (even though they don’t necessarily know what “bottle” or “hunger” is)
Between 4 and 6 months, baby laughs and giggles begin to emerge. Babies respond to facial expressions, look at objects of interest, and follow objects with their eyes. They react to toys that make sounds, vocalize during play, and vocalize different vowel sounds.
Babbles at this stage do not have specific meanings attached but are more exploratory. Babies practice making sounds and experiment with their rapidly developing vocal tract and oral skills.
Between 7 and 9 months, vocal development continues. Babies begin to string multiple syllables together to create variegated babbling. Sometimes, the babbles sound like complete words. At this stage, babies will start to look at you when you call their name, stop for a moment when you say “no”, raise their arms to be picked up, recognize familiar objects or people, push away unwanted objects, and will begin to look for caregivers when they become upset.
Side note: this is often when babies are introduced to foods. They also use their oral structures for the coordination skills required for eating!
By 10-12 months, gestures are in full swing. Babies point, wave, and show or give objects to others. They also imitate simple actions and initiate gestures for social interactions and gameplay (blowing kisses or peek-a-boo).
Babies try to copy your sounds and respond to simple words and phrases like “go bye-bye”. They may say 1-2 words *mama or dada* and use jargon (strings of syllables together with no “actual” words).
Why is Babbling Important for Language Development?
Babbling in infants is the prerequisite for later speech and language.
What could impact a baby’s ability to babble? Concerns with hearing, history of ear infections, fluid in the ears, cognitive or motor delays.
It’s important to consider all of this when evaluating and assessing a toddler’s current communication skills. This is also why it’s important to get a medical history from the parent/caregiver in initial evaluations.
When it comes to treatment, talk, read, and play! Engage and interact with little ones to encourage babbling and vocalizations. Meet them where they are and build relationships. Imitate what they do, using big expressions, animal sounds, and exclamatory words like “yay,” “uh-oh,” “oh no!” Crash, boom, vrrm!
Remember: communication should be fun and exciting!
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