{"id":4988,"date":"2023-10-24T13:04:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T13:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mywellnesshub.in\/blog\/?p=4988"},"modified":"2026-03-16T16:55:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T11:25:23","slug":"speech-and-language-milestones-0-to-12-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mywellnesshub.in\/blog\/speech-and-language-milestones-0-to-12-months\/","title":{"rendered":"Speech and Language Milestones:\u00a00 to 12 Months"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every child is a bundle of joy for the parents. From the moment they are born, babies try to absorb what is in their environment. With their incredible transformation from the month of their birth till one year of age, babies amaze us with their brilliance. Babies start to respond by turning their heads, moving their eyes, cooing, and smiling when they hear someone and identify some known faces. All of these responses indicate they are progressing. It is important for parents and caregivers to proactively observe these speech and language milestones<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From birth to 3 months of age<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Though the majority of their time is spent sleeping, drinking milk from the mother, and crying, babies in their initial months have a memory of their womb life. They are aware of different sounds they heard so far like the sounds of the mother\u2019s heartbeat, abdomen, and bowel noises, pulsations of arteries present, and so on. They can differentiate from the voices they hear to the sounds being near to their mother. Hence doctors suggest having the babies cuddled up for much of the time during their initial months, to reduce that separation anxiety with the mother. This increases a sense of safety and security in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first few months, babies try to get engaged with all the sounds around them. They try to recognize familiar voices, especially that of their primary caregivers. The responses they give during the initial months are a symphony of smiling, babbling, and cooing. They try to produce soft vowel-like sounds. These early vocalizations lay the groundwork for their future speech skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: Breaking Down Natural Language Acquisition for Beginners<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though crying is their main mode of communication, from the initial days the baby is born till three months of age, the baby exhibits the following<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Receptive language<\/strong><\/td>Expressive language<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Startled response to loud sounds<\/td>vowel-like sounds such as “ooh” and “aah”<\/td><\/tr>
Recognizes familiar voice<\/td>Has a \u201cspecial\u201d cry for hunger.<\/td><\/tr>
Often looks at the speaker’s face and responds by smiling<\/td>Coos and babbles at known people<\/td><\/tr>
Regularly localizes speakers with eyes<\/td>When played with laughs, and uses vocal expressions of pleasure.<\/td><\/tr>
Often looks at speaker’s face and responds by smiling<\/td>Plays with tongue<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From 3 months to 6 months of age<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once the baby turns 3 months of age, you can observe many developments in growth. The eyesight becomes clearer and the baby can now see farther than before. The hand\u2019s grip gets stronger than before. Whether it\u2019s the dad\u2019s glasses or watch, mom\u2019s hair or dress, the grab of your baby\u2019s palm and fingers cannot let anything escape easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The baby will now specifically look for an eye-contact and smile. This is the initial non-verbal social interaction babies try to form for proximity. Their babbling gets louder and playing with saliva of the mouth would be a normal routine. You can also observe your baby calming down in response to your voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can observe the following developments in their language skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Receptive language<\/strong><\/td>Expressive language<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Turns head deliberately toward the source of the voice<\/td>Often laughs during play with objects.<\/td><\/tr>
Usually frightened or disturbed by angry voices.<\/td>Babbles with repetitive consonant-vowel combinations such as pa-pa, ma-ma, ba-ba.<\/td><\/tr>
Regularly localizes source of voice with accuracy<\/td>Enjoys vocal play<\/td><\/tr>
Recognizes or responds to his\/her own name<\/td>Takes the initiative in vocalizing and babbling directly to others.<\/td><\/tr>
Appears to recognize words like \u201cdaddy\u201d, \u201cbye-bye\u201d, \u201cmama\u201d, etc.<\/td>Plays at making sounds and noises while alone or with others.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Around three months of age, your baby gets expressive and starts to experiment with a variety of sounds. Laughter, squeals, and babbling become more frequent. They also start to respond to their names and simple commands, indicating an early understanding of language. By six months of age, most babies can recognize the tone of their caregiver’s voice. Their babbling would also get repetitive with consonant-vowel combinations (e.g., “ba-ba” or “ma-ma”). This marks the beginning of intentional communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 6 months to 9 months of age<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By six months of age, your baby will become more mobile! Babies respond to sounds and name calls by turning their head. They can now see the world around them in three dimensions. Turning, rolling, and crawling will slowly develop during this phase. If the baby tries to chew on everything and salivates more than before, it is a sign of their first teeth appearing soon! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They become more observant of the sounds around them. Your baby can understand the difference between your soft welcoming voice and your harsh daunting tone. They can clearly understand the meaning of a waving hand. It is common for parents and relatives to feel stunned when the baby cries if you try to wear your shoes as a sign of going out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here are the prominent speech and language developments of this age:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Receptive language<\/strong><\/td>Expressive language<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Appears to recognize names of family members and some common objects<\/td>Makes double syllable sounds (ma-ma, ta-ta, da-da)<\/td><\/tr>
Responds with appropriate gestures to such words as \u201ccome\u201d \u201cup\u201d \u201cbye-bye\u201d etc<\/td>At least half of the time responds with vocalizations when called.<\/td><\/tr>
Gives some attention to music or singing<\/td>Babbling becomes complex with a variety of sounds<\/td><\/tr>
Regularly stops activity when his or her name is called.<\/td>Often mimics the sounds and number of syllables used in vocal stimulation by others<\/td><\/tr>
Regularly stops activity in response to \u201cno\u201d.<\/td>Uses some gesture language (such as shaking head appropriately for \u201cno\u201d, etc)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Around 6 months of age, babies refine their vocalizations, incorporating more consonants and varied intonations. They might even mimic the rhythm and cadence of adult speech, displaying signs of a growing awareness of communication patterns. Your baby would also try to understand some basic words, like “bye-bye” or “milk.” This is the beginning of their receptive communication, both verbal and non-verbal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 9 months to 12 months of age<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is mostly around nine months of age, you may find your baby calling you with recognizable words like \u201cma-ma\u201d and \u201cda-da\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it’s crucial to note that there’s a wide range of normal development, and not all babies hit this milestone at the same time. By one year, many babies can comprehend simple commands and may respond appropriately. They also start using gestures to communicate, like pointing to objects of interest or shaking their heads to indicate a “no.” This combination of words and gestures enhances their ability to convey needs and wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The progress of a child\u2019s typical development is clearly indicated by these speech and language milestones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Receptive language<\/strong><\/td>Expressive language<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Appears to enjoy listening to new words.<\/td>Speaks 1st words often (\u201cdada\u201d)\u201dmama\u201d, \u201cbye-bye\u201d or the name of pet or a toy.<\/td><\/tr>
Occasionally follows simple commands like \u201c put that down\u201d <\/td>Often uses jargon (short sentences like utterances of 4 or more syllables without true words.<\/td><\/tr>
Appears to understand simple questions like \u201cWhere” is the ball?\u201d<\/td>Initiates speech gestures, games like \u201cpat-a-cake\u201d or \u201cpeek-a-boo\u201d<\/td><\/tr>
Demonstrates understanding by responding with appropriate gestures to several kinds of verbal requests<\/td>Occasionally tries to imitate new words.<\/td><\/tr>
Demonstrates understanding by making appropriate verbal responses to some requests (for ex: say \u201cbye-bye\u201d).<\/td>Uses 3 or more words with some accuracy.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many children start walking around one year of age. While babies weighing less would find it easy to walk even before one year, the ones who are slightly heavier postpone their walking till they cross 14 months of age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultivating Healthy Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Positive<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Considering speech and language development in children, here is a list of positive signs of speech development in children from 0 to 12 months of age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n