Your baby learns words long before they actually talk

First words bring lots of excitement to the whole family, and once we hear them everyone is eager to encourage more. But have you thought about what comes before that first magical word? Your baby’s learning to talk starts much earlier... 

Before a baby is even born, they have understood the pitch and rhythm of their mother's voice; once they are here, they learn to distinguish voices and the melody of language to find words in speech.  

Your baby has been busy 

Over time, they begin to understand words by looking at your face to see how speech is formed and by experimenting with sounds themselves, watching what you’re doing as you talk. As you go about your day together, your baby is listening and gaining experiences all the time. It’s amazing to think your baby has been learning words for some time now!  

Ways you can support your baby in learning how to talk 

• Chat to them – about anything and everything. Describe things to them. Model full words to them. Talk to them about what you’re doing or what is happening in the world around them. It can feel strange talking so much to such a small child, but it will all help them to understand more words and more about their surroundings. 
• Read to them – it’s the perfect way to give meaning and context to the words that you say. Try and make reading to your baby part of your daily routine. 
• Sing to them – songs and nursery rhymes help your baby to understand more complex parts of speech and language, such as rhyme, rhythm and intonation. It also helps them to understand more about the meaning and context of words.