Are you hearing their first words?

It’s all coming together! Your baby may be uttering their first few words. Their persistence in working out how to engage in interaction, use knowledge of objects and routines, along with their developing skill at making sounds consistently is all paying off!  

At first, your baby might use the same words for a few objects. This is perfectly fine. The words you may hear will most likely be “mama,” “baba,” or “dada,” – these are the sounds that were used initially in their babbling phase. The difference now is that your baby is using these sounds consistently with the objects and people they are ‘talking’ about.  

The more you respond, the more they will say 

Your baby might even repeat a word that you say to them, like “car,” or “bye.” The words may not be completely clear, but it is important to respond to their attempts. This is an exciting time for both you and your baby. Be sure to respond enthusiastically as this will encourage more sounds and words as they realise they can use words to communicate.