The 7 Stages of "Baby Talk"
Phase 1 - 3 MONTHS:
- Your baby is observing
- Watches your face as you talk
- Is alert to new sounds and voices around the house
- Towards the end, "cooing" occurs
Phase 2 - 6 MONTHS:
- Babbling sounds (lots of bas and das)
- Some parents misinterpret the "da da" for daddy, but at this stage your baby has no real understanding of meaning and comprehension
- Begin recognizing their name being called, and their native language
Phase 3 - 9 MONTHS:
- Begin to understand basic words
- ”no”, and “bye” are usually some of the first
- They will begin using different tones and voices while babbling
Phase 4 - 12 MONTHS:
- First "real" words
- Commonly "mama" or "dada" are the first
- Begin to understand simple commands
Phase 5 - 18 MONTHS:
- Have a vocabulary of about 10 words
- Can repeat what you say
- They usually can't finnish pronouncing words
- They will say "cah" instead of "cat"
Phase 6 - 24 MONTHS:
- Can form short phrases
- Things like "bye daddy" and "me milk" are likely
- They begin realizing that words are more than just objects but ideas too
Phase 7 - 36 MONTHS:
- Vocabulary begins expanding exponentially
- Understand location concepts like "in"
- Learns emotions/feelings like "happy" or "sad"