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- During this stage the baby is still developing.
- The baby can hear the mother and others talking to them in the womb and music and sounds going on outside of the womb.

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Mom playing music for baby in the womb.

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- At this age the baby's main way of communication is crying, since the larynx has not descended yet.
- Startled by loud or surprising sounds

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Baby Crying Loud for one hour - Crying Sound Effects

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Example of adults supporting baby's OLD 

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Example of adults supporting baby's OLD 

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- Baby's begin to make cooing sounds to gain attention from caregiver.
- Oberserves the caregivers face and how their mouth moves while talking.

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Baby makes cute cooing noises - compilation

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Talk in close proximity of babies face, and the baby will begin to make noises back.

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"At 6 months, your baby begins babbling with different sounds. For example, your baby may say "ba-ba" or "da-da." By the end of the sixth or seventh month, babies respond to their own names, recognize their native language, and use their tone of voice to tell you they're happy or upset. Some eager parents interpret a string of "da-da" babbles as their baby's first words -- "daddy!" But babbling at this age is usually still made up of random syllables without real meaning or comprehension."
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby-talk-your-babys-first-words#1

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Before babies learn to talk in a real language -- English, say, or Spanish -- they babble and coo, playing with sound. That's baby talk, and baby talk sounds similar the world over.

But when will you hear your baby's first words? Critical milestones for a baby learning to talk happen in the first three years of life, when a baby's brain is rapidly developing. During that time, your baby's speech development depends on your "baby talk" skills as well as your baby's.

When Will You Hear Baby's First Words?

The first "baby talk" is nonverbal and happens soon after birth. Your baby grimaces, cries, and squirms to express a range of emotions and physical needs, from fear and hunger to frustration and sensory overload. Good parents learn to listen and interpret their baby's different cries.

Just when your baby will say those magical first words varies greatly from individual baby to individual baby. But if your baby misses any of the following milestones in speech development, talk to your pediatrician or family doctor about your concerns.

Baby Talk Milestones

Baby talk at 3 months. At 3 months, your baby listens to your voice, watches your face as you talk, and turns toward other voices, sounds, and music that can be heard around the home. Many infants prefer a woman's voice over a man's. Many also prefer voices and music they heard while they were still in the womb. By the end of three months, babies begin "cooing" -- a happy, gentle, repetitive, sing-song vocalization.

Baby talk at 6 months. At 6 months, your baby begins babbling with different sounds. For example, your baby may say "ba-ba" or "da-da." By the end of the sixth or seventh month, babies respond to their own names, recognize their native language, and use their tone of voice to tell you they're happy or upset. Some eager parents interpret a string of "da-da" babbles as their baby's first words -- "daddy!" But babbling at this age is usually still made up of random syllables without real meaning or comprehension.

Baby talk at 9 months. After 9 months, babies can understand a few basic words like "no" and "bye-bye." They also may begin to use a wider range of consonant sounds and tones of voice.

Baby talk at 12-18 months. Most babies say a few simple words like "mama" and "dadda" by the end of 12 months -- and now know what they're saying. They respond to -- or at least understand, if not obey -- your short, one-step requests such as, "Please put that down."

Baby talk at 18 months. Babies at this age say several simple words and can point to people, objects, and body parts you name for them. They repeat words or sounds they hear you say, like the last word in a sentence. But they often leave off endings or beginnings of words. For example, they may say "daw" for "dog" or "noo-noo's" for "noodles."

Baby talk at 2 years. By age 2, babies string together a few words in short phrases of two to four words, such as "Mommy bye-bye" or "me milk." They're learning that words mean more than objects like "cup" -- they also mean abstract ideas like "mine."

Baby talk at 3 years. By the time your baby is age 3, their vocabulary expands rapidly, and "make-believe" play spurs an understanding of symbolic and abstract language like "now," feelings like "sad," and spatial concepts like "in."

Continued

Can You Teach Babies to Talk?

Babies understand what you're saying long before they can clearly speak. Many babies learning to talk use only one or two words at first, even when they understand 25 or more.

You can help your baby learn to talk if you:

Watch. Your baby may reach both arms up to say they want to be picked up, hand you a toy to say they want to play, or push food off their plate to say they've had enough. Smile, make eye contact, and respond to encourage these early, nonverbal attempts at baby talk.

Listen. Pay attention to your baby's cooing and babbling, and coo and babble those same sounds right back to your baby. Babies try to imitate sounds their parents are making and to vary pitch and tone to match the language heard around them. So be patient and give your baby lots of time to "talk" to you.

Praise. Smile and applaud even the smallest or most confusing attempts at baby talk. Babies learn the power of speech by the reactions of adults around them.

Imitate. Babies love to hear their parents' voices. And when parents talk to them it helps speech develop. The more you talk their "baby talk" with them, using short, simple but correct words, such as "dog" when your baby says "daw," the more babies will keep trying to talk.

Elaborate. If your baby points to the table and makes noise, don't just givethem more noodles. Instead, point to the noodles and say, "Do you want some more noodles? These noodles taste good with cheese, don't they?"

Narrate. Talk about what you're doing as you wash, dress, feed, and change your baby -- "Let's put on these blue socks now" or "I'm cutting up your chicken for you" -- so your baby connects your speech to these objects and experiences.

Hang in there. Even when you don't understand what your baby is saying, keep trying. Gently repeat back what you think is being said, and ask if that's right. Keep offering your loving attention so your baby feels rewarded for trying to talk.

Let your child lead. During playtime, follow your child's attention and interests to show that communication is a two-way game of talking and listening, leading, and following.

Play. Encourage children to play, pretend, and imagine out loud to develop verbal skills as they become toddlers.

Read aloud. Lifelong readers come from young children who have plenty of fun, relaxing experiences of being read to out loud.

Continued

If You're Concerned About a Speech Delay

Watch for any sign of a major speech delay in your baby, and talk with your doctor if you sense there's a problem. A speech delay can happen for a number of reasons, but the earlier a speech problem in babies is diagnosed, the more time you'll have to correct it and help your child reach their full potential before school age. After consulting with your pediatrician, here are things to do to help with delayed speech:

Have a hearing test done. As many as three out of 1,000 newborns have hearing loss, which can cause delayed speech development. Most states require a hearing screening in the hospital right after birth. Take your baby in for a full hearing exam by age 3 months if they don't pass the initial hearing screening.

See a speech-language pathologist. A SLP can diagnose and treat specific speech, language, or voice disorders that delay speech. Treatment may include giving parents tips and games to improve speech problems in babies and improve a child's language skills.

Consider developmental screening. Up to 17% of children in the U.S. have a developmental or behavioral disability such as autism spectrum disorder or cognitive disability. Ask your baby's doctor about screening for these developmental problems, which can cause speech delays.

What's the first step for babies learning to talk? Encourage your baby's first words with your frequent cooing, babbling, talking, and singing. Keep responding positively and showing you care. When it comes to baby talk, that's the best building block.

Sources

SOURCES:
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: "Speech and Language Developmental Milestones."
National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, Zerotothree.org: "Helping Your Child Learn To Talk" and "Communication Skills."
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities: "Developmental Milestones."
Hawaii Department of Health: "Good Hearing Helps a Baby Learn To Talk."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Before babies learn to talk in a real language -- English, say, or Spanish -- they babble and coo, playing with sound. That's baby talk, and baby talk sounds similar the world over. But when will you hear your baby's first words?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Eastern Ontario Health Unit/Bureau de santé de l’est de l’Ontario

# data[].attributes.body
"After 9 months, babies can understand a few basic words like "no" and "bye-bye." They also may begin to use a wider range of consonant sounds and tones of voice.

Baby talk at 12-18 months. Most babies say a few simple words like "mama" and "dadda" by the end of 12 months -- and now know what they're saying. They respond to -- or at least understand, if not obey -- your short, one-step requests such as, "Please put that down."https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby-talk-your-babys-first-words#1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Before babies learn to talk in a real language -- English, say, or Spanish -- they babble and coo, playing with sound. That's baby talk, and baby talk sounds similar the world over.

But when will you hear your baby's first words? Critical milestones for a baby learning to talk happen in the first three years of life, when a baby's brain is rapidly developing. During that time, your baby's speech development depends on your "baby talk" skills as well as your baby's.

When Will You Hear Baby's First Words?

The first "baby talk" is nonverbal and happens soon after birth. Your baby grimaces, cries, and squirms to express a range of emotions and physical needs, from fear and hunger to frustration and sensory overload. Good parents learn to listen and interpret their baby's different cries.

Just when your baby will say those magical first words varies greatly from individual baby to individual baby. But if your baby misses any of the following milestones in speech development, talk to your pediatrician or family doctor about your concerns.

Baby Talk Milestones

Baby talk at 3 months. At 3 months, your baby listens to your voice, watches your face as you talk, and turns toward other voices, sounds, and music that can be heard around the home. Many infants prefer a woman's voice over a man's. Many also prefer voices and music they heard while they were still in the womb. By the end of three months, babies begin "cooing" -- a happy, gentle, repetitive, sing-song vocalization.

Baby talk at 6 months. At 6 months, your baby begins babbling with different sounds. For example, your baby may say "ba-ba" or "da-da." By the end of the sixth or seventh month, babies respond to their own names, recognize their native language, and use their tone of voice to tell you they're happy or upset. Some eager parents interpret a string of "da-da" babbles as their baby's first words -- "daddy!" But babbling at this age is usually still made up of random syllables without real meaning or comprehension.

Baby talk at 9 months. After 9 months, babies can understand a few basic words like "no" and "bye-bye." They also may begin to use a wider range of consonant sounds and tones of voice.

Baby talk at 12-18 months. Most babies say a few simple words like "mama" and "dadda" by the end of 12 months -- and now know what they're saying. They respond to -- or at least understand, if not obey -- your short, one-step requests such as, "Please put that down."

Baby talk at 18 months. Babies at this age say several simple words and can point to people, objects, and body parts you name for them. They repeat words or sounds they hear you say, like the last word in a sentence. But they often leave off endings or beginnings of words. For example, they may say "daw" for "dog" or "noo-noo's" for "noodles."

Baby talk at 2 years. By age 2, babies string together a few words in short phrases of two to four words, such as "Mommy bye-bye" or "me milk." They're learning that words mean more than objects like "cup" -- they also mean abstract ideas like "mine."

Baby talk at 3 years. By the time your baby is age 3, their vocabulary expands rapidly, and "make-believe" play spurs an understanding of symbolic and abstract language like "now," feelings like "sad," and spatial concepts like "in."

Continued

Can You Teach Babies to Talk?

Babies understand what you're saying long before they can clearly speak. Many babies learning to talk use only one or two words at first, even when they understand 25 or more.

You can help your baby learn to talk if you:

Watch. Your baby may reach both arms up to say they want to be picked up, hand you a toy to say they want to play, or push food off their plate to say they've had enough. Smile, make eye contact, and respond to encourage these early, nonverbal attempts at baby talk.

Listen. Pay attention to your baby's cooing and babbling, and coo and babble those same sounds right back to your baby. Babies try to imitate sounds their parents are making and to vary pitch and tone to match the language heard around them. So be patient and give your baby lots of time to "talk" to you.

Praise. Smile and applaud even the smallest or most confusing attempts at baby talk. Babies learn the power of speech by the reactions of adults around them.

Imitate. Babies love to hear their parents' voices. And when parents talk to them it helps speech develop. The more you talk their "baby talk" with them, using short, simple but correct words, such as "dog" when your baby says "daw," the more babies will keep trying to talk.

Elaborate. If your baby points to the table and makes noise, don't just givethem more noodles. Instead, point to the noodles and say, "Do you want some more noodles? These noodles taste good with cheese, don't they?"

Narrate. Talk about what you're doing as you wash, dress, feed, and change your baby -- "Let's put on these blue socks now" or "I'm cutting up your chicken for you" -- so your baby connects your speech to these objects and experiences.

Hang in there. Even when you don't understand what your baby is saying, keep trying. Gently repeat back what you think is being said, and ask if that's right. Keep offering your loving attention so your baby feels rewarded for trying to talk.

Let your child lead. During playtime, follow your child's attention and interests to show that communication is a two-way game of talking and listening, leading, and following.

Play. Encourage children to play, pretend, and imagine out loud to develop verbal skills as they become toddlers.

Read aloud. Lifelong readers come from young children who have plenty of fun, relaxing experiences of being read to out loud.

Continued

If You're Concerned About a Speech Delay

Watch for any sign of a major speech delay in your baby, and talk with your doctor if you sense there's a problem. A speech delay can happen for a number of reasons, but the earlier a speech problem in babies is diagnosed, the more time you'll have to correct it and help your child reach their full potential before school age. After consulting with your pediatrician, here are things to do to help with delayed speech:

Have a hearing test done. As many as three out of 1,000 newborns have hearing loss, which can cause delayed speech development. Most states require a hearing screening in the hospital right after birth. Take your baby in for a full hearing exam by age 3 months if they don't pass the initial hearing screening.

See a speech-language pathologist. A SLP can diagnose and treat specific speech, language, or voice disorders that delay speech. Treatment may include giving parents tips and games to improve speech problems in babies and improve a child's language skills.

Consider developmental screening. Up to 17% of children in the U.S. have a developmental or behavioral disability such as autism spectrum disorder or cognitive disability. Ask your baby's doctor about screening for these developmental problems, which can cause speech delays.

What's the first step for babies learning to talk? Encourage your baby's first words with your frequent cooing, babbling, talking, and singing. Keep responding positively and showing you care. When it comes to baby talk, that's the best building block.

Sources

SOURCES:
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: "Speech and Language Developmental Milestones."
National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, Zerotothree.org: "Helping Your Child Learn To Talk" and "Communication Skills."
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities: "Developmental Milestones."
Hawaii Department of Health: "Good Hearing Helps a Baby Learn To Talk."

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Before babies learn to talk in a real language -- English, say, or Spanish -- they babble and coo, playing with sound. That's baby talk, and baby talk sounds similar the world over. But when will you hear your baby's first words?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Eastern Ontario Health Unit/Bureau de santé de l’est de l’Ontario

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-follow simple commands
-pitch of voice not yet controlled

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-ask child to describe attributes of objects
-parent and child co-hold books several times a day

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-creates short sentences
-2/3 of what child says is understandable
-use pronouns such as I

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-talk face to face where child can clearly see adult's mouth and facial expressions
-use words to describe feelings and ask child to use words to describe their feelings

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* Simple Stories
* Three to Six word sentences
* Speak to 250-500 words
* Answer simple questions
* Speak somewhat clearly

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Congratulations, you have survived the "terrible twos!" Hopefully, you have energy left to enjoy what lies ahead for you and your preschooler. They call the next few years the "magic years" -- partly because it seems like magic that your child is finally listening to you and partly because for your child, it is a time for their imagination to run wild.

Your 3- to 4-year-old child will continue to grow and develop in many ways in the coming year. Although children reach developmental milestones at different times, your child will likely achieve the following developmental milestones before they turn 5.

3- to 4-Year-Old Development: Language Milestones

If your child is not very talkative, that will likely change soon. Between or at ages 3 and 4, your child should be able to:

Say their name and age

Speak 250 to 500 words

Answer simple questions

Speak in sentences of five to six words, and speak in complete sentences by age 4

Speak clearly, although they may not be fully comprehensible until age 4

Tell stories

3- to 4-Year-Old Development: Cognitive Milestones

Your child will start asking lots of questions. "Why is the sky blue? Why do birds have feathers?" Questions, questions, and more questions! While it may be annoying at times, asking questions is a normal developmental milestone. In addition to asking "why?" all the time, your 3- to 4-year-old should be able to:

Correctly name familiar colors

Understand the idea of same and different, start comparing sizes

Pretend and fantasize more creatively

Follow three-part commands

Remember parts of a story

Understand time better (for example, morning, afternoon, night)

Count, and understand the concept of counting

Sort objects by shape and color

Complete age-appropriate puzzles

Recognize and identify common objects and pictures

3- to 4-Year-Old Development: Movement Milestones

Your busy preschooler continues to be on the move. Between or at ages 3 and 4, your child should be able to:

Walk up and down stairs, alternating feet -- one foot per step

Kick, throw, and catch a ball

Climb well

Run more confidently and ride a tricycle

Hop and stand on one foot for up to five seconds

Walk forward and backward easily

Bend over without falling

Help put on and remove clothing

Continued

3- to 4-Year-Old Development: Hand and Finger Skills

Your child is becoming much more nimble. At this point in their development, your child should be able to:

More easily handle small objects and turn a page in a book

Use age-appropriate scissors

Copy circles (3) and squares (4)

Draw a person with two to four body parts

Write some capital letters

Build a tower with four or more blocks

Dress and undress without your help

Screw and unscrew jar lids

Turn rotating handles

3- to 4-Year-Old Development: Emotional and Social Milestones

Your 3- to 4-year-old is not only becoming more independent physically, but also emotionally. You may start to notice fewer tantrums when you leave your child with a sitter or at preschool.

In addition, your 3- to 4-year-old is becoming more social. Your child may now be able to cooperate with their friends, take turns, and may begin to show some problem-solving skills.

At this point in development, your child should be able to:

Imitate parents and friends

Show affection for familiar family and friends

Understands the idea of "mine" and "his/hers"

Show a wide range of emotions, such as being sad, angry, happy, or bored

In addition, you may notice your child's imagination is in overdrive. This can be good and bad. Fantasy and pretend play becomes more interesting and involved, but your child may also start developing unrealistic fears, such as believing a monster is lurking in the closet.

3- to 4-Year-Old Development: When to Be Concerned

All kids grow and develop at their own pace. Don't worry if your child has not reached all of these milestones at this time. But you should notice a gradual progression in growth and development as your child gets older. If you don't, or if your child has signs of possible developmental delay, as listed below, talk to your child's doctor.

Signs of developmental delay in 3- to 4-year-old children include:

Inability to throw a ball overhand, jump in place, or ride a tricycle

Frequent falling and difficulty walking stairs

Inability to hold a crayon between their thumb and fingers; has trouble scribbling and cannot copy a circle

Unable to use a sentence with more than three words and uses "me" and "you" inappropriately

Persistent drooling and trouble speaking

Cannot stack four blocks and has trouble handling small objects

Continues to experience extreme separation anxiety

Lacks interest in interactive games and doesn't engage in fantasy play

Does not play with other children and doesn't respond to non-family members

Self control isn't improving when angry or upset

Does not understand simple commands, or repeats the commands

Avoids making eye contact

Resists getting dressed, sleeping, and going to the bathroom

Continued

Also, if you notice your child resisting or struggling with doing things that they were once able to do, tell your child's doctor. This can be a sign of a developmental disorder. If your child does have developmental delay, there are many treatments available to help your child.

Sources

SOURCES:
American Academy of Pediatrics: "Developmental Milestones: 3 to 4 Year Olds."
The Mayo Clinic: "Child Development Chart: Preschool Milestones."
CDC: "Important Milestones: By the End of Three Years (36 Months)."

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3- to 4-Year-Old Developmental Milestones: Cognitive, Language, and Motor Skills

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Congratulations, you have survived the "terrible twos!" Hopefully, you have energy left to enjoy what lies ahead for you and your preschooler. They call the next few years the "magic years" -- partly because it seems like magic that your child is finally listening to you and partly because for your child, it is a time for their imagination to run wild.

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* Can use many descriptive words in a row
* Knows common oppositions
* Can retell stories
* Can follows conversation/commands

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5 Year Olds Speech and Language Developmental Milestone