The Importance of Your Child’s First Words

When babies reach their milestone moments, one of the most remarkable feats is their first spoken words. It’s truly mesmerizing when, after months of non-verbal communication, they deliver a somewhat recognizable utterance. Whether their premier vocable is mum, dad, cat, or dog, the thrill is unparalleled. But what’s the underlying meaning?

We adore that adorable baby babble, but is your little one genuinely attempting words or merely reveling in the plethora of delightful sounds they can produce? Babies commence speaking at varying stages, with the inaugural distinctive word typically emerging around the age of one. You can prompt your baby’s speech by sweetly cooing at them, enticing them to mimic you.

Undoubtedly, the debut of your little one’s initial word heralds a fresh journey together, where conversing will become a vital aspect. Prior to this phase, babies express themselves mainly through cries, coupled with delightful babbling, cooing, squeals, growls, and even raspberries. But how significant are these verbalizations?

Indeed, they are! A recent study by the University of Alabama hints that babies engage in vocal control exercises prior to vocalization, particularly through cluster formations of squeals and growls. In their study published in the Plos One journal, the team mentions that clustering of sounds often appears playful and could potentially serve as practice. They further elaborate that the variability in sound production, such as squeals, growls, raspberries, or whispers, indicates crucial development in vocal control for future language acquisition.

Dr. Ed Donnellan from the University of Warwick, referring to the study in The Guardian, suggests that although the vocalizations under scrutiny – squeals and growls – may not be linguistic, they play a vital role in infants honing their control over emitted sounds, which is indispensable for subsequent verbal articulation.

It appears that those endearing baby babbles serve as groundwork for language development. While you may perceive it as mere babbling, infants are diligently trying to establish a communication channel with you, attributing meaning to their sounds, thus endowing them with importance (and cuteness, of course!).

When the maiden word is eventually articulated, it carries significant weight, as noted by Dr. Amanda Gummer, a child psychologist and creator of The Good Play Guide. According to her, “initial articulations hold importance as they mark the commencement of vocal interaction and the child’s burgeoning comprehension of language. These early verbal expressions play a pivotal role in nurturing relationships, often including names or allusions to close family members and friends. The subsequent positive endorsement from parents also contributes significantly, bolstering the child’s confidence in vocalization and language usage.”

What constitutes a baby’s premier articulation?

As your little one fine-tunes their vocal skills with an array of sounds and noises, you might discern familiar sounds like “mama” or “dada,” yet discerning whether they qualify as the baby’s primary vocalization or are mere coincidences can be challenging. According to LoveVery, a baby typically vocalizes their first word between 12 and 14 months, with an expanding vocabulary of 1-3 words by the age of 15 months. But what defines their first word? Speech and language therapist, Janet Cooper, in her article for the BBC, emphasizes the importance of children imbuing sounds with meaning over mere sound accuracy. For instance, a child making a sound while pointing at something can signify the beginning of verbalization. Consistent usage of that sound, even if unclear, as a representation for an object the child seeks can be classified as a word. Thus, your child’s first word may not be immediately identifiable, but if repeated consistently, especially in tandem with an action like pointing at you or an object, it should be acknowledged as their inaugural word.

Dr. Amanda Gummer reinforces this notion, stating, “The pristine clarity of first expressions is not paramount; rather, their consistent application to denote a specific entity holds the essence of a word. Any unswerving sound used to outline a particular person or object qualifies as a word. For instance, “wawa” to indicate water, if employed consistently, can be validated as a primary verbalization.”

What are the most prevalent initial utterances for infants?

We all desire our baby’s principal term to be ‘mama,’ which occasionally occurs, but there are various things they can utter initially. According to Toddler talk, some of the commonly encountered first vocabularies are:

•Mama

•Dad

•Pop

•Sphere

•Adieu

•Uh-oh

•Hello

•Refusal

•Pup

•Container

•Infant

•Arf arf

•Banana

•Fizz

•White liquid

Normally, a baby’s inaugural term is swayed by their setting and the objects surrounding them, as well as the most frequently observed entities. It further relies on the ease of articulating a term. Janet Cooper proposes, “the simplest terms babies can form encompass sounds where your lips are joined, or sounds involving placing the tongue on the rough section behind the top incisors.” While babies babble, they frequently echo sounds, which ultimately evolve into terms. For instance, frequently replicating syllables such as ‘da’ will ultimately transform into ‘dada.’ Dr. Amanda Gummer also suggests, “this is because they typically involve straightforward and repetitive sounds that a baby is likely to encounter frequently, linked with the individuals closest to them.”

What is the reasoning behind ‘dad’ commonly being an infant’s first term?

Some mothers frequently feel perturbed that ‘dad’ is the initial term spoken by an infant, and they wish the baby would say ‘mom’ first. Valerie Fridman, a professor of linguistics, in her article in Psychology Today, suggests that ‘dad’ might be simpler to utter, mentioning that “sounds like ‘d,’ ‘t,’ ‘p,’ and ‘b’ are categorized as ‘oral sounds.’ Conversely, ‘m’ is more nasal, as air passes through the nose when it’s articulated. Infants have the capacity to articulate both oral and nasal sounds, yet they usually gravitate toward oral ones.”

Another theory is that during the initial year of life, infants do not perceive themselves as distinct from their mother, and the father is the initial individual they recognize beyond the mother-infant tie, which is why ‘dad’ occasionally becomes an infant’s primary term.

How can you stimulate the first term of an infant?

Infants achieve various milestones at different junctures, such as mastering crawling, taking their maiden steps, and articulating their inceptive term; this diverges for each child. Nonetheless, while engaging with your little one, there are several actions you can undertake to support their initial term and aid them in transforming those endearing baby babble into toddler dialogues.

1. Eye contact: While conversing with your baby, ensure you are face to face so they can observe the expressions on your face.
2. Pause: Always include intervals between the sounds you produce with your baby to allow them an opportunity to reciprocate. After producing a sound or uttering a word and your baby is watching, pause and assess their reaction.
3. Imitate each other: Babies relish imitation and like mimicking your actions. If you protrude your tongue, your baby may attempt to do the same. This concept applies to babble and terms as well; a baby might endeavor to mimic the sounds you create.
4. Follow their lead: When your toddler emits a distinct sound, possibly pointing at something simultaneously, mirror their actions. Offer your undivided attention to your baby, repeat their vocalization, and indicate to see their reaction, or acknowledge by saying, ‘indeed, that’s a ball,’ for instance.

Infant chatter is incredibly adorable and as guardians it is a joy to listen to our little one producing sounds and potentially rehearsing for the moment when they articulate their inaugural term. No matter if we comprehend what they verbalize, it represents a way of interaction and you can interact with your infant’s babble. According to Dr. Amanda Gummers, the “first utterances will indicate a child’s expanding comprehension of their surroundings and their connections with these individuals closest to them.” Thus, irrespective of the words uttered, or the time, it appears that those initial noises carry significance and are the principal foundations of your child’s language, as they acquire to produce diverse sounds and prepare to pronounce their inaugural term and communicate with you on a distinct plane.