Communication begins from birth.

Communication starts from birth. Even in those first moments after delivery baby is on the language development journey. When she is looking at you and watching your mouth, she is learning, and her cries are her way of communicating.
Language development is a natural process and you are the most important person to help promote it.

How can I help my baby's language development?

When you make eye contact with your baby, make sounds or talk to her, when she starts to make sounds back, you listen and then respond by making a sound back. This is the beginnings of a conversation.

Singing to your baby is great to encourage language. Nursery rhymes are good as they are short and repetitive. Some parents feel embarrassed singing to their babies, but your baby doesn't care if you can sing in tune or not.

Talk to your baby about what you are doing eg changing nappy etc, but remember that sometimes babies need quiet time as well. It is you who provides baby with the words to copy. Learning to say words takes time a as baby's tongue, lips and mouth have to develop. If you don't talk to her, she can't find out how to make the sounds. Every word she hears is a learning opportunity, so talk to her and she will respond in her on way.

Books are a great way to get to know familiar things over and over again at her own pace and in a quiet setting. A child who has been shown books from an early stage in a pleasant sharing way, will always have a source of help for language development.

Why you are better than TV.

• You can use language which you know your child can understand. 
• You can respond when your child attempts to talk. 
• You can praise your child when she attempts to talk. 
• A child needs to listen to language which is tunes to her needs, you can do this TV can't

It's important to limit the time the TV is on. There needs to be quiet time when your child can listen to your voice without the distraction of back ground noise.

Dummies and Talking.

Babies like to suck and dummies can help to soothe them, however regular and extended use can cause problems with your child's speech.

• Try to wean your baby off a dummy by at least 12months.
• Make a clean break, throw the dummy away. Most babies won't fret for more than a couple of days.
• Dummies prevent babies from babbling, so only use them for short periods and remove then once baby is settled.
• When your baby is crying she's trying to tell you something, so try to find out what the problem is and only use the dummy as a last resort.
• Learning to talk requires lots of practice and a dummy will discourage her from doing so.
• If your toddler still has a dummy, always ask her to take out before talking.
• Some babies use a bottle as a dummy and walk around most of the day with it. Remember this is as bad as a dummy and also should not be used.

Stammering/Dysfluency.

If your child appears to have a stammer, she needs a referral to a speech therapist for specialist help. Your Health Visitor should be able to do this referral for you.
Most children have good and bad patches and there may be no definite reason, but you may be able to pinpoint situations which are difficult for your child and avoid them when possible.

 The following tips may help.

• Don't let your child get over excited or over tired.
• Keep calm yourself
• Reduce the rate of your speech.
• Don't rush or put pressure on your child.
• Don't put pressure on her to speak (asking questions) or demand she speaks (eg tell daddy what you did)
• Don't interrupt her.
• Give her your full attention when she is talking.
• Reassure her and don't correct her.

What to expect at different ages

The list below is a rough guide, however all children develop at different rates. If you have any concerns with your child's language development see your Health Visitor who will be able to do an assessment and if necessary give you some extra advice or refer you to speech therapy.

Birth to 3 months

• Startles to loud sounds
• Smiles when spoken to.
• Smiles when she sees you.
• Seems to recognise your voice and seems to quieten if crying.
• Makes pleasure sound eg cooing, gooing.
• Cries differently for different needs.

4-6 Months

• Responds to changes in the tone of your voice.
• Notices toys which make sounds.
• Pays attention to music.
• Vocalises pleasure and displeasure.
• Makes gurgling sounds when left alone and when playing with you.

7 - 12 Months

• Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a cake.                     
• Listens when spoken to.
• Recognises words for common items like cup or bottle.
• Babbling eg mama or baba
• Uses speech or non-crying to get and keep attention
• Imitates different speech sounds.
• Has 1 or 2 words. They may not be clear

18m-2 Years

• Listens and attends for short periods                    
• Points to pictures in a book when named
• Plays with toys appropriately
• Points to a few body parts when asked.
• Follows simple commands and understands simple questions. (Roll the ball, where's teddy)
• Says more words every month
• Uses 20 recognisable words
• Beginning to put 2 words together (more drink, mummy book)

3 years

• Listens and concentrates well
• Follows more complicated instructions (Where's the big teddy granny gave you? Put mummy's book under the table)
• Listens to stories and demands favourites over and over again.
• Has a large vocabulary
• Uses 4-5 words in a conversation
• Holds a short conversation
• Asks "what", "where" questions frequently
• Is understood by family members and is understood by others most of the time.

 4-5 years

• Pays attention to short stories and answers simple questions about them.
• Hears and understands most of what is said at home and in school.
• Communicates easily with other children and adults
• Uses sentences which give lots of detail (I like to read my books)
• Says many sounds correctly with a few exceptions; l, s, r , v, z, j, ch, sh, th.