By Stephanie Lord-Darby and Dr. Tessa Grigg

“Oh my sweet baby, can you say MaaaaaMa?” The day your child speaks those magical words, “Love you,” is a moment every parent eagerly awaits. But here’s a little secret: before they even utter their first word, there’s a whole world of adorable pre-linguistic moments waiting to be explored!

Enter the delightful Canonical Babbling Stage, a time filled with giggles and baby babble! According to Lee et al. (2018), this charming phase occurs between 6-10 months, when parents lean in close, full of affection, encouraging their little ones with, “Baba, can you say ba-ba?” And then it happens: “ba ba ba,” “da da da,” “ma ma ma!” Cue the smiles and laughter, as those precious sounds mark the building blocks of language development.

Parents often wonder: when do babies start talking? While every child is different, the journey begins long before their first recognisable word. Did you know that even before this joyful babbling, your baby is hard at work tuning into the sounds of speech? Research by Forgács et al. (2022) reveals that newborns are equipped with neural systems in their brains, ready to extract linguistic structures from the very beginning, focusing on pitch, tone, and rhythm. Talk about a mind-blowing cognitive journey!

Let’s not forget those significant milestones! As early as two months, babies start making sounds beyond just cries, and by four months, they’re cooing and responding with delightful “ooooo”s and “ahhh”s. This is known as the Cooing Stage or Marginal Babbling Stage—a precursor to all that excellent speech to come. These early sounds are all part of the path toward that long-awaited moment: when do babies start talking in full words and phrases?

So, how can we nurture language skills in our little ones? Here’s your chance to engage, encourage, and celebrate every adorable sound they make!

• When your baby begins to make sounds, imitate the sound they make. They will love to have you, ‘talk their language’. 
• Pause between your speech when talking with them, allowing for reciprocal language. 
• Use accurate language with your baby; it is the best way for them to learn language. 
• Broaden their understanding of language by avoiding repeating just a few words or phrases with them. 
• Narrate your day when with them, talking about what you’re doing, seeing or playing with. 
• Read aloud to them a variety of books. 

By being present, responsive and playful with language, you’re helping answer the question so many parents ask: when do babies start talking? The answer lies in every coo, every giggle and every joyful babble along the way. 

 

Dr Tessa Grigg (PhD, Dip Tch Primary and ECE) is an experienced teacher and the Research and Education Manager at GymbaROO-KindyROO. 

Stephanie Lord-Darby (MRes, B.Ed.) is an experienced teacher and passionate Education Researcher – Program Specialist at GymbaROO-KindyROO

 

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 10). Important milestones” Your baby by two months. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-2mo.html

Forgács, B., Tauzin, T., Gergely, G., & Gervain, J. (2022). The newborn brain is sensitive to the communicative function of language. Scientific reports, 12(1), 1220. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05122-0

Lee, C.-C, Jhang, Y., Relyea, G., Chen, L. & Oller, D. K. (2018). Babbling development as seen in canonical babbling ratios: A naturalistic evaluation of all-day recordings. Infant Behaviour and Development, 50, 140-153. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.12.002