When Do Babies Start Talking?

Babies will most likely say their first words between 11 and 14 months. You may find your child actually begins to form utterances earlier or later than this holophrastic period, but you can be sure that around this time the baby will start developing the ability to speak. By 18 months, you should be expecting the child to be able to say up to 20 words, and string some very basic sentences together. Remember that not all babies develop at the same pace, so your child may take just a little bit longer than other kids.

If you asked a group of parents when their baby started talking, you’ll get some really different answers. What’s been outlined above is simply a basic guideline of what you should expect, just remember there are variations.

There are some ways that you can encourage your baby to talk, if they’re not talking by some of the above guidelines. The first thing to do would be to encourage the child to imitate what you do. Try smiling when the baby smiles, or laughing when the baby laughs. Making simple sounds like ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ can help the baby to come to terms with speaking, so that speaking actual words comes more naturally in the future.

Games are a great way to encourage the child to talk, too. Playing peekaboo with a child will help them to learn to imitate you, which in turn helps them understand how imitation works. This allows your child to understand that they need to start imitating other things, like language. The more you interact with your child through conversation, the more perceptive they will be to this communicating through words.

I have a 10 month old baby and a 9 year old kid. My 9 year old was reading at 2, but rarely spoke voluntarily before 6. This caused all sorts of problems at school. But as a 9 year old he is doing great academically and talks and talks and talks. He recently had a conversation with his teacher about why the current primary system should be changed to ensure everyone an opportunity to become president.

My 10 month old is already saying a few words, and I'm sure he's going to talk much sooner than his brother. But I also know that once they start, it's so hard to get them to stop. They start making requests for things and services, asking all kinds of questions, and singing really cute songs that stick in your head forever!

I guess my point is just be patient and listen to your own instincts. If you think that something is amiss, then by all means find out what's wrong. But if you feel as if your child is communicating with you and others in his own way, and you're comfortable with it, just do what you think is right and don't let people make you feel like a bad parent. You know your child better than anyone else. And some kids wait to do things when they're good and ready.

I have a 17month old that hasn't started talking yet. He says the usual muma, dada, buba but not much else. He follows instructions well and was an early crawler and walker, he's advanced for his age in most things apart from speech....should I be concerened?

Why is everyone going on about what this 14 year old said? She's only 14. I think we all know she wasn't 'diagnosing' some people are just nit picking.

Anyways, as for babies talking.. My son is 14 months and doesn't really say any words. He babbles a lot "mamamamama", "dadadadada" But it's just baby talk. He communicates really well, though. He waves goodbye or goodnight, he gives you kisses and cuddles, he will point to what he wants, he has specific noises for hunger, thirst and boredom. When asked to do something he usually understands and does it. According to my mother I knew my alphabet at 18 months, so I must have started talking sooner than my son. I'm satisfied with his communication for now. There are a few babies talking earlier than him, but he will when he's ready :] If you don't think the same about your child, get them checked out.

Also - I do not believe for a second that babies can talk at 3/4 months or whatever some people were saying. When my son was 10 weeks his baby talk consisted of 'dadada' or 'mamama', it sometimes even sounded like 'Emma' which is my name... But it wasn't talking. Some people need to distinguish baby talk.. From actualy talk.

Don't write off Mmaria_s2. She wasn't diagnosing; just raising awareness. My 11 year old stepbrother didn't start talking at the "normal" time and his parents were reluctant to get him checked out. No parent wants to believe that there may be something wrong with their child, so they put it off, thinking he would talk when he got ready. When they did finally take him to the doctor, they found out he has apraxia. See www.apraxia-kids.org This is something that he will never grow out of. If he had been taken to a doctor at the first sign of a developmental delay, he might have been able to start speech classes earlier. He might have had an almost normal life. He currently sees a speech pathologist and goes to a special needs school. At first glance, he is a normal kid, but when you try to talk to him, you realize that something just isn't right.
Parents, if you think your child is behind in his or her development, please don't put off getting him checked out. Don't be ashamed to admit there may be a problem. It could change your child's life.

Babies generally start talking when they are about a year old. These words may not really be words but may sound something similar to it. In some cases the words may be quiet clear. For example, 'dada.' Children can really communicate non-verbally before they can even speak. They generally have the tendency to smile when they are really happy and cry over any kind of discomfort. Some of the most sounds and expressions created by them are really cute. They could go about talking and you don't even realise that they are actually speaking something that you don't understand. Some people term this as "Baby Talk". They go about making really cute expressions like cooing, gurgling, mimicking facial expressions and in the later stages; of course, they start to move towards the object, or pointing at it. Babbling generally takes place around three to four months of age and noises between eight to nine months.

Babies talk when they want to! Please don't "baby talk" to yours! Use soft kind words and tell them like it is! I am no expert, but am a mom of grown sons. I always called a "spade a spade", body parts and all! I work at a middle school and hear so many children using improper language, not just the 4 letter kind, but axe for ask as an example. My older son started talking in sentences at the age of 2 &1/2 years old, that;'s when his baby bro was born ! He communicated before that I his way, so  I  asked him why he waited, he said " I was waiting to say things when I wanted to!"
Just remember children have "selected hearing"! If you try to keep something quiet, they will hear it miles away! :-)

Hi,umm I'm a 16yr old dad and my baby girl Izzy(Isabella) is going to turn 1 in 2 months. But yeah she is sorta talking, and sorta walking but it all depends on how you teach your kids,DON'T USE BABY TALK!!! It doesn't work. Hopefully my opinions matter lol I LOVE YOU IZZY

Babies start to talk when they are good and ready to do so.

The 14 Year old girl was not diagnosing anybody she was just showing concern and making a plea to people to get their children checked. So leave her alone and adults should not bully youth with there words.

I'm not going to bash her.. And because people keep bringing it up, this is what she said---
"most likely your child is Autistic and has a disability."
Sounds like diagnosing to me.....

At 1 year of age the can say simple words. At 2 they begin to make statements. At 3-4 years they can talk clearly and talk in sentences.

Our baby daughter will turn 14 months on May 3rd. She is a bilingual baby as I (as the father) read, speak and sing to her in German only and my wife and the baby sitter in English only. She comprehends both languages as she takes her diaper to the trash can when I ask her in German to do so and my wife in English. She points to her nose, ears and head when asked in either language and many more things she can do when asked in either of the languages. She says mama and papa as well as a 2 or three German and English words. Other than that she speaks baby talk all the time. I have been reading entire books to her (some as long as 30 pages) in German from the time she was 3 months old. We sing and read and I talk to her constantly on walks, pointing out everything to her. My wife does the same in English. It is so amazing to see a 13 months old child respond in 2 languages. However, every child is different. Our child walked a 9 months, seems to talk in 2 languages somewhat early, but takes her time on other things (doesn't sleep through the night yet and is a picky eater.

Since when did oppression justify bad grammar? Saying "aks" instead of "ask" because your ancestors were oppressed? Don't confuse correlational evidence with justificatory evidence and then accuse people of being racist. It might be the case that demographic research can reveal certain social classes as being prone to misuse or mispronounce words, but that does not translate to mean that we ought to accept or promote such usage. Certain social classes characterized by broken and low-income families are also prone to violence, teen pregnancy, drug usage, and delinquency. Should we also apply the same paradigm in justifying these phenomenon? I have a young child, and I intend on teaching her how to speak properly. And to be extra PC while talking to her, I might even explain the etymological origin of words like "aks" - but not without predicating such a statement with a much more practical nugget of truth, ie: That colloquialisms are fine and dandy only when speaking to a small audience whose listeners all ascribe to that particular linguistical mutation. Otherwise, it's just a blatant disregard for your listener.

If your baby doesn't start talking by the age of 2 years, you should go to the doctor, most likely your child is Autistic and has a disability.
You may not believe but this is true. My brother Jimmy is autistic and cannot talk, he is 18 years of age and I am 14 .
Please, people if your think there is something wrong with your child, please go and get them checked out.

All babies are different they can start talking as early as 3 months and as late as 3 years,It just depends on the child,my first baby started talking at 3 month and my last baby started talking at 6 months,my middle baby didn't talk until she was 10 months.hope I have helped.

That really depends. I know someone who didn't start talking until they were three, but nose people start talking when they are around one-years-old. I started talking when I was at one-year-and-a-half. Except I know someone who is learning to talk right now and she is almost three-years and she is going to start going to a special school for kids who are having a hard time learning how to talk

Our son started baby talking around 8 months and started using simple words like moma and dada around 15 months. Try to speak properly to your child when possible. It will be easier for the child to learn how to speak and form sentences properly when his/her parents are speaking properly.

I started making cooing noises as soon as I came out and the nurses said that they had never seen any baby do it before . And now I talk quite a bit if I have something to say . I'm a big chatter , especially when I was younger . But I'm not sure how old I was when I was saying actual words .

My daughter is going on 9 months now. She's babbling a lot!!!
She started making coo-ing noises around 6 months and now she can say mama and dada. And sometimes our dog's name, Benji. And grandpa. But those are words she hears a lot. And we taught her mama and dada.

I started talking when I was 2 don't worry

From 18 to 24 Months. Though there is a lot of variability, most toddlers are saying about 20 words by 18 months and 50 or more words by the time they turn 2.

From 18 to 24 Months. Though there is a lot of variability, most toddlers are saying about 20 words by 18 months and 50 or more words by the time they turn 2.

Babies begin to talk really early on..we just don't understand them However, it is around the age of 2-3 when they are using multiple words in a sentence.

Babies talk when they feel that they need to. There's no certain age for thats. My baby is 4 months old and sometimes she'll say MaMa or Pa

My youngest daughter was well over 2 when she finally started talking in sentences that we could understand......all babies are different.....

The fourteen yo. Has a point. Although my cousin doesnt have a disability and she started talking at four years. But she is still a bit slow with her work and studies at a 1st grade level when she is supposed to be in a 2nd grade level.

My baby started talking at 5months saying mam hiya hello. Now at 6months shes saying dad. I sit and talk to her using words (not baby talk gaga googa) maybe this has helped. But every baby is totally different.x

My friends baby is 7 months old and he is saying dadda, I think its cute. I started talking around 5 months, I began crawling around at 7 months and at 10 months I was walking :)

Don't baby talk. Your basicly telling your kid its ok to talk nonsense. Talk normal around your kid and your kid will learn from you and talk sooner.
BTW: I'm 13 years old and I know basic stuff!!!!!

By 21   months my daughter   can say   poppy oliver lu-lu cake peppa pig   bye bye hello daddy hi mummy nose duck quack woof woof dog ball bot bot   shoes   down she is a very clever girl.

I heard Einstein didn't start talking until he was 3.
I stumbled upon this page as I was searching for an answer for you. Hope it is helpful and interesting.
www.abovetopsecret.com

Wondering when do babies start talking? Actually Babies are linguistic geniuses, and yes babies start talking as early as eight months old! They begin to absorb the patterns of language early on, even while still developing in the womb! Babies engage in sponge-like learning and soak up vocabulary and grammar long before their intricate mouth muscles are developed enough for babies to speak and express words beyond coos and cries. But what if babies were given the tools to express their knowledge, all while encouraging their speech development?

Sometimes, babies take a longer time to start talking, or have some minor speech impediment, Should you be concern if your baby isn't talking yet? By implementing these Speech-Enhancing techniques parents will not only learn how to teach their babies to read and talk but also spend quality time with their babies as the get to know them quicker. I am saying that based on my personal experience. Every day I get emails from different people sharing the ups and downs of parenting but they all coincide on one thing.

Parents everywhere are discovering that encouraging early literacy helps them to learn how to teach a baby to speak sooner. Programs such as the Little Reader learning system increase children receptive and expressive communication skills. The Little Reader software introduces 3,000 words over the course of a year, including many phonetically patterned words and common objects that directly relate to babies surroundings.

Parents of precocious readers often find that their child's first spoken words are those that they first learned to read. Making visual and auditory connections gives children the confidence to express their knowledge verbally.

Babies can easily be taught to read through the use of interactive five minute lessons, twice per day. Little ones love opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and word games are an excellent way to help babies express themselves before they can talk.

It was one of the best things we did for our babies and our selves...the quality of the time we spend every day engaging in these activities is priceless!!! The main point for us here was this program is customizable and since we are bilingual our babies were able to learn two languages from an early age and they wont out grow the program until they are 6 years old. Even now at early age we can see how the enjoy family time and, for us as parents there is nothing like quality time with our babies!

I just wanted to throw it out there as well. The 14 year old girl has witnessed her brother and his autism and she is just warning people that it IS a possibility and that you SHOULD get your child checked if he/she isn't speaking by two. Not necessarily Autism but something may be wrong. SOme children just don't speak until they want to, everyone knows that, its just a matter of being aware of everything your child is doing and the way they are developing. Every parent wants the best for their child but the "not my child" thing is ridiculous. She wasnt diagnosing she was just putting in her opinion like everyone else here. Instead of putting her down, thank her for her opinion and move on, you guys ARE adults and should be guiding these kids, not telling them off!!!!
Parents should be aware of EVERYTHING no matter HOW scary, scaring parents is sometimes the best way to show them what their child ACTUALLY means!!!

I have a 4month old baby boy hes nearly 5months old and since he was about 4 and a half months old he says dada mama and hiya also hes rolling over both ways and attempting to lift his bum and knees up to crawl not quite there with the crawling but people that say I don't believe 4month old babys can talk well my gorgeous boy does say them 3 words yes everything else is baby babble but them words are very clear and I think babys will talk crawl and learn everything at there own pace some might be getting on for 2 years old but doesnt mean they are dumb or being neglected just they are a slower learner developer than others no baby is perfect everyone learns different ways and times so don't rush your baby or panic once they start talking you will wish you could keep them quiet for 5miniutes!! Haha its all good fun though :)

First, with the 14 year old's "diagnosis" - never take a diagnosis on a blog seriously - so, yes asking the child's pediatrician would be the best route if you want a true diagnosis. Second, as far as the "aks"/"ask" conversation - you're right, different social circles - different lingos - but as far as English as it is taught to children in most schools (hence, seen as acceptable by colleges and universities when viewing essays for admission or by employers when reviewing candidate profiles), it is "ask" not "aks" and it is doing children a great disservice if such differences in how to say words are not pointed out - if for no other reason but to put all children on even keel when trying to advance to college or in applying for higher-level job opportunities. I understand the oppressed comment too, but lets all just work toward getting everyone on even footing - at least to the extent we can (although we have a very long way to go). Babies will talk when they're darn good and ready and if a parent has ongoing concerns, the best thing to do is talk to a real, board certified doctor. The internet is great for general information, but the details are best left to the professionals.

I agree...please don't diagnose a child that does not speak at age 2 w/ autism because that is so untrue.  My oldest son is 7 yrs old now and did not speak at 2.  He was introduced to some speech classes and by being around other kids helped him out tremendously.  He is not a Honor Roll student and I can't get him to shut up so I know for a fact that the autism comment above has no truth to it.

It depends on how much stimulation they receive. When babies are read to at an early age and hear more conversations and parents talking to them, repeating things and pointing to objects, they tend to start earlier. Babies can also learn sign language at an early age. That is a good way for them to communicate with you before their verbal skills are developed.

It really kills me how someone can ask a simple question and then the conversation leads to geographic areas and proper english. Half those people just need to excercise their big words.. Actually the 14 year old all though shouldent say something like that on a forum untill she can word it a little better contributed more to the actual question then the adults who went completly left with it

When do children with Autism start talking who do have little language?

 When they finally realize that by crying they get nothing

I have a 3 and a half month old daughter and she already says mom, hello, yeah and no not clearly but clear enough for you to understand her so I don't think anyone really knows the answer to this question as each and every child is different x

My nephew started talking at 8 months :) By a year he could say well over 50 words clearly and construct simple sentences. He's now one and a half, and he walks around there garden giving the latin names for every plant! He's astonishing really - "Auntie ____, why do you not stay here with __(his name). ___(his name) misses you!" and "Look - a circle! No, square! No, circle! No, square? (It's a dodecagon, ___) Dodecagon! Like hexagon?" :) He is so brilliant!!