6 Months
- Babies pay closer attention to the sounds and words you say.
- Babies let you know by making sounds or moving their body, that they want you to do something again, like playing “pat-a-cake” or clapping hands.
- Babies make more sounds, but mostly vowels, like “ooo”, “ah” and start to say some consonant sounds like “aga”, “da”.
- You baby might make squealing and grunting sounds.
- Babies want to put toys and other objects in their mouth.
- Babies smile when you are looking at them and talking to them.
- Babies show more interest in music, songs and rhymes and anticipate things such as tickling at the end of a rhyme.
- Babies are comforted by soft, gentle words and pay close attention to your voice and your facial expression.
- Babies turn toward you when you speak.
How to make daily routines into language learning opportunities:
- All children need to have a variety of experiences, even when they are babies and haven’t yet begun to talk.
- During a walk outside, talk about what you are seeing. When babies hear you talking to them, they begin to pay attention.
- Give babies as many opportunities as possible to see your face, throughout your daily routines. This helps them to pay more attention to you and gives you the chance to see what they are looking at. Then you can put words to describe what they are looking at.
- During feeding time, dressing time and bath time, talk to babies about things they show interest in. Give them the words that they need later when they start talking.
- You can repeat words such as “on” and “off” during dressing time and words like “wet” and “splash” at bath time. Remember to use lots of gestures. Pat the water when you say “splash” and emphasize the on and off movements when putting clothing on or taking it off. Using gestures helps children to learn the words.