My baby isn't talking yet! How to help your baby or toddler start talking

My baby isn't talking yet! How to help your baby or toddler start talking

Why you are here

As parents we want our child to be the best, and sometimes it is frustrating to see other peoples babies reach milestones before ours does. Well maybe frustrating isn't the right word, but we do want to see our children succeed. When we see Molly's baby start crawling at six months and our baby is 9 months and just starting to crawl, it is common to wonder if there was something you should have done as a parent to help further them along. More tummy time perhaps? Another example: if someone else's baby says "Mamma" at 9 months and you have yet to hear your precious little one say that one word that you are dying to hear. Here I will help give you those things that when looking back, you wonder if you should have done, but never knew existed.

Quick tips: for helping your baby learn to talk

• Repeat, repeat, repeat
• Tell a story- talk about everything you are doing to your baby. (eg. "Mommy's cooking. Look at the bubbles. Now we add noodles. Now stir."
• Model- say the words that your child is intending to say. (eg. baby reaches for bottle and says "baba" you can then hand him/her the bottle and say "yes bottle! This is your bottle."

First Repeat

Repeat what your baby says using the proper word. If you baby says "kaka" and reaches for a cracker you say, "Oh you want a cracker, let me grab you a cracker, here's yourcracker, oh that's a yummy cracker!" Now you have said cracker not only once but four times for your baby. This gives them lots of opportunities to hear the word, and associate it with the object.

If your baby is not at the stage yet where they say "kaka" and just point or draw your attention to whatever they want you can still use this technique. If they point to or are trying to get a toy that is out of reach or in a toy box or on a shelf (you get the idea), use the same method as the above example. 'Child points at ball indicating he wants you to bring it to him.' You would then say, "You want the ball! Here's the ball. Let's play with the ball. Roll the ball. etc."

Simple right? This is a great way to really help your child learn words and helps him associate these words with the object.

Second Tell a Story

Make what you do a story when your baby is interacting with you. Bath time is a great opportunity to do this. A story would go like this. "You are in the bath. Oh the water is warm. Oh splash splash. Let's wash your tummy. Now your toes. Now your fingers. Look at the bubbles." In this short story of just talking about what you are doing, you have labeled what a bath is, water, what warm feels like, what a splash is, tummy, toes, fingers, and bubbles. Even though your baby may not be able to say all these words, or understand all of them yet, the more he is exposed to them, the more likely he is going to be able to put meanings to the words that you are saying. He also will be more likely to use those words, because he can't use words he hasn't heard before.

Third Model

Modelling goes close in hand with repeating. With repeating you are giving your child multiple chances to hear the word, and modelling is telling your child what that word is. In the example above where your child says "kaka" and you say "cracker," that is modelling. Basically you model the correct word for them.

In those moments when your child looks at you expectantly, but doesn't use a verbal expression, model those words that they aren't able to say yet. For example your child is trying to get a rattle that is in sight, but they can't get it, so they say, "uh, uh, uh" (or cry) usually your natural reaction would be to go grab it for them. Instead don't just handing them the rattle and go back to whatever you were doing, use this opportunity to model what the object is called, "rattle," and then hand it to them.

Easy as pie right? This simple strategy can be done while repeating, and while telling a story. All of these tips fit together, so you can use them all at once to help facilitate your baby's language development.

When can I start?

Now! Your child is never to young for these strategies! So start repeating, modelling, and telling stories to your young ones today.

To Finish Up

All children grow and develop differently, therefore, this will not necessarily be the instant fix to get your baby to start talking, but this is a sure way to help them to be able to. All children need to learn, and these tips are a great way to help them learn more about language

The more that children are exposed to words, the better off they will be learning them, and hopefully the sooner you will hear those exciting first words.