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About the Element

The Foundations of Speech

At three months, your baby takes “baby steps” toward comprehending and expressing words. You will doubtless thoroughly enjoy hearing him prattle away in a symphony rich with vowels and consonants and marvel at his gradual advancement in understanding the meaning of different words and sounds.

 

Sophisticated Babble

As your home resonates with the music of “gahhh” and “coooo”, your baby is sharpening his conversation skills. Soon enough, repeated combinations of consonants and vowels, such as "baba" or "papa" will complement his repertoire and he will initiate a dialogue with you using his expressive verbal skills. Your baby’s non-verbal skills are also developing by the day, and he uses his body to communicate what he wants. For example, baby will look in a specific direction when he wants you to take him somewhere.

A Developing Sensitivity  

Always a keen observer, baby’s receptive skills improve significantly at this period and he absorbs and comprehends more of his surroundings. You will notice baby is very sensitive to changes in tones: an aggressive or anxious tone can cause a baby to cry and a happy tone may very well bring a smile to his face. Baby also has better control over his own tone of voice and will use different tones to express different feelings.

At around 3-4 months baby is still unable to understand actual words, but at about six months this will change and he may begin to show signs of understanding familiar sounds. For instance, he will turn his head when he hears his name – connecting this sound to himself in some way. 

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Language & Communication, 3-6m

  • 3-6 months
    • Begins to understand what is happening around her, based on your tone of voice and facial expression. 
    • Adds consonant sounds which makes babbling sound more like real language.
    4-5 months
    • Develops non-verbal communication, learns how to use body language to express her needs, wishes and frustrations.
    • Is better able to control tone and uses this to express her feelings of enjoyment or frustration.

  • When your baby tries to bang a toy, grasp it or do other things with it, encourage him and praise what he is doing.
    • You may not think you can carry a tune, but singing to your baby and playing music helps her become accustomed to different rhythms and tones of language. 
    • Offer your baby books with clear pictures. As you explain the pictures to her, you are helping enrich her future vocabulary and adding important language foundations.

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