When your newborn cries, you hold, feed and comfort him and speak to him in soft, soothing tones. These interactions form his first understanding of human communication. In about six short years, he will go from being a passive, helpless observer to mastering the complex rules, structures and subtleties of an entire language.
Significance
Language is an entire integrated system of verbal, nonverbal and written cues that your child will first observe, then mimic, then master for herself. Proper language development is essential in your child's formative years. She will use language as a means of communication, bonding and self-expression for the rest of her life.
Expert Insight
According to Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, Thomas S. Trammell Research Professor of Child Psychiatry, babies are born with the capacity to make forty different sounds, and the ability to make associations between sounds and ideas, sights and objects. Dr. Perry maintains that the development of your child's language skills depends on both his physical and mental capacity, and his meaningful exposure to language in early childhood. He emphasizes that children don't learn language skills passively, but through active communication. In other words, the amount of time you spend speaking, singing and reading to your child for the first few years of life directly affects the quality of his language development.
Time Frame
According to the Mayo Clinic, by three months old, your baby should smile and make "cooing" sounds. At six months old, she will recognize the basic sounds that form her language. She will gurgle and babble repetitive syllables, such as "ba, ba, ba".
At 12 months, your baby will try to imitate words, and may say and understand a few simple ones. She will also babble in a sing-song way that mimics speech. At 18 months, she may say eight or 10 words and follow simple commands.
Kid's Health states that by 24 months your child will likely use simple phrases and follow simple directions. Between two and three years, she will go from knowing a few words to knowing hundreds, and she will begin to put simple sentences together and follow two- or three-step directions. By four years old, she will speak clearly enough for strangers to understand.
Developmental Delays
Your child's language development requires the use of his tongue, palate, lips and jaw. It also requires hearing, observation and mental processing skills. If any of these elements don't function properly, developmental delays may occur. These delays can make communication difficult and frustrating for both you and your child.
Treatment
If you suspect a language delay, call your pediatrician. He will perform tests to rule out a hearing problem and any mouth, palate or tongue issues. If he doesn't find a physical problem, he will likely recommend that your child visit a speech therapist. She will identify the specific nature of the problem, work with your child to correct it, and teach you how to help your child at home.
Fortunately, language development is a very forgiving process. Once any underlying problems are resolved, continuous exposure to active, deliberate conversation will usually bring a child up to speed.
