Some Facts about Infant Speech and Language Development

Parents observe every little change in their little bundle of joy with equal awe and excitement. Parenthood is marked with feelings of joy, inquisitiveness and anxiousness. What age will my child walk? When will she call me Mama or Dad? Is my child a bright child? These are questions that arise in the minds of parents in different stages of their child's development. Certain topics need no introduction and have been widely discussed by parents, caregivers and health practitioners. These are infants and physical developments, infants and nutrition and infants and speech. Learning language is just as important as developing social skills.

Kids learn spoken and written language at their own pace; while some infants at the age of 18 months are nonstop chatterboxes there are still others who would take 2 and a half to 3 years to acquire their language skills. But , keeping in mind the variations, it is commonly accepted that by the age by 12 months  a child would try to imitate words, say a few words, such as "dada," "mama" and "uh-,understand simple instructions, understand ‘no’ and turn and look in the direction of sounds. By the end of 24 months, the child would ask for common foods by name, use simple phrases, such as "more milk", begin to use pronouns, such as "mine", follow simple commands without the help of gestures ,speak 50 words and understand more.

Babies learn to communicate even when they are in the womb through self-initiated and reactive movements which express needs, interests, and feelings. As they grow up, they begin learning language. There is often a wide gap between the skill in understanding and skill in speaking. Many children are slow to start talking. Although they may say only a very few words until well after their second birthdays, often they understand everything. Such children usually catch up in speaking by age three or four. Many people think that speech and language are the same. But speech relates to the ability to coordinate the breathing muscles, vocal cords, palate, tongue and lips. If the child is encountering any such problem then a little bit of speech therapy could provide the necessary push.

However, there are certain things that parents can do to help develop a child’s language and speech skills. These are as follows:

• Talking to the infant as much as possible
• Reading out loud to the baby and showing pictures to the infant
• Reacting to a baby’s babbling sounds  and answering her back with words .
• Singing songs to the infant

In cases where parents are bilingual, the child also eventually learns both the languages with ease. It is important for parents to believe in their children and realize that every child grows and develops in his or her own pace. The child’s environment goes a long way in shaping a child’s language and social skills, her habits, emotions and behaviour.  Infants living in extended or joint families do not have difficulty in learning language. Therefore, let nature take its course and nurture be decided by you!