Between birth and two years old, your baby will develop at an extraordinary speed, and each of their advancements will be a new source of wonder for you. Discover with us the major milestones of their development and how to interact with them to help stimulate their awakening.
At birth, your baby cannot yet speak, but they are already communicating: through their gaze, posture, facial expressions, or cries, they express their feelings and interact with you. At this stage, their potential is limitless: naturally predisposed to acquire articulated language, they have the ability to learn all languages and pronounce all sounds. Even more astonishing, they can also distinguish different languages based on their melody. Gradually, their abilities will narrow to focus on learning their mother tongue.
From the first glance to the first sentence, your interactions with your baby are fundamental in guiding them towards language: you are the one who gives meaning to the sounds they make, and you are also the one who makes them want to repeat them for the pleasure of seeing you react and respond to their requests. From their first days, it is therefore essential to talk to your baby as much as possible and babble with them: by offering them a supportive environment, you will give them every chance to progress quickly and harmoniously.
Language acquisition happens at a very different pace for different babies: some will already be saying several words at one year old, while others will still be expressing themselves in incomprehensible jargon at two years old. So, respect your child's development! Stimulate and encourage them, but don't let them feel any pressure: the stronger your expectations, the more likely your little one is to withdraw into an attitude of refusal.
Between 0 and 1 month: the birth of communication
• When your baby comes into the world, crying is their primary mode of communication: they use it to let you know they are hungry, that they need to be changed, that they need your touch, or that they are in pain.
From 2 to 6 months: a cascade of cooing
• Around two months old, your baby starts to play with the capabilities of their larynx. Giggles, coos, guttural sounds... They produce a string of coos to the great amusement of those around them! This early babbling is common to all babies worldwide.
• Around four months, vowels appear, starting with "a" and "e." A month later, baby manages to pronounce their first consonants: this is the age of the famous "areuh." At this stage, your baby has already adopted their mother tongue: a Chinese baby or an Egyptian baby does not produce exactly the same babble as your little French one! To stimulate them, talk to them and repeat their own babbles: your enthusiasm encourages them to persevere.
From 6 to 9 months: repeated syllables
• Around 6 months old, your baby takes great pleasure in repeating syllables ending in "a":
"dadadada," "papapapa," "mamamama"... These sounds do not have a precise meaning in their mind: you are the one who will gradually give them meaning by responding. What joy it is for them to see you arrive saying "Mama is here" when they string together "mamamama"! This is how they discover the symbolic dimension of language: a sound corresponds to an object.
From 9 to 12 months: here come the first words!
• Around ten months old, your baby begins to pronounce chains of syllables without repetition. They will gradually compose a small jargon often so incomprehensible that they seem to be speaking a foreign language!
• Gradually, their language will become intelligible: the first words generally appear around 1 year old. If it's not "dada" or "mama," don't take offense... Your baby first needs to designate what they desire and what is out of their reach: if they don't name you, it's probably because you are very available to them. Often, they make very broad use of their first words: for example, by saying "lolo," your baby can mean both the bottle or the breast, hunger, thirst, or the desire for cuddles...
• Their comprehension progresses faster than their ability to express themselves: at one year old, they already understand a multitude of simple sentences very well, such as "Come," "Give it to mama," "Are you hungry?", "Go get your blanket," etc.
Between 15 and 18 months: a thirst for learning
• Delighted with their new ability to speak, your baby is eager to learn new words: they point to objects in their environment to ask for their names. Respond to their requests and remember to point to the things you are talking about to help them expand their vocabulary.
• At 18 months, they have mastered between 10 and 20 words that they are beginning to associate with each other: for example, "more milk" or "daddy gone." If they mispronounce, don't systematically correct them: you risk hindering their great enthusiasm and spontaneity. Instead, follow up with another sentence where you pronounce the problematic word correctly.
Between 18 and 24 months: vocabulary explosion
Between eighteen months and two years, your child's vocabulary grows exponentially: at 24 months, they can count up to 300 words. Your little one loves to talk, and sometimes you have a hard time getting them to stop! They are now able to form simple sentences, initially with an infinitive verb ("Jules eat cake"). They also know how to use the pronouns "me," "I," and "you."
Around 3 years old: I speak like a grown-up
• Most of the language has been acquired, even if pronunciation may still be imperfect: your child composes complex sentences, conjugates verbs, and uses the present, past, and future tenses correctly. They may surprise you with expressions that seem straight out of an adult's mouth, which they repeat exactly as they heard them! This is also the age of incessant "why's?": their curiosity about their environment and their desire to learn new words are insatiable. Try your best to answer them to stimulate their intellectual development.
• Often, starting school is also an opportunity for spectacular progress, thanks to the many stimuli received from teachers, supervisory staff, and other children.
• If your child seems to be lagging in language development, do not hesitate to consult a pediatrician. Many factors can hinder their progress: hearing or neurological disorders, defects in speech organs, psycho-emotional blockages... Only a professional can help you determine if your child is indeed behind and, if so, the causes of this delay.
