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Dear Mr. Dad: My 13-month old says only two words: dada and mama. My best friend’s son is two months younger and she’s constantly bragging about how many words he knows. She’s got me worried that there’s something wrong with my baby. Do all kids start talking about the same age? Either way, what can I do to increase my baby’s vocabulary.
A: As with walking and most other developmental milestones, there’s no fixed time for a child to start talking, and what’s “normal” is a big, big range. Some start putting together words as early as nine months; others don’t have much to say until they’re two. The size of the vocabulary and the child’s age when those words start tumbling out of his mouth is no indication of intelligence (Albert Einstein supposedly was nearly silent until age four.) There’s definitely a luck-of-the-draw component here, but here are a few things you can do at home that may speed things along.
Can the baby talk.
Your natural conversational voice is best because it exposes the baby to English (or whatever language you’re speaking) as it’s actually spoken. I’ve never been able to understand why so many people can’t bring themselves to speak naturally to a baby. Instead, they smile the biggest fake smile they can muster and say things like “cootchi-cootchie widduw baby-poo, can I pinchy-winchy your cheeky-weeky?” Is that really the way you want your baby to learn how to speak?
Put away the baby videos and get out a book.
Recent research found that babies who spend a lot of time watching “educational” videos actually have smaller vocabularies than kids who get less screen time. Conversely, children who have been read to enter school with larger vocabularies, longer attention spans, and have the fewest troubles learning to read, according to Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook.
Encourage and expand.
If your baby says “ba-ba,” don’t just leave it at that. Instead, respond with a full sentence, something like, “Do you want your bottle?” Or “Yes, that’s a sheep,” depending on what you think she means.
Explain everything.
If you’re feeding your baby, talk about the food, color, taste, and what a mess his face is. If you’re outside, talk about traffic, weather, trees, construction sites. It may be old news to you, but to your baby, it’s all brand-new
Don’t lecture.
Just speak in a casual, conversational tone, using full sentences and a vocabulary that’s a little above where you think your baby is.
Keep “No” and “Don’t” to a minimum.
I know, it’s hard, but try anyway. To start with, of all, those terms are awfully broad—if you say No or Don’t, your baby may not understand what you mean. All she really knows is that you’re unhappy with her. Too many Nos and Don’ts will discourage creativity and exploration. Instead, give some details, like, “Knives are sharp, and they aren’t for babies,” or “It’s not safe to try to put Mommy’s hairpins into the electrical outlets.” Of course, all your outlets are safely covered up, but you know what I mean.
Try to incorporate all of the above steps into your everyday routine. Of course, there’s no guarantee that they’ll jump start your child’s vocabulary (although reading and turning off the TV will definitely help). But there’s absolutely no downside to trying them out as often as you can. If your baby shows a sudden desire to read Shakespeare, great. If not, the two of you will have spent some wonderful time building a closer bond with each other, and that’s always a good thing.
Previously published on Mr. Dad
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