Toddler talk, step by step
If the truth be told, most toddlers express themselves with ease and there is no need to worry even if they take a little more time than others to start talking.
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During the first year of life, we focus on a baby's motor development; the second year focuses on language acquisition.
And if those first words don’t appear, or don’t seem to be arriving soon, while those first steps, first teeth and other important “milestones” are... we do start to worry a little. But like all other development, your baby goes at his own pace and according to his own centres of interest.
Toddler talk: syllables, words and then sentences
The only thing that all babies respect is the order in which they learn language. No child will pronounce sentences before practising with single words first, and no child – no matter how gifted – will utter a single word without having tested out syllables beforehand.
After a phase of repeating isolated words (sometimes even just syllables which have been attributed with a meaning), comes the day when your child begins to put together a few words to make sentences. This usually happens around 16 to 18 months old, but that is not written in stone.
Remember, language acquisition is a complex process, which started even before your baby was born, when she heard the rhythm of your voice and her future mother tongue – even if these sounds were a little distorted by amniotic fluid. The process of language acquisition needs a lot of concentration and intellectual effort, and requires your support.
Boy or girl talk...
Another established fact – boys and girls learn to speak at different paces. Girls usually have an average 1- to 2-month head start on boys when it comes to articulating first words. But boys catch up when learning vocabulary, which happens around 18 months to 2 years old.
So if you are the parent of a 16-month old boy and feel “humiliated” each time your monosyllabic child is in a room of expressive, chattering girls, don’t despair – his time will come soon!
Bilingual babies?
As learning one language is a demanding and complicated task, we could imagine that learning two simultaneously is impossible! Not at all. The famous American paediatrician Dr. Brazelton admitted that he would have loved to offer this opportunity to his own children during their first years of life and that he believes bilingualism to be a real privilege for those babies who benefit from two languages.
While at first a child brought up in a bilingual context can get confused and even begin to speak later than others, he always comes out victorious, able to express himself in two languages effortlessly. In these international times, we cannot deny that bilingualism is a real asset...
Copyright © 2010 Doctissimo
Posted 11.05.2011
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