These important months will see your baby’s communication and language skills continue to grow as they are beginning to say their first words and understand more of what you say. Celebrate their efforts and be patient as every child develops at their own pace.
- Talk to me and use new words. If I say, “dog”, you can say, “yes a big/little dog”. Expanding on what I say helps me to understand more, and grow my own vocabulary.
- When I point at something, tell me what it is and talk about it. The more words I hear, the more words I will learn, so keep chatting with me!
- Play games with me such as ‘peek a boo’ and ask questions like “where is your nose?” and “show me your chin”.
- Hold my hands to help me make the actions as we sing songs together.
- Take me to the library and help me choose books.
- We can use everyday items such as spoons and saucepans as drums.
- Say “your turn”, “my turn” to help me learn to listen and take turns.
Remember, we all learn at different speeds, but here are something I might be doing:
- I can use single words like ‘cup’ or ‘daddy’ that are important to me and I can use new words like ‘more’, to tell you that I want more milk.
- When a grown up asks me, “where’s mummy?” Or “where is your nose?”, I can point and find it.
- I can stop what I am doing if I hear a noise or a grown up talking.
- I enjoy holding books as you share the story with me.
Useful Links:
12-18 months – Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives
First words and little sentences: 1 to 2 years – NHS
A Better Start Southend | 12-24 Months – A Better Start Southend
