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Expert Q&A

	By Mindy Hudon Speech and Language Pathologist

How does language develop from 4 months to 6 months of age?

At around 4 months, your baby will start to respond to "no." He is now able to look around for the source of new sounds and will attend to music. Between 4 and 6 months, babbling begins. Babbling is when your baby uses more speech-like consonant and vowel sounds including "p," "b" and "m." Your baby can babble when he is alone or when he is playing with you.

"Imitate any babbling or words your baby is saying," says Sharon Frank, M.A., CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist in private practice and mother of 4-year-old Joey. "As your baby points to things, name the objects. Start to point to things for and with him and label them ('bed, dog, Daddy'). Additionally, try to speak in one- to three-word phrases (i.e. 'Mommy go bye-bye,' 'more milk')."

Equally important is gesture development, because it leads to good language development. A baby begins communicating his wants and needs by gesturing (reaching out, pointing, etc.) around 6 months of age. Research indicates that babies can learn sign language to communicate with their parents before they even speak a single word!

"Help him start to realize cause-effect relationships (shaking a rattle) and object permanence (playing Peek-a-boo)," advises Frank. "These early cognitive skills are important for speech and language development."

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