Any quick search will help you find developmental norms for when kids start to talk...a rough estimate would be starting to use words around a year (no, ball, mama) and starting to combine words around 18 mo - 2 years (more nana, big cup).
BUT that is a long time of not talking before things get cooking...what should you be watching for in the 12-18 months before your baby really starts talking?
I think talking is probably the hardest thing humans learn...look at every other animal on the planet. We are the only ones with an advanced system of communication! Sure some gorillas and monkeys can sign BUT it takes them years of dedicated training to learn what our toddlers pick-up by just hanging out around us.
That "hanging out" time that babies and toddlers enjoy is actually a pretty big deal...here are some of the skills they are learning when you think they are just playing around-
Attending - babies need to watch to be able to learn, your baby is always watching, the more you baby sees and sticks with the better. Which leads to...
Eye Contact - babies learn to focus in on faces SUPER young for a reason, when they see your eyes they start picking up on facial cues, they watch your mouth form sounds, their little brains see you smile and then they can smile back! That whole idea of "I am right here with you!" comes from good eye contact.
Object Permanence - babies start to figure out that when they can't see something it still exists, this is when "out of sight, out of mind" doesn't work so great any more...also when "Peek a Boo" becomes a big hit.
Mean-End - (tied into cause and effect) - babies start to understand that "If I do..... then this will happen!" This idea is super important for later communication because babies need to get that "If I say... then this will happen". Work with things like pushing buttons, pouring water, pulling string toys.
JOINT ATTENTION - my personal big thing I watch for in young kids, this is the whole process of cluing into Mom and making sure she is clued into me. It has two sides,
1) Mom points out something, the kid follows her gesture, and then looks back at Mom
2) The kid looks at (and might point to/hold up) his toy, looks at Mom, and then looks back at his toy as if to say, "Mom, are you watching this?"
When kids are not able to use joint attention that is a big red flag for me. Also you want to watch and make sure kids are not just trying to get something they need/want. You need the social aspect of I want to make sure you are enjoying/seeing this with me!
Imitation - before babies begin saying words on their own they will imitate the sounds they see you make. Usually imitation comes in these stages: actions, sounds, and then words. I encourage parents to use baby signs once babies start imitating actions, might as well get them communicating as early as possible...and no, using baby signs will not slow down your child's use of words, it actually helps language develop faster!
Turn-taking - taking turns is key to good social skills and good language skills. Babies learn turn-taking hand in hand with imitation (Mom does something and then it's my turn!). Work on back and forth interactions because they build great foundations for language!
BUT that is a long time of not talking before things get cooking...what should you be watching for in the 12-18 months before your baby really starts talking?
I think talking is probably the hardest thing humans learn...look at every other animal on the planet. We are the only ones with an advanced system of communication! Sure some gorillas and monkeys can sign BUT it takes them years of dedicated training to learn what our toddlers pick-up by just hanging out around us.
That "hanging out" time that babies and toddlers enjoy is actually a pretty big deal...here are some of the skills they are learning when you think they are just playing around-
Attending - babies need to watch to be able to learn, your baby is always watching, the more you baby sees and sticks with the better. Which leads to...
Eye Contact - babies learn to focus in on faces SUPER young for a reason, when they see your eyes they start picking up on facial cues, they watch your mouth form sounds, their little brains see you smile and then they can smile back! That whole idea of "I am right here with you!" comes from good eye contact.
Object Permanence - babies start to figure out that when they can't see something it still exists, this is when "out of sight, out of mind" doesn't work so great any more...also when "Peek a Boo" becomes a big hit.
Mean-End - (tied into cause and effect) - babies start to understand that "If I do..... then this will happen!" This idea is super important for later communication because babies need to get that "If I say... then this will happen". Work with things like pushing buttons, pouring water, pulling string toys.
JOINT ATTENTION - my personal big thing I watch for in young kids, this is the whole process of cluing into Mom and making sure she is clued into me. It has two sides,
1) Mom points out something, the kid follows her gesture, and then looks back at Mom
2) The kid looks at (and might point to/hold up) his toy, looks at Mom, and then looks back at his toy as if to say, "Mom, are you watching this?"
When kids are not able to use joint attention that is a big red flag for me. Also you want to watch and make sure kids are not just trying to get something they need/want. You need the social aspect of I want to make sure you are enjoying/seeing this with me!
Imitation - before babies begin saying words on their own they will imitate the sounds they see you make. Usually imitation comes in these stages: actions, sounds, and then words. I encourage parents to use baby signs once babies start imitating actions, might as well get them communicating as early as possible...and no, using baby signs will not slow down your child's use of words, it actually helps language develop faster!
Turn-taking - taking turns is key to good social skills and good language skills. Babies learn turn-taking hand in hand with imitation (Mom does something and then it's my turn!). Work on back and forth interactions because they build great foundations for language!