While it’s exciting to listen to your baby babble, their ability to produce communication is only one part of their speech and language skills. Those adorable babbles are part of their expressive skills! Another part is their ability to process and understand your communication or their receptive skills. Around 10 months old, you may notice your baby seems not just to hear you but also to understand you!
They may:
Look when you point
Turn when you call their name
Show understanding of common items, like pacifiers and people or pets.
Show pause when you say “No.”
Respond to simple requests and questions, like, “All done?”
You may have noticed some of these as early as 7 months, while others may not show until closer to 12 months.
Ways to boost your baby's receptive language skills
Simplify your language and slow it down. It’s too hard for babies and young children to process when we speak too fast or with too many words. Start with things like, “Where’s Grandma?” “Hug?” “More milk?”
Reduce background noise in the home.
Keep narrating and describing everyday rhythms and findings.
Point and label, such as pointing to the cat when reading a story with pictures of the cat.
Don’t shy away from being repetitive. Reading the same stories, singing the same songs, revisiting the same games – repetition helps!
Seeing your baby wave goodbye when you leave, responding to simple questions, or even performing simple tasks like “bring me a clean diaper” can be quite exciting. They’re not just hearing you; they’re understanding you!
If you are concerned at all about your baby’s speech and language skills, don’t hesitate to mention it to your pediatrician.