Speech development of babies!
By the end of six months, your child may:
Beginning smiling at you and favorite toys
Startle when they hear loud or strange sounds
Begin to find their own voice by crying differently for different needs & by cooing vowel sounds
Listen when spoken to or quiet when sung to
Appear to distinguish parents voices from others’ voices
Continue talking to themselves by finding consonant sounds b and g
Also may begin to form syllables by joining the vowels to those consonants
Will look in the direction of a sound or familiar voice
Use facial expressions when hearing sounds of various toys
Use their voice in a happy way (panting & kicking) or whine when upset
May acknowledge inflection changes in your voice
Attend to and/or listen to music
Most children will exhibit most of these milestones by six months of age. If your baby is not able to do all of these, but are progressing through these stages slowly, they may have a speech delay. See your pediatrician for more specific questions on the development of your baby!