Parents must keep in mind that development happens within a range of time, not at a specific day or month. In addition, like all developmental timetables, there is a good deal of variation between children as each child develops skills at her own pace. For example, if Brenda said her first words at 10 months, and Bruce said his first words at 13 months, both children are still within the expected range of development. The following are some general guidelines for language development in the first three years. The list describes what can be expected at different ages.
Parents can do many things every day to stimulate a child's language and speech development.
From the start, it is not only natural but also helpful to respond to your infant's gurgles and noises with your own sounds, words, and nonverbal gestures. Using different sounds and inflections as well as words while caring for your child increases his familiarity with the building blocks of language and introduces him to a wealth of vocabulary. It is the one time you are allowed to, and should, talk all day without another adult being in the room. Even though your child is not talking, she derives tremendous benefit from interpersonal interaction. She learns from your imitation of her facial expression, elaboration on events in the outside world, description of activities you are doing together, and use of a diverse vocabulary.