0-4 Months: Baby Talk - Milestones

1. Responds to sights and sounds.

Babies begin to respond to language when you talk to them and tell them what is happening while you dress them, change their diapers, feed them, and play with them. They learn to respond to your tone of voice, your facial expressions, your way of being in the world, and your temperament or mood. They know when you're in a hurry, when you're tense, or when you have time to relax and just be with them. They begin to understand language as they listen to the words you use. Babies learn to be excited when they hear your voice and begin to know this means they may be picked up, or that someone is going to play with them. For example:

Developing as expected, they might:

• stop crying when they hear a familiar voice calling to them
• turn their head toward the voices of family members and caretakers
• look intently and stop kicking their legs when a family member speaks to them
• look at the face of the caregiver who is talking to them as she changes their diaper
• seem to listen ("quiet") when music is played softly or the music box is playing
• smile when they hear someone coming and see their bottle being held out
• turn their head this way and that as they try to locate where the children are playing

Needing development, they might:

• not respond to the sound of familiar voices
• seem not to hear loud noises such as a door slamming
• show little reaction to seeing their bottle
• not show recognition when a caretaker approaches with arms outstretched to pick them up
• pay little attention to the musical mobile playing and moving over the crib

2. Uses sounds and body movements to communicate.

Crying is the main way that very young babies communicate. Their cries have many meanings, such as being hungry, or cold, or just wanting some company. Their cries begin to turn into gurgles and babbles as they explore how their voices work and learn about the sounds they can repeat. Usually, during this period, babies laugh out loud for the first time. Babies use their eyes, hands, and even legs and feet to express joy, pleasure, unhappiness, or displeasure. By paying attention and responding to babies' attempts at communicating, caregivers help babies learn that they can let people know what they want, and that their "messages" are listened to and understood. For example:

Developing as expected, they might:

• squeal in a repetitive way as they experiment with sounds they have discovered
• make babbling or cooing sounds, or wave their arms or legs, as someone speaks to them or smiles at them
• practice a consonant sound over and over when lying on their back
• make babbling sounds at the rattle or swinging mobile
• cry in differentiated ways for different needs, such as insistent and loud when hungry, or whiny and softer when not sure what they want
• lift their arms toward you to show they are ready to be picked up

Needing development, they might:

• make cries that seem to sound the same, showing little differentiation between hunger, tiredness, anxiety, or joy
• make only a few gurgling or babbling sounds
• respond only slightly when a caregiver appears ready to pick them up
• act surprised when they make a vocalization, but cannot repeat it