As long as the sound is used as a substitute for a label (meaning they see a cat in a book, point to it, and say “meow!”) and they use that sound consistently, independently, and in an appropriate context, it counts.
Throughout the world, infants are typically speaking their first words by 11-13 months, and research suggests that most babies show major improvements in their ability to understand speech by 14 months (Bergelson and Swingley 2012).
As your baby babbles more expertly, around 6 months old, you may hear word-like sounds like "ma-ma," "ba-ba," and "da-da." This doesn't count as real talking, though, because your baby doesn't yet understand the meaning of these words. By around 12 months old, your baby will say a few words and know what they mean.
Some perfectly normal babies don't say a recognizable word until 18 months, whereas some babies begin to communicate in word-sounds (like "ba-ba" for bye-bye, bottle or ball and "da-da" for dog, dad or doll) as early as 7 months.
As early as 7 months, your child may begin to use sound-words like "mi" for "milk" or "dat" for "that" (as in, "I want that!"). Alternatively, your child may not begin to say words or sound out words until they're 18 months old. Every child develops at their own rate.
Can a baby say mama at six months? Babbling evolves over time, and some babies can say mama and dada from six months – although seven to eight months is more common. And then around their first birthday, some babies can say “mama” and “dada” plus another word to construct a mini sentence.
In American English, the 10 most frequent first words, in order, are mommy, daddy, ball, bye, hi, no, dog, baby, woof woof, and banana. In Hebrew, they are mommy, yum yum, grandma, vroom, grandpa, daddy, banana, this, bye, and car.
A baby may also begin what psychologists call 'jargon' or 'pseudo' conversations. She will babble just as if talking in sentences; imitating an adult's speech pattern, facial expression and tone of voice. This conversational babble is another sure sign that your baby is getting ready to talk.
Around 12 months, according to experts. Common first words may be greetings ("hi" or "bye-bye") or they might be very concrete: people ("mama" or "dada"), pets ("doggy" or "kitty"), or food ("cookie," "juice," or "milk").
Experts are mixed about whether or not saying “mama” is easier than “dada” for babies. Classic theories by the Russian linguist Roman Jakobson found that the sound of “m” (for “mama”) is easier for babies to make because they tend to do so when their mouths are fastened to a bottle or breast.
According to Motherly, it's actually because the dad is usually the first thing that the baby recognises outside of itself - and seeing as the baby is so close to its mother, the baby isn't so easily to decipher between itself and its mum.
Background Noise Is Harmful to Learning
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under the age of 2 not watch any television.
In these months, your baby might say "mama" or "dada" for the first time, and may communicate using body language, like waving bye-bye and shaking their head.
Don't take offense if your baby says dada first, 99.9% of them do, said my pediatrician.
Teach them about words that go together – for example, you could show them a ball, teddy and a rattle and then say the word 'toy'. Start using sounds with meaning (symbolic sounds), like saying "whoops" or "uh-oh" when you drop something accidentally, or saying "meow" while showing them a picture of a cat.
Most children say their first words around one year of age, but verbally advanced children might utter words like “Dada” or “no” even earlier. “Some very verbally precocious kids speak their first words at six to nine months of age,” says Reis.
Your child may have a speech delay if they aren't able to do these things: Say simple words (such as “mama” or “dada”) either clearly or unclearly by 12 to 15 months of age. Understand simple words (such as “no” or “stop”) by 18 months of age. Talk in short sentences by 3 years of age.
In the first year of life, babies go from babbling to playing with sounds, copying sounds and putting sounds together. First words might start at around 12 months. Babies start understanding and responding to words in the first year of life.
In Australia, the word "country" was reported to be the most unique first word babbled. Some other bizarre responses were "Goose" in Canada, "Panther" in Spain and "Wishy-washy" in China, which we're guessing it's something much easier to pronounce.
By 9 to 12 months, most babies are able to clap, wave and point — though if your munchkin hasn't mastered these skills yet, that's not necessarily a cause for concern. Your pediatrician will likely ask about your baby's nonverbal communication skills by the 1-year well visit.
Babbling or words? Did you know that when babies start babbling, some of the first sounds they may say are m and d? What that means is the babbles could be “mamama” or “dadada.” They may even imitate you when you say, “mama” or “dada” by repeating the sounds back! For parents, this is such an exciting moment!
At 6 months, your baby will start using sounds to express emotion. She/he may mimic sounds she/he hears, like "ma,” “da,” “ah,” “oh" and even "no!" Your little one will begin to recognize familiar faces, reach and grasp for toys and will soon be crawling — start preparing your home (and yourself) for a mobile child!
Technically, a baby can say “mama” because this is the age when they will likely start babbling. “Ma” is one of the easiest syllables to make in the mouth and a young baby may say it often. However, a baby won't say “Mama” and mean “Mama” until 10 months old at the earliest.
The first consonant sounds are typically 'baba' or 'dada' simply because they are easy sounds to produce." But she says that as early as 6 months, your baby will start to experiment with consonant and vowel sounds, and will start repeating words that are often said to them.
What is babbling? Babbling is a stage of early language development when baby makes consonant-vowel or vowel-consonant sounds, such as “ma”, “da” or “um”. Repetitive babbling occurs next (for example, “mamama”). Finally, baby will combine a variety of sounds (i.e. “mabaga”) which is called variegated babbling.