Are we Talking yet?

Jamie - as I type - is being quite vocal in the next room. It's more of a babble than anything specific but now and again a word seems to appear. We can't be definite but I am sure he has said 'Bye-Bye' (with a little wave) 'Grandad', 'Daddy' and yesterday I am sure he said 'Milk' - that was certainly what he meant anyway!

Have been interested in what we can do to help Jamie as he learns to talk. http://www.bounty.com/toddler/development/toddler-milestones-talking
Keep talking. Your toddler may not say much yet, but he understands what you’re saying. (He certainly understands NO but chooses to ignore it!) Talking starts with listening so the more you talk to him, the faster he’ll learn to talk himself. Talk about what you’re doing all the time, and state the obvious, for example, ‘We’re going up to have a bath now, then get you into your pyjamas and ready for a story. We could read the lovely book grandma bought you. Look, here it is on the blue bookshelf’.

Listen to what your baby is saying. When you ask your baby a question, wait and see what his response is; it might be a smile or a look towards a toy. Even if you don’t understand exactly what he’s saying, the chances are his body language or facial expressions will give the game away, so talk to him as if you do, ‘Have you had enough of the bricks? Do you want to play with the trains instead?’. Speak directly to your child and listen to him attentively without trying to finish off his sentences for him. It’s very important for your child’s self esteem and his ability to listen, for you to respond to what he says.

Words and music. Read to your tot every day to get him used to books and the words on the pages. Reading helps them to hear and understand the inclinations and emotions of speech. Don't be shy about reading with gusto and silly voices! Reading can also help with labelling things, so you can point to a picture and say the word 'Fire Engine' to help them recognise what objects are called. Remember that the goal is not to get through the book as quickly as possible but rather to get your child involved in and excited by the process. Little kids love singing and don’t care if you’re tone deaf, so play nursery rhyme tapes and sing along with them together – they’re a brilliant way of getting kids to learn and remember words.

Language development can vary widely from child to child, but here are some of the key stages:
By one year, you toddler will understand what you’re saying and may have a couple of words to say himself.
By 15 months he’ll have up to 10 words and will understand a simple command like ‘Get the ball’.
By 18 months, he’ll know the names of the most important people in his life and will be able to follow more complex commands, ‘Pick up the ball and give it to daddy’.
By 24 months, he’ll have up to 100 words in his vocabulary and will be able to form simple sentences, ‘Get ball’, ‘Mummy come’, and say ‘no’ and ‘mine’ a lot.
By three years, he’ll have about 300 words and will be able to have a conversation of a few sentences and use adjectives and prepositions (‘up, on, in, under’ etc.)

Learning to talk is the key to how well your child learns everything else, so keep the conversation flowing and make sure your toddler has plenty to say for himself.