Speech and language development: three to six months

Developmental milestones include:

• By four months, he looks for the source of a sound by turning his head
• By five months, he turns his head to find the person who’s talking
• He is vocalising by making a range of different sounds
• He can have a ‘conversation’ by taking turns at talking– you talk to him and then he ‘talks’ to you.

What can I do to encourage his speech and language development?

• Talk to him – and you may be surprised to find that he begins to ‘talk’ back
• Spend time together singing and reciting poems or nursery rhymes
• Read with him – while he won’t be able to follow the story, he’ll really enjoy listening to your voice and speech patterns, so keep your voice lively and varied.

Signs that suggest a developmental problem:

• He doesn’t vocalise
• He doesn’t startle to loud noises
• He doesn’t look for the source of sounds with his eyes

All children are different and develop at different rates, so don’t be overly concerned if your baby is acquiring new skills at a different rate to those around him. But if you are worried about him development, talk to a health professional for a little reassurance.

This article was written by Ella Walsh for Kidspot.