A few days ago we began to explain the most important aspects of language development in the baby. We have already seen how, during the first three months of life, our baby is already beginning to develop different language strategies.
Its communication capacity increases at a considerable speed, in addition to creating a repertoire of sounds that begins with screams or coughing, and ends in the third month with vocalizations of some different syllables. Gradually he is able to imitate verbal and gestural aspects of the adults who are with him, as well as to better understand what is happening in his environment.
Today we will see what happens in the language of the baby from the four at six months and how little by little he is maturing his way of communicating, both nonverbally and verbally.
Fourth month
During the fourth month of life, our little one will let us know that he wants something thanks to his shrieks, which he can also do for pleasure. Likewise, while we are playing with him, and he is enjoying himself, he will not stop laughing. His vocalizations are already beginning to be done in response to the speaker, and he begins to repeat series of sounds on a regular basis.
When he is sitting and we are talking to him, out of his visual reach, our son will turn his head looking for us to have eye contact and know who is speaking to him, and if the voice he hears is that of someone unknown, he shows signs of restlessness and can alter meet a stranger
It is during this period when the baby realizes something very important: some gestures or sounds that he makes produce different reactions in others and in his environment, so he will start repeating them in different situations to look for such reactions. For example, if while we are playing with him, he appreciates that we put on some funny face when he laughs, he will start laughing more frequently to get us to make that face that he likes so much.
Fifth month
Is in the fifth month when the vocal sounds show a great increase in their emissions, being the sounds "a", "or" and "u" the most repeated by our little one. The babble, which is a spontaneous and repeated pronunciation of phonemes and sounds with a maturational and playful purpose, is also increasing. For this reason, the baby also repeats more frequently the sounds that he has just vocalized when the accompanying adult imitates them.
From this stage of his life, our son will be able to locate, on a regular basis, the origin of the voice he hears most accurately, even though they are sounds he doesn't see. The actions of listening and watching, which until now had a hard time doing together, are increasingly coordinated. There is also an increase in his ability to react to a familiar voice that says his name. And among all the voices of their daily surroundings, it is that of the mother who recognizes most easily among others.
His communication attempts begin to be clearer, since he indicates his discomfort when we do not give him or take away an object that he has through a clear protest; Similarly, it indicates your interest in something vocalizing different sounds. There are also sounds that are not linked to crying, which were his biggest repertoire so far. He is able to express his state of anguish or displeasure with different vowel patterns and different intonations. And while we are playing or doing an activity with him, through his body movements, looks or vocalizations he indicates that he wants the fun to continue. something truly special for any parent.
Sixth month
He sixth month It marks the end of a quarter in which the baby's linguistic repertoire is increasingly increasing. During this stage, the child accompanies his vocalizations with movements and reactions of his body, which will enrich his communication attempts. During the game he emits sounds or noises, both when he is alone and when accompanied by one of his parents or an adult. Start taking the initiative by vocalizing, with four or more different syllables at the same time, and babbling (which has been increased during this time) directly to adults to initiate social contact with them.
In these moments of baby-adult interaction, the little one continues to make a movement if the adult imitates it, since he sees that he has a reaction on the other. In addition, he imitates the sounds of those who accompany him, especially the tone of his voice (that is, the baby makes his voice sharper or worse).
His ability to understand also presents a tremendous advance, as he begins to turn his head towards the sound he hears, looking and holding out his hand, as if he wanted to take it, directly towards what the sound produces. It recognizes different sounds from day to day, such as the house bell or the telephone tone, and responds to them (turning his head, smiling ...). In the same way, it manages to differentiate between mandates, warnings, situations that produce anguish or fear, known voices against unknown voices ...
He is also able to understand simple and everyday gestures that adults repeat, such as greeting or farewell. When we say "no" to something we don't want him to do, he starts to understand it and sometimes (more and more) he stops. And it is also from the sixth month when he begins to recognize words like "dad" or "mom."
When communicating with the people around him, the child already takes the lead vocalizing to initiate social contact with others. It also shows how he is able to indicate his interest in an object through the vocalizations he makes or with gestures that make us see that he is trying to catch it. He is already able to ask us to continue or stop doing something through gestures, looks or vocalizations. We can also appreciate how, gradually, our baby is able to modulate her crying depending on the situation in which she is.
Conclusion
Throughout this trimester our baby will also advance in other aspects such as the movement of tongue or lips, which will increase while having greater control of them. In addition, it is at this stage when their first teeth will begin to sprout, which will give way to introduce changes in their alignment.
So far the most relevant aspects in relation to language development in the baby between four and six months. Do not forget something very important and it is that all these aspects, although they are very similar in most babies, are indicative, since each child is a world and can take more or less time to develop. Only when the lag is too marked could we talk about some kind of delay, and should we go to a specialist for advice.
