Milestones

What you can do

·        looks at you while getting fed

·        quiets when hearing familiar voices and sounds

·        makes cooing and gurgling sounds

·        gets startled by loud noises

·        look at your baby when feeding, bathing or changing him/her

·        talk to your baby

·        make cooing and gurgling sounds back to your baby

·        sing to your baby

Milestones

What you can do

·        turns eyes or head toward sound

·        responds to you by making sounds and/or moving arms and legs

·        smiles and laughs

·        begins to make speech-like sounds - "buh," "ma," "boo"

·        smile and laugh with your baby

·        show interest in the sounds your baby is making and repeat them back

·        provide a variety of sounds e.g., music, outside noises, animal sounds, toys, and show delight in the sounds you hear

·        tell your baby what you are doing when you feed, bath, dress him/her

Milestones

What you can do

·        responds to hearing own name

·        understands "no"

·        looks at some common objects or family members when named

·        babbles sounds in a series - "bababa," "dadada," "mamama"

·        point to people, pictures and common objects and say their names

·        look at books, point to the pictures and name them.

·        say sounds back and forth with you child as long as he/she is interested

·        sing songs and nursery rhymes

Milestones

What you can do

·        understands simple requests - "give it to mommy", "don't touch"

·        understands simple questions - "Where's the ball?"

·        uses gestures or sounds to let you know what he/she wants or needs

·        says first word

·        begins to play "pat-a-cake" and "peek-a-boo"

·        encourage your child to use gestures and respond to them ,e.g., when child raises arms to be picked up say, "you want up?" and then pick the child up.

·        talk about everything you are doing using simple words and short sentences

·        listen carefully to the sounds your child makes. You may hear their first word, e.g., "ba" for "ball", "u" for "up", "mook" for "milk"

·        play with your child and have fun

Milestones

What you can do

·        follows simple spoken directions such as "get the ball"

·        points to people, body parts or toys when asked

·        uses connected sounds that sound like sentences in a different language (jibberish)

·        uses 10 or more words

·        uses common expressions - "oh no," "all gone"

·        look at books and tell stories about the pictures,

·        choose books that your child can hold e.g. board, cloth, or bath books

·        talk back to your child when he/she talks to you

·        use real words, not baby talk e.g. say "Give me", instead of "ta ta" and "bottle" not "baba"

·        pay attention to what your child is saying, not how they say it

·        play games and use toys and objects that your child enjoys

·        Milestones

·        What you can do

·        uses 20 or more words

·        combines two or more words, such as "more juice"

·        uses many different speech sounds at beginning of words such as p, b, m, t, d, n

·        takes turns "talking" back and forth with you

·        listens to simple stories, rhymes and songs

·        use different kinds of words when you talk with your child ( in, big, happy, jumping)

·        encourage your child to play with other children e.g., library story times, play groups

·        name and copy different sounds your child hears e.g. dog barking, bird singing, fire engine siren

·        use the adult way of saying words or phrases without correcting your child directly e.g., child says "Daddy car", You say "yes, Daddy's in the car. Let's go."