The First Year

What stage is from 0-2 months?

Biological noises

What stage is from 2-5 months?

Cooing and laughing

What stage is from 5-8 months?

Vocal play

What stage is from 6-12 months?

Babbling

What stage is from 9-18 months?

Melodic utterancesW

What happens at the ‘Biological Noises’ stage?

At this stage, expressions made are primarily biological, such as crying, coughing and burping.

What happens at the ‘Cooing and Laughing’ stage?

The child will start making consonant sounds such as ‘g’ and ‘k’ followed by vowel sounds.

What happens at the ‘Vocal Play’ stage?

The child will start experimenting with their vocal chords, practising the sounds of language. This can lead to shouting.

What happens at the ‘Babbling’ stage?

The child will repeat a series of syllables, such as ‘wa’ or ‘mu’, practising sequences that are necessary for language.

What happens at the ‘Melodic Utterances’ stage?

Rhythm, tone and melody will develop, with the child using a larger range of sounds. It will start to sound like actual speech.