Understanding Your Child’s Language Development

The development of language begins much earlier than most parents think. Although it is thought that language development in early childhood speeds up after the age of 1, language development actually begins before birth, as our hearing ability develops in the womb. Studies have shown that babies become accustomed to hearing their native language in the womb during the last trimester and can distinguish their native language from other languages after birth. 

Two Main Components of Language

There are two main components that develop within language:

1. Receptive Language (Understanding)

Receptive language refers to a baby’s ability to make sense of words, sounds, and communicative cues before they can actually speak.

• This is how much we understand what we hear.
• Enables children to make sense of words from birth onwards

Signs of Receptive Language Development in babies:

Turning one’s head or gaze to familiar voices or sounds, start noticing one’s own name, paying attention to speech-like sounds, and looking at objects or people when named (e.g., “Where is the dog?”) are the signs of the babies receptive language development.

How to support receptive language:

Parents can talk often and naturally throughout the day, narrating the routines they follow. Responding to the baby’s sounds and gestures, using songs and rhymes is also influential.

2. Expressive Language (Speaking)

Expressive language is the ability to communicate thoughts, needs and feelings through sounds, gestures and finally words. Expressive language builds on receptive language.

• This is how much language we can put into words.
• Does not show up before 1 year of age

Signs of Expressive Language Development in babies:

Cooing and making pleasure sounds, beginning to babble, using gestures such as waving and pointing are early signs of expressive language.

How to support expressive language:

Model rich and natural language, encouraging turn-taking, naming and describing the world can be ways to support expressive language in babies.

These two components develop at different paces in children until they are 1 year old. While receptive language enables them to make sense of words from six months onwards, expressive language does not typically emerge before one year of age. 

In other words, when children start talking, they understand much more than they can say. That is one of the main reasons why the development of language in early childhood is a topic that parents are most curious about. Parents often think that language skills begin when children start talking. However, receptive language starts much earlier than expressive language.

When to Worry?

Most of the time, delayed speech (i.e., expressive language) is a major issue parents face regarding language development in preschoolers. This is only problematic when there is also a problem in the receptive language. In other words, if the child does not speak AND does not understand and respond to what is being said, it should be taken into immediate consideration.

Children who respond to simple instructions, such as “give me the ball” or “bring me your bottle,” may still fall behind in expressive language and might not start talking for various reasons.

The most common factors might be:

• Laziness
• Pacifier use
• Lack of one-on-one speech

What to try first:

Before going to the specialist, it would be right to:

• Increase one-on-one communication with the child
• Encourage him/her to talk
• Reward him/her when s/he speaks

When to see a specialist:

• In speech delay, first, physical problems (such as tongue-tie and hearing issues) should be ruled out.
• If the delay persists, developmental follow-up can be conducted with a speech and language disorder specialist or a specialist developmental psychologist.

Language and Related Skills

Cognitive skills

In addition to language abilities, cognitive skills play an important role in supporting language development, such as:

• Attention
• Memory
• Reasoning

Parents can play games that build their children’s cognitive skills which in turn will be helpful for their language development. For instance, Peekaboo helps babies focus, anticipate and sustain attention as well as teach turn-taking. Hiding a toy under a blanket and trying to find it with the baby can facilitate memory as well as attention. Sorting games, such as taking color or shape as an anchor, also help little ones to enhance their reasoning abilities.

Social skills

Language is crucial in developing social skills. For instance, social and communicative skills, including:

• Turn-taking
• Understanding others’ perspectives
• Using language appropriately in different contexts

These are also closely linked to language development. Overall, these skills enable children to express their thoughts, interact with others, and enjoy their learning experience. Parents can play sound imitation games with their babies, which enhances vocal turn-taking. For instance, parents may make a simple sound, such as “baaa,” and wait for the baby to imitate it. For older toddlers, pretending to play games such as acting out roles, like doctor or chef, are excellent ways to build perspective-taking skills.

Every word, smile, and game you share helps your child’s language grow. Talk, listen, and play together. These small everyday moments build the foundation for understanding, communication, and connection.