When Do Babies Start Babbling?
- 2 months: Baby starts cooing
- 4 to 6 months: This is the babbling phase
- 7 to 12 months: Babbles will become more speech-like
- 12 months: Your baby may start saying some words
Unsure when your baby has gone from cooing the babbling? "Cooing is mostly just vowel sounds," says Dwyer. "This is when a baby is really starting to experiment with their voice. We mostly hear 'oohs and ahhs.' From that stage, babies will start to experiment with basic, easy consonant sounds, like Ms, Bs, Ps, and Ds."
After that, around 4 to 6 months—and not later than 9 months, says Dwyer—babies' babbling will really pick up.
What Are the Stages of Babbling?
Babbling progresses in stages as your infant grows and develops. "Knowing what to expect and when is important so you can help encourage your baby at an age-appropriate level to achieve the next step in the babbling process," says Brandie Shulman, M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD of Look Who's Talking LLC.
1. Marginal babbling/vocal play
Marginal babbling is the first phase of babbling, which usually begins between 4 to 6 months, explains Carly Tulloch, M.A., RSLP, CCC-SLP, a pediatric speech-language pathologist and co-founder of Wee Talkers.
"Often, it's just a single syllable to start, like 'bu,' 'ga,' or 'da,'" explains Tulloch. "Even though these sounds seem simple, this is a big stage of development for your baby, who is now engaging in what we call vocal play."
This vocal play may also include blowing raspberries or tongue clicks. "It's all a result of your baby being a little scientist," adds Tulloch.
