Does/did your 9mo growl?

[hereismydog]

My 9mo DS babbles all day long with a range of different sounds, but also does some real guttural growls/grunts/roars like an animal! He will have a ‘conversation’ with me where I growl back so I think it is an attempt at communication. I’m not (currently) worried as I think he’s just experimenting with his voice, but I haven’t noticed any other babies growling when we go to playgroups, so I just wondered if it was normal? We have his HV review next week, so wasn’t sure if it was something I should mention.

No other concerns; he makes good eye contact, smiles and laughs appropriately and seems to be starting to recognise some of the things I say to him.

Babies do try out lots of sounds as they are approaching talking, so I'm sure it's fine.

Not sure I'd respond in kind with the growling though! It's good to give it a response as it is an attempt at communication, but I think I'd be modelling normal sounds! After all, he will take his lead from you and has no other way of knowing humans don't growl and roar as a matter of course!

How about "GRoooWl" then "Oh my word! You sound like a big lion!"

If you growl back he’ll just do it more. He thinks it’s conversation. He’s learning from you. Come on it’s not rocket science!

Oh of course! I don’t just growl back without actually speaking to him using real words at the same time 🤣

Glad you had all the parenting figured out from day one hun x

I’m sorry? Why are you calling me hun?

Because you were being rude and you knew it 😂

I'd probably just drop the growl altogether. But it won't have harmed him. Better he is getting attention than being ignored.

You said you growled at your son and then asked why he was growling at you and what should you do? Stop growling!

I can remember when my DGD was about 9 months old,she started making a noise like a motor car. Can't remember my DD (DGD's mum) doing anything similar, probably because it was 40 years ago!

The health visitor questionnaire asks if, when you repeat a sound your child uses, they then repeat it back to you. I tried it out with all the sounds he makes, including growling, and he does repeat them as a conversation. I included the growling to see if he was using it as a form of communication. I don’t just exclusively growl at him; it was a test alongside others to try and answer the questions on the questionnaire. Sorry if that was your impression.

The growling is something he does when he’s playing or otherwise concentrating on something, and my question was (quite explicitly) whether it is a normal sound for a 9mo to make!

I don't remember my children doing it but my granddaughter did. Try not to worry - I'm sure he will move on to other sounds. It's a lovely age, isn't it?

It is! He’s done so many new things just this week, I can barely keep up! We’ve had waving, learning to put things in boxes and bags, crawling up to other babies and holding their hands (which is SO cute to see!) and about ten tottery little steps holding on to a walker toy this morning at playgroup 🥹

I think it is quite normal op. He will swap it out for other sounds when he develops them, which he will soon and you will hear distinct letter sounds like "Ba" and "Ga." Those ones I would model back to him because it tells him they are the sounds we communicate with. But he needs his organs of articulation for those (which lions don't have!) so it may take a bit longer.

He makes those sounds, too! We have ‘ba’, ‘ga’, ya’ and ‘heeeee!’ No ‘ma’ or ‘da’ yet, but I don’t think they are far away. We just have this real guttural growling alongside the actual consonant sounds.

I want to make it 100% clear that we only had the growling ‘conversation’ in the context of completing the HV questionnaire, not at any other time as it’s not a sound I want to encourage!