Babbling - when (worried)?

[saltyseadog]

DS has just turned 5 months and is showing no signs of babbling yet. He strings vowels together e.g. ah-ah-ah-ah, and does ah-goo and ah-boo - but no bababababa or dadadadada. He laughs, blows raspberries and can shriek and squeal quite extensively.

I'm just worried that he's not babbling yet (as a result of dipping into Sally Ward's 'Baby Talk' book who said he should be doing it by 6mo at the latest - more fool me for picking up a baby development book, I should know better).

My first dc is disabled, so I have no idea what 'normal' development is like, so I'm getting my knicks in a twist worrying.

I think your baby is fine. Mine is 6.5 months (second DC) and is doing the same. We have loads and loads of raspberries, if that is any help....

YEs, LOTS of raspberries (feels like The Phantom Raspberry Blower of London Town has moved into our house)

Ds didn't start babbling until 8 months . We were on the coach from the airport on holiday when he started bababa which is why I remember it so well. He is 15 next month and speach fine .

I love the raspberries, he does it with such conviction

DS seems to have lapsed on the raspberry front (for the moment). I am almost missing raspberries at 3am!

That's good to hear bruffin. What I'm learning about 'normal' development is that it's like a switch being flicked - one day they can't do something and the next they can. I find it amazing after having to work with dd to help her learn even the most simple of things.

I'm probably being completely neurotic, but it's like I have a bad case of PFB (except DS isn't my PFB), but with good reason for being all PFB-y. Now I'm not making any sense :o.

Ds was that type development can't do something one day and an expert the next. He swallowed a dictionary overnight 2 day.s before his second birthday. He was spouting new words all day. DD was completely different more a few new words every week or so. It always amazed me how differently they developed. Ds never crawled but DD was an expert at it but walked a lot later.

My NT DS was making sounds like that at 5 months - a-boo etc. By 6 months or quickly changed into dadada constantly and loads of words by 1 yr. I totally agree that normal development seems to happen overnight with certain skills.

DD who has some motor skill problems simply said 'hiya' until she was about 15 months but is now talking quite well at 3 yrs.

Is very difficult to predict but all sounds very positive from what you are saying!

We didn't get dadadadada type babbling at 8 months, the word 'dog' 3 weeks later. Lots of words by 12 months, started speaking in sentences by 20 months. DD talks fluently now at 24 months.

Sorry, dadadada type babbling til 8 months.

DS never babbled in his cot but did make noises to me when playing etc. I started to worry but everything else was fine so I put it completely out of my mind.

He didnt talk particularly early - around 17 months but I swear I have a recording on my mobile phone of him singing 'moonpig dot com mooooonpiggg' from the baby monitor he still had in his room at 18 months old! LOL

Sentences from the off :-) so dont worry xx

like previous poster, DD never much of a babbler (didn't coo, either, really), but first word at 8 months (cat) and has an extensive vocab (including verbs, pronouns and adjectives as well as nouns) at 19mo - not quite at sentences yet, but getting there. He'll be fine (I worried about all this stuff too, and it seems ridiculous in retrospect, although I wound myself up something proper at the time )

Thanks everyone. It sounds like he's on track.

zapostrophe it's milestones as laid out in the book 'Baby Talk' by Sally Ward (leading SALT). DH would hit me around the head with my copy if he knew I was fretting about it's contents :).

Babbling of the babababa/mamamama/dadadada type is supposed to start between 7 and 9 months.

Not babbling by 10 months is usually not great, babies not babbling by 10 months should really have an evaluation (hearing/Paed).

Thanks arses .

My DS didn't start babbling in the traditional sense until well after a year - he mostly pointed and said "eh" till then - plus LOTS of raspbery blowing and screaming.

My 8 m.o. has just this week started babbling 'blah-blah-blah' / nam-nam-nam. No da-da-da yet, much to DH's annoyance. He got going in a couple of days, and now he can't stop. :)

Arses, if you try to get a pead referal in England for a child who isn't babbling at 10 months old, the answer will probably be no from any GP. A hearing test, or check of there is glue ear, might be recommended. I didn't get a referal until DS was 18 months old for little babbling and I tried for a period of 6 months to get a pead referal, pestering GPs and other specialists, but no luck at all until I hit on a new very young GP at our clinic!!! DS was 2.5 at this stage. It generally takes three areas of concern in behaviour of a child to get pead referal. Not babbling on its own will not be sufficient to get referal.

By three areas of concern I mean problems with eye contact, repetitive or obsessive behaviour, very upset if not in routine, aggressive behaviour, etc.

One of the best ways of encouraging babbling is to imitate sounds of cars, trains, and you saying lots of one-syllable sounds. Encourage him to make noise with musical instruments. Blow bubbles and when you pop the bubble, say 'POP' very loudly and see if he will try to make a sound when he pops the bubble. Do lots of Choo Choo and Vroom Vroom and Woof Woof sounds. I know you will feel a bit stupid at first but it does help.

Also if your child makes a sound, repeat it back to him. It makes the child feels like you are interacting with him and 'understand' his 'language'.

My DS started babbling at 2 years 3 months, and has a severe speech delay (now is talking at 3 years 4 months, but not clearly and way behind his age). He is very bright (has been evaluated by different behavioural and educational psychologists) but still can't figure out how to speak.

Sorry at beginning of post I say '10 months old' I meant '5 months old'.