Language: Discovering sounds

Babies start playing with sounds from their first months of life, and by around 8 or 9 months of age, they can associate a meaning with some of the words they hear (e.g., mommy and daddy), even if they haven’t started saying them yet. Each child moves through this development process at a different pace.

Sounds and language

Babies start paying attention to sounds very early on. For example, your baby listens to your voice when you comfort them or cuddle with them. Simply by hearing human speech, they gradually become accustomed to the sounds of the language or languages being spoken around them. When you talk to your baby, they develop a desire to talk to you, too.

Before the age of 1, your child is already discovering and exploring sounds, which contributes to language development.

• From birth, your baby pays attention to and reacts to familiar voices, such as yours and that of their other parent.
• Starting at 1 or 2 months of age, your baby makes sounds (coos) involuntarily, generally vowels such as “aaaai” and “aaee.”
• At 3 to 6 months, they start to make these cooing sounds voluntarily. This is when they begin to explore the full range of sounds they can produce with their mouth. They listen carefully to the soft, loud, low, and high-pitched cries they make during this time.
• At 6 to 9 months, your child begins to babble, which means combining consonants and vowels to say things like “dadada” and “nenene.”
• At 9 to 12 months, their babbling starts to sound more and more like the language or languages they hear on a daily basis. The most common sounds are “p”, “b”, “m”, “t”, “d”, and “n”, since they’re easier to pronounce.

Different ways to have fun with sounds

Playing with sounds is a great way to stimulate your baby’s language development. Here are some fun activities you can do with them.

• Sound imitation: Mimic the sounds your baby makes. This will show them that it’s fun to interact with you and encourage them to make sounds similar to spoken language. By around 6 months of age, your baby will also start to enjoy imitating you. Chain together different sounds they know how to make, so they can try to copy you.
• Nursery rhymes: Sing nursery rhymes to your child. Even if they can’t sing along with you yet, they’ll benefit from exposure to the rhythm, melody, and repetition of sounds. Throughout the preschool period, singing nursery rhymes to your little one offers many benefits for language learning, including the ability to listen closely to sounds. Over time, your child will be able to participate more and more actively.
• Noise games: Show your baby an illustration of an animal in a book and imitate the sound the animal makes to amuse them. When your baby is 9 to 10 months old, try making an animal sound and then helping your child find the animal that makes that noise, in a book or amongst their stuffed animals. For example, meow like a cat and ask your child to show you which of their stuffed animals makes that noise. You can also make other noises, like train, car, or airplane sounds.
• Taking turns: When your baby makes a sound, wait until they’re finished, then respond with another sound. Then remain silent to give them a chance to respond in turn. Little exchanges like these lay the foundations for communication and dialogue.
• Peek-a-boo: Hide your face behind your hands while looking at your baby, then take your hands away as you say “peek-a-boo!” You can vary your voice by exaggerating your intonation, whispering, or speaking louder or softer. This game will catch your child’s attention and train their listening skills.

Things to keep in mind

• Even before your baby starts to talk, they familiarize themselves with different sounds by producing them, associating meaning with certain sounds or words, and practising imitating sounds and words.
• Playing with sounds is a great way to stimulate your child’s language development.
• Not all babies explore sounds in the same way or at the same pace. The most important thing is that you have high quality interactions, enjoy the moment together, and engage in these types of exchanges regularly.

Scientific review: Agathe Tupula Kabola, speech therapist Research and copywriting:The Naître et grandir team Updated: January 2026

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