Communication
Babbling
Many babies — 4–7 months
Repeated consonant strings — 'bababa', 'mamama' — practicing the building blocks of speech.
What’s happening
Babbling — repeated consonant strings like 'bababa' and 'mamama' — is practice for the mouth movements real words will need, not random noise. It usually gets more varied and speech-like over these months, gradually including more consonant sounds.
How to support it
- Narrate your day and pause to 'reply' to their babble — turn-taking is how language grows.
- Read together every day, even now — the rhythm and sounds matter more than whether they're following the story.
- Repeat their babble back to them; imitation is its own kind of conversation at this age.
Often comes after cooing
Often leads to first words
Where this comes from
- Tips on Learning to TalkZero to Three
Want gear matched to this stage?
Get a personalized, safety-vetted checklist for your family — free, no account, no affiliate links.
Create my checklistMore milestones
Browse all milestones →