We are headed into the first words zone and the battle is on!!
So there are plenty of people who believe “dada” tends to be first because /d/ is simply easier to say. Some also believe “mama” comes first because mama might be a favorite parent from time to time. I have a feeling our youngest will say “dada” because it is his most often babbled combination and also because he hears it more (“dada is home, look it’s dada”…and so on).
BUT, this weekend he evenly distributed his mama/dada productions. Even then, his first word might end up being “bug” because it is a popular vocab word in our house during this time of the year.
Some key things to remember:
- First words don’t have to be produced perfectly to count as a first word
- Signs are also expressive
- Treat their babble and approximations as meaningful and intention because this is what leads them to produce that sound again, and again, and again
- Support those single words and expand on them
- Don’t be ashamed of that ‘parentese’ because it is just so fun for your little ones to listen to and what is better than good, honest, engagment!
P.S. I’m still hopeful I’m going to win this one!
Building Better Speech and Language 