Start Talking Together: 6-12 months

Find out things you, your partner and family can do, to help grow your child’s language and communication skills

What your baby can do

At 6 to 12 months

Make and play with different sounds, saying, for example, 'baba, dada'
Cry in different ways to express different needs
Make noises to get attention
Make sounds when people speak to them, almost as if they are talking back!
Recognise different emotions in parent’s voice and may respond differently, for example smile, quieten, laugh
Smile at familiar faces
Laugh while playing

Language for life

Language for Life Talking Together, Ages and Stages booklets from Nottinghamshire Healthcare trust can help you to understand what stage your baby is at in their development.

Language for Life Talking Together I'm 6 months old and very noisy![PDF]

Language for Life Talking Together, Wow! Look what I can do now, I'm 12 months old [PDF]

Further booklets can be found at Language for Life - Look what I can do (NHS Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust)

Speaking more than one language

If you speak more than one language at home, it's important to talk to your child in the language, or languages, you feel most confident speaking.

Children who speak more than one language babble and say their first words in the same way as children learning one language, but some may do it slightly later. It is important not to confuse this slight delay with language difficulties – most children quickly catch up.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust have useful information about bilingualism. They have produced the Language for Life Talking Together, Maintaining Your Child’s First Language booklet in English, Polish, Arabic, Romanian and Urdu

To find out more, visit Bilingualism (NHS Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust)

How can you help

Family Hubs

Nottinghamshire Family Hubs are great places for families with new babies, offering lots of support, such as the under one's stay and play session which is open to everyone, so they’re an excellent place for you to meet other families with young babies in your local area and make friends.

We also have

New Parents groups
Baby Massage Sessions
Baby Little Talkers groups
BABES support groups for mums who choose to breastfeed their babies
Baby Incredible Years groups
PHEW groups (Parent Health & Emotional Wellbeing)
PEEP Groups What is PEEP? Two Minute Guide (People Learning Together YouTube video)

Contact your local Family Hub:

Find your nearest Family Hub (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Speech and Language UK

The children’s communication charity Speech and Language UK provide support to parents and carers, and practitioners in helping children develop their speech, language and communication skills. Use their online Progress Checker to see how your child is getting on with their speech, language and communication development.

Find this and more free resources and services on their Help for families webpage

Best Start in Life

Best Start in Life, has trusted NHS health advice and guidance for parents and as is the new home of Start for Life. Find the advice on supporting your toddler's development, Listening and learning: 6 to 12 months (Best Start in Life - NHS)

Early Learning and Childcare

Sending your child to an early learning setting really helps them to develop their speech, language and social skills and is a great step towards getting ready to start school.

Working families with children from 9 months can receive funding towards childcare costs. To find out more, go to Help with Childcare Costs

What you can do

There are lots of opportunities in the community and at home to help your baby's language development. Here are a few ideas that are low cost, no cost to try.

Inspire Libraries

Our friends at Inspire have lots of family learning and activity sessions, which are a great way to support your little one’s speech, language and communication.

Rattle, Rhyme and Roll sessions for babies and toddlers are held at many libraries. These free sessions last about 30 minutes. Find your closest Rattle, Rhyme and Roll sessions (Inspire Libraries)

Story Hullaballoo sessions are for children under the age of five and include stories, songs and rhymes. These free sessions last about 30 minutes. Find your closet Story Hullaballoo sessions (Inspire Libraries)

To find out about other family learning sessions Inspire offers, go to Children and Families - (Inspire Libraries)

A Bookstart pack, is available from your Healthy Families Team practitioner (health visitor) or when you register as a library member with Inspire Libraries.

Children aged 0 – 5 with additional needs can receive a second Bookstart pack as well.

Visit Bookstart Packs (Inspire Culture, Learning, Libraries)

BookTrust

BookTrust is the charity behind Bookstart, they have lots of ideas for fun things to do as a family.

Visit: Supporting Parents, Carers and Families (BookTrust)

Words for Life

The National Literacy Trust have fun activities for newborns to 6-months old to help practise language and communication skills on their Activities for 6 to 12 months (Words for Life)

Look Say Sing Play

Right from birth, every time you talk, sing or play with your baby, you're not just bonding, you're building their brain.

NSPCC have some fun and easy tips to help you bring even more enjoyment into your daily routines. Aimed at parents and carers of children under the age of two.

You can also sign up to receive new tips, tailored to your child's age, each week.

Go to Look, Say Sing, Play

Singing

Singing rhymes is one of the easiest ways you can support your child's speech.

'Sing songs and rhymes with me' is a great little booklet of nursery rhymes produced by the Speech, Language and Communication Service at NHS Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust.

Download Language for Life-Sing songs and rhymes with me [PDF]

For lots of top tips and advice, go to How you can help your child?-(NHS Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust)

You can join in with some Songs and rhymes videos (NHS Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust)

For more great ideas, go to

CBeebies Parenting activities

Discover some activities to help with early communication and listening skills:

Things to do at Home

We've gathered together more ideas on communicating with your baby, and activities you can try at home on our Things to do at home: 6 to 12 months page.

What to do if you need advice

You may be concerned if your baby is not responding to sound or to your voice. From 6 months, your baby may

respond to familiar voices, turn when they hear their own name and ‘take turns’ in conversations with babbling
use speech sounds (babbling) to communicate with adults
be startled by loud noises
engage in eye contact when spoken to
smile back at someone smiling at them
watch a speaker’s face with interest

Source: Development Matters 2021

If you are concerned, contact one of the services below:

Where to get advice

If you feel your baby is not responding to sound or to your voice, please contact one of the below services:

Healthy Family Team

Telephone: 0300 123 5436
Find out more, go to Healthy Family Teams (Directory Listing)

For parents and carers of children aged 0 to 19 years and for young people aged 16 to 19.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare Speech and Language Advice Line

Telephone:0300 123 3387 OPTION 1
Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City (except Bassetlaw)
Opening times:
Monday and Tuesday 9.30am to 4.30pm
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9am to 12.30pm

Your GP

Find a GP - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Start Talking together leaflet

Our Start Talking together leaflet give lots of top tips on how you and your family can help develop your little one’s talking. We hope you find it useful.

Download the Start Talking together leaflet [PDF]