What Is The Normal Age When Babies Start Walking And Talking?

No two people are similar and the same thing applies to the little people we are raising. Babies grow and achieve the milestones at their own pace. Of course, we as parents are in a hurry to hear the first words of the baby and see them stand and walk without support. But it is a slow process and happens over time. Some kids catch up fast, while some are late bloomers. There are small milestones leading to one big moment of hearing clear words from baby or seeing him walk independently.

Walking

During the first year baby’s body develop muscle strength and coordination. They learn to sit, roll over and crawl before being able to pull up themselves and stand with support.

The first step to walking is crawling. It develops body balance in them and makes their muscles ready to support walking. It is between 7 to 10 months of age they master crawling and move around efficiently. Once they are confident about their crawling, babies start to pull their bodies up with the help of objects like table, sofa or bed. This happens over a period of 9 to 12 months. In this course of time they also figure out to do deep knee bends to sit while standing, so that they don’t fall (yes, babies are that smart). They may also cruise with support (try to walk with the help of support).

At 12 months most babies are able to stand without  support for a minute or so and enjoy walking by holding your hands. During the course of 12 to 15 months, the baby starts to take his first steps. He stretches out his arms while walking to find a balance. This progresses with walking confidently to climbing the stairs up and down and dancing to music.

Red flag:

If the baby is not able to sit properly by 9 months or bear his weight on legs even after 15 months, you should consult a doctor.

Talking

The joy you feel after hearing your baby calling out mama or papa for the first time is incomparable to any happiness and excitement in this world. These moments make all our sleepless nights, tiresome days and hassle worthy. Like walking, talking is also a month-long process.

Babbling is the mark of the start of real communication. You can hear only coos and goos to 3 months. Babbling starts at 4th month and you can hear ‘p’ ‘b’ ‘m’ sounds as these are easily produced by putting lips together. Babies express themselves by changing tones, pitch, and inflection while babbling at 6- 7 months.

Their understanding starts to develop when they are 9-10 months old. So you can see them reacting to the bye, no, come here and small instructions. A year old baby understands most of the things being said to him. You are very close to her mama, papa or dada. Babies even understand the one like instructions like ‘please bring that paper to me’, ‘put that down’.

The most interesting part of talking starts around 18 months. Babies have their own version of every word and express themselves with those words. They try to speak words they hear from everyone around them and by the time they are two, they form short sentences and communicate. It is around 3 years of age when their vocabulary expands and their speech is clear. 

Also read: Stuttering And Stammering In Children

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