When Should Babies Start Talking? Speech Milestones From 6 Months to 5 Years

That first word from your baby is a moment every parent looks forward to and that wait, while exciting, can feel endless some days. But here's the reassuring truth; long before that first recognisable word, your baby is already communicating in their own way – cooing, babbling, gesturing, and responding to the people around them. Every one of those small moments is a building block towards speech. 

However, there is no particular age when your baby says the first word. Many children do it around the end of the first year; however, the process starts much earlier and can continue even when they start preschool. 

So, rather than focusing on "has my child started talking," you should focus on "how is my child's communication developing over time?"

When Do Babies Start Talking? 

Many babies say their first meaningful word around one year of age but the ability to communicate takes shape long before that. By six months, babies begin taking turns making sounds, almost like a back-and-forth conversation. By nine months, that turns into repeated sounds like "mamamama" or "tatatata." And by their first birthday, most babies can recognise and respond to familiar words like "mama" and "dada," even before they can say them