At a family gathering, parents are bragging that their 8-month-old daughter seems as if she is getting ready to talk. Her grandparents, however, insist that she has no idea that those around her are even talking and that she certainly is not preparing to speak at this young age. Help the parents and grandparents settle their disagreement by describing what is known about infants' perceptions of speech and what the 8-month-old is probably doing to prepare for speaking.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Infants are actually very perceptive to speech from a very young age. Research has shown that even newborns are able to recognize their mother's voice and can distinguish between different speech sounds. By 8 months old, infants are actively listening and processing speech, even if they are not yet able to speak themselves.

At 8 months old, the baby is likely engaging in prelinguistic behaviors such as babbling, imitating sounds, and experimenting with different mouth movements. These are all important steps in the process of learning to speak. While she may not be preparing to speak in the same way that an adult does, she is certainly laying the groundwork for language development.

It's important for the parents and grandparents to understand that the baby is indeed aware of the speech around her and is actively working on developing her own language skills. While she may not be ready to have a full conversation just yet, her actions and behaviors indicate that she is on the right track towards eventually speaking. Both the parents and grandparents can take comfort in knowing that the baby is progressing as expected in her language development.

At a Family Gathering, Parents Are Bragging That Their 8-Month-Old