Communication Development 9-12 Months: What You Need to Know

Your baby is now almost a year and I bet you can not believe how different they are from birth!

Communication development 9-12 months includes the skills needed for your baby to understand language and communicate with others.

Language skills are usually broken up into two categories.

Receptive Language: The understanding of words and communication.

Expressive Language: The ability to express and communicate wants and needs to others.

Let’s take a look at what communication development 9-12 months looks like.

We will also cover some simple tips on how to encourage your baby’s communication skills as well.

I have also included a developmental checklist at the bottom of this post. Make sure to grab it so you can keep track of your little one’s progress!

Communication Development 9-12 Months

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What Do Language Skills Look Like From 9-12 Months?

Understands Some Words

Your baby understands a lot more then they can express.

Your little one may also be able to follow simple directions such as “come here.”

The understanding of language usually comes in before your child is able to constantly tell you what they want or need.

You may also notice your child look at objects or people when named.

These are all signs that their receptive language skills are building.

Imitates Gestures

Has your child started to imitate things that you do around the house?

They may pretend to wipe their face like you or if you give them a phone they might pretend to talk on it.

The first step in expressive development is the imitation of play and actions.

This leads to your little one imitating gestures which generally starts to happen in the 9-12 month period.

Waving “hi” and “bye” are a common gesture that little ones learn.

You can also teach them how to “blow a kiss” as it can be a fun one to try.

Singing songs with actions or using finger plays (think itsy bitsy spider) are also great options to get your little one watching and imitating.

Saying First Words

There is a good chance that you will soon be hearing your little one’s famous first words. Will it be “mama or dada”?

With that said…do not panic if baby does not have their first word when they turn 1.

(This is a hot topic in our Facebook group…you can join HERE)

Just know that 9 month old language development will look a lot different then 11 month old language development as babies change fast.

There is a HUGE range of normal and your child will follow their own timeline.

If you do have concerns about your baby’s language development make sure to talk to your pediatrician.

You can read more tips and tricks on how to encourage language development here.

Making Lots of Different Sounds

Listen closely as your child plays.

Are they babbling a lot or using “jibberish”?

You will hear a variety of sounds as your baby experiments with language.

You should hear a variety of consonants and vowels when they are “talking”.

How Can I Encourage Language Skill Development from 9-12 Months In My Baby?

Encourage Language Development Through Play

Your baby picks up a lot of their skills naturally through play.

You can encourage language skills at 9-12 months by modeling words and sounds for your child.

If you are playing with toy cars make the “vroom” or “beep”sound and see if they will imitate it.

Animal sounds can also be great fun for children at this age.

Get down on the floor with them and “woof” like a dog or show them how to “meow” like a cat.

Daily Routines are Great for Encouraging Communication Skills in Your Baby

If you are outside for a walk, label what you and your baby see.

As you change your baby’s diaper label their body parts.

When you are present and meaningful during these simple daily activities you can provide your baby with lots of opportunities to learn.

Using Sign Language to Promote Development

Using baby or infant sign language can be a great way to give your child a way to communicate even if they don’t have words.

They benefit from this with less tantrums because they have a way to tell you what they want or need.

Most parents start with words such as “more” and “all done” as they are easy to teach and used many times throughout the day.

Not sure what those signs look like?

No problem…You can take a look HERE.

Having a book on hand (like this one) can also make teaching your baby sign easy and convenient.

Use Books to Encourage Infant Language Development 9-12 Months

Books are a wonderful way to encourage both receptive and expressive language skills.

When you are reading a book with your child just focus on keeping it short and simple.

They do not have much of an attention span at this age…so just focus on labeling the pictures.

Gently take their hand and touch the pictures as you label them.

Board books (like these) work great for story time with your baby.

Related Post: How to Promote Literacy from an Early Age

What Toys Work Well to Develop Language Skills?

You do not need many toys to help your baby learn…often times they are interested in items that you may already have laying around the house.

Here are just a few ideas of toys that work well at promoting language skills in your baby:

Pop Up Toys

Pop up toys are great for babies from 9-12 months because they are so interesting and engaging.

Your little one may not be able to open the doors by themselves so you will probably need to help them.

How can you encourage language with this toy?

Every time a door open say “POP!”

You will be repeating this word a lot…so they will eventually pick it up.

Encourage your child to imitate waving “bye bye” or “hi” when you open or close a door.

You can also make animal sounds for the characters as you put them down.

The list goes on…there are so many ways for your little one to learn from this classic toy.

You can grab one HERE.

Pretend Cell Phone

Pretend cell phones for babies are perfect for imitative and imaginary play.

I am sure your baby sees you talking on your phone every now and again…so it can be a fun thing for them to imitate.

You can also make it a turn taking activity by asking for a turn and modeling for them how to “talk” on the phone by making silly sounds.

A pretend phone (like this one) would be perfect as it also doubles as a teether!

Blocks

Blocks are perfect for imitative play which is crucial in language development.

Show your baby how to stack a block and see if they can imitate you.

Model new words for them such as “up up up” as you stack one block on top of the other.

I like these blocks (you can check them out here) because they have pictures on them which you can label to encourage expressive language skills as you play.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many words should a 9 month old say?

Typically we are not hugely focused on how many words a 9 month old baby says…instead we focus on what sounds they are making.

Your baby may be able to say a couple of words by 9 months and that is great…but not expected.

You do want to listen to hear if your little one is making a variety of consonant and vowel sounds while they are babbling.

How many words should a baby understand at 12 months?

It is really hard to say that a child should understand a certain number of words at any age.

All children are different and their skills may come in at different times.

At about 12 months we usually notice babies starting to follow a few simple directions.

They may also look to names objects or people that they are familiar with.

Should I have my baby’s hearing tested?

Personally…I feel strongly that ALL babies should have their hearing tested at around a year.

However, this does not seem to typically happen at one year appointments.

If your child has had frequent ear infections, is showing signs of a language delay, or is not responding to sounds in their environment I would recommend talking to your pediatrician about getting a hearing screening for your child.

You can read more about the hearing tests available for young children HERE.