From these observations, I have found that learning animal sounds has been extremely fundamental in the beginning language skills of both boys. I know it sounds weird and totally crazy…but it has helped with both boys (and with other children I have casually observed).
Here lately I have been regularly reading farm animal books to Little Brother and trying to get him to say the animal sounds (baa, moo, quack) while we’re reading. From what I remember with Big Brother, his language development really took off after he was able to associate animals with their sounds and verbally attempt to mimic those sounds.
Not only are the sounds important for them to replicate (since many of these sounds are in common words we say), but I think there is a cognitive component as well to communicating when asked, “What does the sheep say?” Your little one must listen, comprehend that you are asking a question, and respond with the correct animal sound. That’s a lot of processing!
Little Brother says just a few words (Mama, Dada, Uh-Oh), so I’m hoping that these “animal” exercises will pay off!
I only have one child so I can't say that there was a for sure correlation, but my son is super verbal–hes nearly 15 mos. and says around 100 words at least (he knows many that I don't know he knows)… Anyway, he started mostly with animal sounds I think. They were partly what he was most interested in, I think and we just constantly read to him and showed him pictures of animals and he picked them up really quickly. So I definitely agree its a good place to start! also, sometimes I think the animal sound is easier to say than the name of the animal.
I have noticed the same. My son's speech therapist agreed. We worked hard on animal sounds until my son was finally speaking. Once they have the sounds down and the mouth shapes needed to make the sounds they take off with the speech.
Absolutely! Sophia is very in to animal sounds and what each animal is called. She is now picking up letters and numbers and actually getting them right! Their little minds grow so quickly, it's amazing what they can do! We did take your advice on picture books and she is obsessed with them (and Fancy Nancy, of course). LUL and Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks! Tiff
My daughter is 21 mo. She had never really been a talker, I sort of felt like she was behind verbally. Then this summer my husband (an elem. ed teacher) worked with her on all her animal sounds and noises and since then I have noticed her language really take off. I never put the two things together until you wrote this post. So I too agree animal noises must really help!
Question: My daughter (now 3) is very verbal, and (according to the dr.) has always been ahead of the curve on her speaking skills. I honestly never really thought a lot about it.
Until my son (now 20 months old) had his 18 month appointment. He's about where he needs to be, but I feel as if he's behind when compared to Sissy (which I know you can't do, but still).
Here's the thing though – we do all the animal sounds. And to every single animal, he roars. And then laughs. Or, if he doesn't answer right away, Big Sister answers for him, she also translates a lot for him.
Is this a normal thing? Should I be concerned? He can point out duck, cat, dog with clear words, and can find other animals when asked (sheep, cow, etc, he just doesn't say names yet). He can correctly identify between a car and a truck, and in general conversation gets his point across, but the sounds just aren't coming. Maybe he's just being silly?
I wouldn't worry about it Curly-T, kids are just different. My 3 year old is very, very thoughtful, inquisitive and extremely talkative. She was talking in short sentences and making all the animal sounds at one year. My 14 month old daughter talks when she feels like it, and some days hardly talks at all, but she's always pulling little pranks and then laughing at us. She's clearly very intelligent, but when I try to get her to say animal sounds she laughs and laughs or says "QUACK!" loudly. But if she sees a live cow, dog, cat or whatever she'll make it's sounds. Kids are all just different. As long as you're talking and interacting lovingly with them, they'll grow up well!
My daughter definitely learned animal noises before any other language (this may have something to do with my slight obsession with animals). She imitated our cat almost perfectly early on, said woof for dog, baaaa for sheep, etc. She still only says noises and not their names…but, I love it. She now has many words and is doing great with language. I had not thought about the cognitive requirements of identifying the animals and then making the noises. Great post!
I know that I'm coming back to this post quite late to comment BUT my daughter is actually receiving therapy services for a slight developmental delay mainly in the speech area. They are BIG on animal sounds and imitation …so from the professionals they agree!! nice job!!
Animal noises play a big part in a child’s language development. This is one of the goals we (speech therapists) look for between the ages of 12-15 months (3 animal noises) and then again at 15-18 months (I think 5).
New to your blog and LOVE it! Such great things to do with kiddos! :]