how can i encourage my son to start standing/walking/talking?

Question

he is 7 1/2 months old and he will stand for several seconds own his own but sometimes when i try to get him to stand he will just bend his knees and get on the ground and crawl! and they say babies should know how to say dada or maybe mama at this age even if they are not sure what it means but my son just babbles alot mostly with a ba sound! and i know all babies are different and develop at different rates but i just want to help encourage him to want to learn!

Answer 1

I am not sure who told you babies at 7 1/2 months should say mama and dada as that is not accurate information. Babbling generally begins with a variety of vowel sounds strung together and consonants are added sometime between 6-9 months. Ba is a perfect example of a sound a 7 1/2 month old can say. The best thing you can do to encourage your son's language development at his age is simply talk to him. Reading to him every day will also give him familiarity with spoken word. By 12 months, most babies understand considerably more than they can say. Assigning a specific word to a particular person or thing generally begins developing around the first birthday, so your baby is doing just fine. While there are certainly some babies ready to stand alone and even walk unassisted by 8 months, there is a pretty wide window of when babies will be ready to master these skills. Generally, sometime between 8-16 months walking will be high on his agenda. It is likely a bit early for him to be interested in standing since he gets where he wants by crawling quite nicely. At some point he will be interested in pulling himself up to stand using a piece of furniture or your leg. Eventually he'll let go with one hand, then 2 and be able to stand alone for a while. You don't have to do too much encouraging as learning is what your baby does best, it is his life's work at the moment. Every day is a new adventure for him, filled with things to experience and do. Sometimes a particular skill will fascinate him and he'll want to keep on doing it over and over again. Things like repeatedly opening and shutting a door or putting blocks in a basket and dumping them out again and again are teaching him that a certain action will always produce the same reaction. Your little guy is still quite early on the language (as we know it) and mobility spectrum. He is learning everyday. Just continue to provide lots of interaction with him and he'll be walking and talking before you know it and you'll marvel at the speed at which he goes from being a baby to being a toddler.

Answer 2

It sounds like your son is completely on track developmentally. Don't try to rush him into walking or talking. He'll pick these things up at his own pace. My son started walking at 10 1/2 months and started saying simple words around 13 months. 7 1/2 months is waaay to early to start thinking about stuff like that. Your son is still just a baby.

If he looks at you when you say his name, sits without help, crawls pretty well and babbles, then he's exactly where he should be. You can facilitate his development by repeating the names of the things that interest him, singing to him a lot or putting him in one of those bouncers that hang in the doorway, but don't try to make him learn at anyone's pace but his. You could try teaching him to sign, too. Babies pick that up pretty easily at 6-12 months.

Answer 3

Don't. You can actually discourage him from walking if you get him frustrated while trying to learn.

He is at a perfect level for his age, don't rush him. It can be bad for his self esteem.

My twin niece and nephew are both 11 mos and they are just starting to walk, falling all the way, and their doc says they are fine and NOT to encourage them to walk, but to let them try on their own. It's good to encourage your son to stand, but not walk.

The twins are also babbling, no distinct words, but still fine by their doctor. They should start trying to talk by the end of the year, which is just fine.

Answer 4

Talk to him all day long, play music, read get baby Einstein...
Mine is 14 months and thinks that she is mommy. She points to herself and says mommy. Trust me I'm sure that he is saying more then you understand. watch and really listen to him and you may just pick up a word or two that he is trying to communicate with you.
As for the walking thing let it go. He will do it when he is ready. You can get a exersaucer or a johnny jumper to help with muscle development.

Answer 5

I wouldnt rush nothing. But things to help are a walker.jumper,educational books that use sound to teach. They will do it at their own pace,but just keep it up!!

Answer 6

dont rush him,.
he will do things as he feels he is ready. do applaud him and praise him when he stands but just dont push him