By approximately what age do most infants say their first meaningful word?

Enhance your preparation for the NCLEX Pediatric Growth and Development exam. Our interactive quiz with flashcards and multiple choice questions ensures comprehensive understanding. Get ready for success!

Multiple Choice

By approximately what age do most infants say their first meaningful word?

Explanation:
Most infants say their first meaningful word around 12 months. This marks a shift from mainly babbling and gestures to intentional vocal labeling of familiar people or objects. Before this, at about 6–9 months, babies experiment with sounds and babble, while by around 12 months many produce a simple word like “mama” or “dada” with real referent meaning. They often understand more words than they say, so receptive language is well developed before expressive language reaches this milestone. By 18 months, vocabulary begins to grow more rapidly, with additional words and early two-word combinations starting to appear.

Most infants say their first meaningful word around 12 months. This marks a shift from mainly babbling and gestures to intentional vocal labeling of familiar people or objects. Before this, at about 6–9 months, babies experiment with sounds and babble, while by around 12 months many produce a simple word like “mama” or “dada” with real referent meaning. They often understand more words than they say, so receptive language is well developed before expressive language reaches this milestone. By 18 months, vocabulary begins to grow more rapidly, with additional words and early two-word combinations starting to appear.

Subscribe

Get the latest from Passetra

You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy