Hearing a child say their first words is such an exciting milestone for a parent. The moment gets commemorated in the baby book and is remembered forever. Ask any parent, and they will be able to tell you what their child’s first word was. However, sometimes it can be difficult to determine if a child is saying a real word or if they are just babbling. While there aren’t any hard and fast rules to figure this out, there are a few things we can look for in order to decide if it “counts” as a real word. 

Before we get into those clues, let’s take a quick look at what counts as a word. In addition to actual words, the following things also count as words in a child’s vocabulary: 

• Approximations: this is when a child says the same thing consistently but it might not sound exactly like the intended word. For example “baba” instead of “bottle” or “da” instead of “dad.”
• Environmental sounds: things like animal noises and car sounds count as words! 
• Exclamatory words: exclamations such as “uhoh” “oopsy” and “wow” are considered words. 
• Sign Language: Signs that are done consistently such as “more” or “all done” count towards a child’s total word count. 

Now, here are those tips to help figure out if your child is saying a real word or just making sounds. 

1. Does the child say it INTENTIONALLY? 

We want to know if the child is saying the word with a purpose. A child looking at mom and saying “ma!” is more likely saying a real word as opposed to a child who is playing with blocks and saying “ma ma ma” quietly to themself. 

2. Does the child say the word INDEPENDENTLY? 

If you have to coax and prod and bribe your child in order to get them to repeat the word after you, we probably wouldn’t count it as a word in their vocabulary. If the child says the word independently without any prompting from you, it is more likely a real word. 

3. Does the child say the word CONSISTENTLY? 

You can be fairly confident that the child is really saying the word if they say it multiple times in multiple contexts. If you hear your child say “ma” when they see mom in the morning, then “ma” when they see a picture of mom on the wall, and then “ma” again when they hear mom’s voice over the phone, then you can be pretty certain that your child’s first word was mom!

Just for fun, here is a list of the 25 most common words spoken by toddlers. Was  your child’s first word one of these??

1. Mommy 
2. Daddy
3. Baby 
4. Mild 
5. Juice
6. Hello
7. Bye bye
8. Yes
9. No
10. Dog
11. Cat
12. Ball
13. Nose
14. Eye
15. Banana
16. Cookie
17. Car
18. Hot
19. Thank you
20. Bath 
21. Shoe
22. Hat
23. Book
24. More
25. All gone

If you are at the point where you are concerned whether your child is using enough words for his or her age.  Start a note in your phone to keep track of the words you hear your child say. This is not only great information for you but also great information for healthcare providers and caregivers such as teachers, your pediatrician and therapists.