Help! My Toddler is Speaking Gibberish!
Does it sound like your toddler is speaking another language? They’re likely producing jargon.
Jargon happens when a child mixes syllables to create long and hard-to-understand strings of babbles. This type of babbling has a conversational rhythm and sounds a lot like adult speech.
When jargoning, children may mix in some simple and meaningful words like “mama” and “ball,” but this is not always the case. Jargon may sound like this: “badagadamada mama,” “mama badagadamada milk”, or “badagadamadadidididi”
Toddlers produce jargon for one of two reasons. Many children produce jargon because they are trying to imitate the adult speech around them. Simply put, toddlers observe adult communication patterns and try to join in on the conversation. Other toddlers are trying to make the leap from words to short phrases, but don’t yet have the vocabulary and “filler words” to support word combinations.
For whatever reason that a child produces jargon, it’s important to know that jargon is a part of typical language development in toddlers. In fact, between 12-18 months, toddlers jargon often!
Jargon typically peaks between 18-24 months. This is the time when most children have a “language explosion” and start to put two words together on their own. Between 18-24 months, jargon is so frequent that many parents notice that it sounds like their child is trying to have a conversation with them, is talking in their own language, or is “speaking gibberish”.
If your child is in the jargon stage right now, here are some expert tips on how to respond:
Get face-to-face and listen. This helps you see their face better and lets them know that you are invested in what they have to say and that their message matters. It also encourages them to say more!
Acknowledge their attempts to communicate and respond as if you understand them. Repeat back to your child what you think they might have said.
Respond and react with enthusiasm. When you respond to your child’s vocalizations, they will get excited and continue the back-and-forth interaction.
By the time a child turns 24 months, we expect that they will be using more words than jargon - meaning that we expect less than 50% of what they say to be jargon.
If your child is using more jargon to communicate than meaningful words by their second birthday, it might be a sign that they have an expressive language delay or trouble processing sounds, and they may need the professional support of a speech-language pathologist.
If you need help finding a speech-language pathologist for your toddler, click here for helpful resources and directories.
If you have specific questions about your child’s language and communication development and need 1:1 support, schedule a video consultation here.
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