# Day 198: Imitating sounds

> From about 6 or 7 months, babies get much better at copying the sounds you make, and a reply right after their babble is what shapes it. The echo game, and the 7-month line.

- Series: Your seventh month, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/seventh-month), day 198 of 365, week 27
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/seventh-month/day-198
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-21
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 198: Imitating sounds." Last reviewed October 21, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/seventh-month/day-198

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Listen this week for a sound that follows yours. Around now the copying gets better, and it goes both ways.

## Heart

Babies start to babble around 4 months, using the rhythms of the language they hear. From about 6 or 7 months, they get much better at imitating the sounds you make ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-4-to-7-Months.aspx)). Taking turns making sounds with you, blowing raspberries, and squealing are all on the 6-month list ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/6-months.html)). So the raspberry you blow back isn't a joke; it's the curriculum. A sound, a pause, a sound in reply.

## Head

The timing of your reply is what does the work. When mothers of 8-month-olds responded right after their babies' sounds, the babies' babbling quickly became more mature and speech-like; the same attention given at random times didn't have that effect ([Goldstein et al., 2003](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12808137/)). Nearly all babies with normal hearing start repeated syllables like "bababa" by 10 months, and in a screening of more than 3,400 at-risk babies, those who started late had smaller vocabularies at 18 to 30 months ([Oller et al., 1999](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10466095/)). Answer the babble, right after it. If strings of syllables haven't started yet, that's still within the range; mention it at the next checkup.

## Body

Imitation is also the month's hearing check. The AAP advises telling your pediatrician if your baby doesn't babble or imitate any sounds by 7 months, since that can signal a hearing problem ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-4-to-7-Months.aspx)); not responding to sounds is on the same list ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Developmental-Milestones-7-Months.aspx)). CDC's advice is not to wait: ask about developmental screening, and know that your state's early intervention program offers a free evaluation without a referral or a diagnosis ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/families/concerned.html)). Most babies pass this check by accident, at the table, with a raspberry.

## Try today

### The echo game

- **Time:** 5 minutes, face to face
- **From the guide:** [Babble back](https://chorevia.com/learn/6-months#babble-back)

1. Sit face to face and wait for a sound: "ba," a raspberry, a squeal ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/6-months.html)).
2. Copy it exactly, same pitch and length, then stop talking ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-4-to-7-Months.aspx)).
3. Count three seconds. If a sound comes back, copy it again; if not, make the sound once more and wait.
4. After a few rounds, change it slightly, "ba" to "ma," and see whether they follow ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-4-to-7-Months.aspx)).

**Make it work:** The timing is the trick: right after their sound, not over it, and not whenever you happen to look up ([Goldstein et al., 2003](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12808137/)).

## Watch for

- **Normal:** sounds that don't repeat yet; repeated syllables like "bababa" come by 10 months in nearly all babies with normal hearing ([Oller et al., 1999](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10466095/)). **Call your pediatrician** if your baby doesn't babble or imitate any sounds by 7 months ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-4-to-7-Months.aspx)).
- **Normal:** ignoring you mid-play when something better is happening. **Call your pediatrician** if your baby doesn't respond to sounds ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Developmental-Milestones-7-Months.aspx)).
- **Normal:** a hoarse squeal after a day of squealing. **Call your pediatrician right away** for a fever higher than 104°F (40°C) ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever)); the AAP also says you may need to call about a temperature of 103°F (39.4°C) or higher in babies over 6 months ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/fever/Pages/Fever-and-Your-Baby.aspx)).

## For you

Your voice is the curriculum. Not more of it: the mothers in that experiment didn't talk more, they answered at the right moment ([Goldstein et al., 2003](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12808137/)). That's a relief on a day when you have nothing left to say. A "ba" back, on time, is the whole lesson.

Your voice needs an echo too. Say one true thing out loud to another adult today, and let them say it back to you. Partners count in every direction: about 10% of fathers have depression around a birth, with higher rates reported at 3 to 6 months after, though results varied widely ([Paulson & Bazemore, 2010](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20483973/)).

If you're the partner: your voice is a different instrument, and your baby is learning it too. Take the echo game at bath time.

## Sources

- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Language Development: 4 to 7 Months." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2009. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-4-to-7-Months.aspx
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Milestones by 6 Months." Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, updated 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/6-months.html
- Goldstein MH, King AP, West MJ. "Social interaction shapes babbling: testing parallels between birdsong and speech." *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*, 2003. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12808137/
- Oller DK, Eilers RE, Neal AR, Schwartz HK. "Precursors to speech in infancy: the prediction of speech and language disorders." *Journal of Communication Disorders*, 1999. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10466095/
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Developmental Milestones: 7 Months." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2009. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Developmental-Milestones-7-Months.aspx
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Concerned About Your Child's Development?" 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/families/concerned.html
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Fever" (symptom checker). HealthyChildren.org, accessed 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Fever and Your Baby." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2025. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/fever/Pages/Fever-and-Your-Baby.aspx
- Paulson JF, Bazemore SD. "Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis." *JAMA*, 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20483973/