Chorevia

Day 334 of 365 · Week 45

The special name

Last reviewed · 4 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

By 12 months most babies call a parent mama, dada, or another special name, and few other words is normal. Today, write down what they call each of you. The name they chose.

An Indian-American father lying on his back on a rug lifting his eleven-month-old daughter above him, her mouth open mid-sound, the mother on the sofa behind with a notebook, lamplight.

Somewhere in the house, a sound has been showing up at the same moments: when you walk in, when the father bends over the crib, when the dog goes past. Today is finding that sound and writing it down, because it may be a name.

Heart

By 1 year, most babies call a parent "mama," "dada," or another special name (CDC). Few or no other clear words at the first birthday is normal (CDC); trying to say one or two words besides "mama" or "dada" is a 15-month milestone (CDC). The AAP says some babies have 2 or 3 words by their first birthday, but most 12-month speech is babble with the ups and downs of real talk, and any sound your baby uses consistently for the same thing counts as a word (AAP). So the special name may be "mama." It may also be "ba," "nana," or a two-note yell, aimed at you every time.

Head

Names get learned by being consistent and being answered. The guide's advice: keep names the same ("cat" today, not "kitty" tomorrow), ask questions, and wait for an answer (AAP); repeat their sounds and add simple words (CDC). In a lab experiment, 9.5-month-olds whose mothers answered their babble right away quickly reshaped it using sounds from their mothers' speech; babies answered at random times didn't (Goldstein & Schwade, 2008). Which means the way a sound becomes your name is you answering to it. "Da? Yes, Dada's here." Every time.

Body

The ears come first. Bring it up if your baby isn't babbling lots of different sounds by 9 months or doesn't look when you call their name (CDC), and talk with your pediatrician if your baby seems not to see or hear well (AAP). A baby who hears "mama" a hundred times a day and turns to it is doing the listening half of the job. The guide's question is When do babies say their first words?

Try today

  1. Close on a notebook page with three short sounds written in two handwritings, an arrow from each to a name, the baby's hand reaching across the page for the pen.

    The name they chose

    Time: All day, one line at a time · Babble, gestures, and first words in the guide

    1. Put a page on the fridge with a column for each person in the house, and one for the dog.

    2. Each time a sound is aimed at one of you, the same sound, write it in that column: "ba-ba" under Dada, "mum" under Mama, "nnn" under the dog. Used the same way each time is the test (AAP).

    3. Answer to it every time, with the real name: "Mum? Mama! Here I am" (CDC).

    4. At bedtime, read the page. The sound with the most entries under one name is the name they chose.

    Make it work:

    Nothing today proves anything. "Mama" or "dada" has until 12 months, and other words have until 15 (CDC; CDC).

Watch for

  • Normal

    "dada" first, aimed at both of you, the cat, and the light switch; the target narrows after the sound.

    Bring it up

    if your baby doesn't look when you call their name (CDC).

  • Normal

    a quiet, pointing week after a loud one.

    Call your pediatrician right away

    if your baby has trouble breathing that isn't severe, or great trouble swallowing fluids or spit (AAP).

  • Normal

    a day of grunts instead of syllables with a new tooth on the way.

    Call your pediatrician right away

    for signs of dehydration: no urine in more than 8 hours, dark urine, a very dry mouth, and no tears (AAP).

For you

The mother in the hallway at night with her back to the nursery door, hand over her mouth, smiling at something she just heard through it, a nightlight glow at her feet.

Whatever they call you, it's yours. If it's "dada" and you're the mother, it's still yours: the first special name lands on whoever the sound was aimed at, and the 12-month list says "mama," "dada," or another special name, any of the three (CDC). If no name has come yet, the list says most babies have one by 12 months, not by eleven (CDC), and the AAP's line that most 12-month speech is babble with the ups and downs of real talk (AAP) describes a normal birthday. The sound through the nursery door at 3 a.m. counts, and so does the yell from the high chair. Write it down, and write the date, because you'll want to know when it started.

If you're the partner: answer to your sound today, whatever it is, every time, including the times it's clearly aimed at the dog.

Sources

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.

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