How to Teach a Baby to Make Animal Sounds

If you feel silly making animal sounds to your baby, you shouldn't. Most animals sounds are easy for infants to make and practicing them can help produce some of their very first words, says Becca Jarzynski, pediatric speech-language therapist, in an article for "Child Talk." Additionally, young children often like to look at and learn about animals, making them the perfect theme for starting speech development.

Things You'll Need

  • Animal picture books
  • Animal figurines or soft toys

Instructions

    • 1

      Read an animal picture book to your baby on a daily basis. Teach him the name of each animal by pointing to it as you say it out loud. Make the sound for each animal immediately after you say its name. For example, point to a cow, say "Cow" and make the sound of a cow -- "moo." Repeat this process regularly with all the most common animals, such as dogs, cats, sheep and pigs.

    • 2

      Ask your baby questions about animals, suggests Karen George, speech-language pathologist. During playtime, say "What does a cow say?" Pause for just a second before making the sound of a cow. Do it clearly and concisely. Replace "cow" with other common animals. Repeat your questions several times throughout the day. After a few days, pause for a few seconds before telling your baby the answer.

    • 3

      Point out common animals whenever you see them on television, at the petting zoo or at the park. Jarzynski suggests playing with small animal figurines or animal soft toys, making them say the correct sound while you hold the toy in front of your face or walk it across the floor. Get down on the floor and play at being an animal, making the correct sound. Don't worry about looking ridiculous -- your baby will find it all highly entertaining.

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