Does Your Baby Use Gestures but No Words to Communicate with You?

Let’s talk about what to do if your baby has no words yet, but uses gestures like pulling or pointing.

If your child can’t say “mommy” or “daddy,” but pulls you to a location, here’s my rule:
👉Move your lips before you move your legs.

If your child starts pulling you, pause and say “mommy come” or “daddy come.”
Look at your child and wait about three seconds.
Then allow them to pull you where they want to go.

Once you get there, model words out loud.

For example, if your child pulls you to the kitchen, points to the cabinet, and wants a cookie—say the word “cookie” out loud. Take it out and hold it near your face while you say the word so your child can see and hear it.

Try to avoid words like this or that. Those words don’t build vocabulary. If children hear them often, they’ll use those words instead of learning new ones.

Here’s the key:
If a child is not using words to communicate needs and wants, then we have to change the environment.

And yes—some of you are thinking, “We do this all the time.”
Some of you do.

But parents are very busy people. You’re not only keeping yourself alive—you’re keeping another human being alive too. That’s not easy.

Sometimes parents don’t realize they’re not consistently modeling words during daily routines. I’ve seen parents say they model language—and then hand their child items without saying a word.

That doesn’t make you a bad parent. That makes you human.

But if we want to change behavior—using more words—we have to change the environment.
That means saying words out loud and holding children accountable for using the words they hear.

So start here:
How does your child get your attention?
And what do you do in response?

Your response determines what your child does next.

If your child consistently hears the word “banana” while pointing to the yellow fruit, eventually—they will say it.

As caregivers, we have the power to create an environment where language grows.