When Do Babies Start Cooing? A Guide to Baby’s First Language Milestone
Most babies start cooing around 6 to 8 weeks, and parents can encourage these sweet sounds through talking, singing, and playful interaction.
Language is something that connects us. It helps us share love, laughter, and all the little moments in between. For babies, that connection begins long before they can say their first word. It starts with cooing, those soft “oooh” and “ahhh” sounds that make every parent’s heart melt.
Cooing is more than just adorable. It’s one of your baby’s first ways of exploring their voice. In this article, we’ll talk about when babies usually start cooing, why they do it, and how you can encourage this exciting step in their growth.
What is Cooing?
Cooing is one of the first ways babies begin to use their voices. In the first few months, you might hear your little one make soft vowel sounds like “oooh,” “ahhh,” or “eee.” These gentle noises, known as coos, are the start of your baby’s language journey.
Cooing is different from crying or babbling. Crying is how babies signal hunger, discomfort, or tiredness, while babbling comes later, when they start experimenting with combinations of consonants and vowels like “ba” or “da.” Cooing, on the other hand, happens when babies are relaxed and content.
Researchers have found that these early sounds help babies learn how to control their breath, tongue, and lips. These are all important skills for speaking later on. Moreover, cooing teaches them about social interaction, as they start to notice that their sounds can make you respond by smiling or talking to them (1).
When Do Babies Start Cooing?
Most babies start cooing around 6 to 8 weeks old, though every baby develops at their own pace. Some babies may start cooing a little earlier, while others take a few extra weeks to get there, and that’s completely normal.
Around this same time, many babies also begin to smile socially by responding to familiar faces or voices. Both smiling and cooing are early signs of your baby’s growing social awareness and their desire to connect.
Factors like your baby’s personality, environment, and how much interaction they get can all influence when cooing begins. For instance, a naturally social baby might experiment with sounds sooner, while a quieter baby may take more time before finding their “voice.”
In fact, studies show that when parents respond sensitively to their baby’s cues early on, it can positively impact the child’s later language development (2).
Why Do Babies Coo?
Cooing is both a learning tool for developing speech and a social signal that helps babies connect with their caregivers. They start to understand that their sounds matter and that they can interact with the people around them.
When babies coo, they are practicing the movements of their mouth, tongue, and vocal cords. These are skills they will later use for words and sentences.
At the same time, cooing is a way for babies to communicate and engage. These sounds happen during calm, happy moments and let babies see how their noises can get a response, like a smile, a laugh, or a comforting word from their parents.
How to Encourage Your Baby to Coo
Many parents wonder if cooing can be encouraged, and the good news is that it absolutely can! You can support your baby’s early vocal development every day during everyday moments like feeding, playtime, or cuddle sessions.
Here are some effective ways to encourage your baby to coo:
Imitate your baby’s coos and expressions
When your baby makes a cooing sound, copy it back to them. This helps them learn the back-and-forth nature of communication. Smiling and matching their facial expressions makes the interaction even more engaging.
Be sure to make eye contact while responding. Eye contact helps your baby focus on your face, which is a key part of learning social cues and understanding emotions. It strengthens the connection between you.
Talk and sing often
Regularly talking, narrating your actions, or singing to your baby introduces them to the rhythm, melody, and patterns of language. Even simple phrases like “Look at the toy!” or soft lullabies expose them to new words and sounds, which helps their brains recognize how speech works.
A study from the University of Cambridge found that babies learn language best through rhythm and singsong patterns, such as those in nursery rhymes, rather than by individual speech sounds alone (3).
We play familiar rhymes like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, or The Wheels on the Bus in the background with gentle ukulele-style music to make it soothing and engaging for our baby.
Use a higher pitch
Babies respond well to slightly higher-pitched voices, which naturally grab their attention and make listening more enjoyable. Adjusting your tone when you speak or sing can make interactions more fun and encourage cooing.
When adults speak to babies, they often make their voice higher and more musical than normal speech. This style is found in many cultures and may be something humans are naturally wired to do (4).
Exaggerate your lip movements
Overemphasizing how you form sounds — opening your mouth wide or shaping vowels clearly — gives your baby a visual guide for making similar sounds. This helps them learn to coordinate their lips and tongue, which is essential for speech development.
Praise and smile when your baby coos
Positive reinforcement goes a long way. When your baby coos, respond with warmth. Smile, clap softly, or say something like “Good job!” This lets your baby know their sounds are special and inspires them to keep exploring new sounds.
When to Talk to Your Pediatrician
Every baby develops differently, so it’s normal if your little one starts cooing a bit earlier or later than others. Most babies begin around 6 to 8 weeks, but some take a little longer. What’s most important is that your baby is alert, reacts to sounds, and enjoys looking at faces.
Still, you can check in with your pediatrician if your baby isn’t making any sounds (like cooing or gurgling) by about 3 months, doesn’t respond to your voice, or seems unusually quiet during playtime.
Sometimes a delay in cooing can be related to hearing or developmental differences, but usually it’s nothing to worry about. Your doctor can help you understand what’s going on and guide you on the next steps.
What Comes After Cooing?
Once your baby has mastered cooing, a whole new world of sounds and language milestones begins. Your little one starts experimenting with different noises and getting closer to actual words. Here are some of the next language milestones you can look forward to:
- Babbling (around 4–6 months): Your baby will start combining consonants and vowels, producing sounds like “ba,” “da,” or “ma.”
- Imitation of sounds (around 6–9 months): Babies begin copying the tones, rhythms, and gestures they hear from caregivers.
- First words (around 10–15 months): Simple, meaningful words like “mama” or “dada” start to appear.
- Gestures and nonverbal communication (6–12 months): Pointing, waving, and nodding complement vocal sounds, showing your baby’s understanding of social interaction.
- Understanding simple language cues (around 9–12 months): Babies start responding to what you say. For example, if you say, “Time for your bottle,” your baby may turn toward you or reach out their hands. They might respond when you call their name, or slow down what they’re doing if you say “Wait.”
Takeaways
Watching your baby coo for the first time is such an exciting moment! Those sweet “oooh” and “ahhh” sounds aren’t just cute. They’re your baby’s first steps in learning language and connecting with you.
Encourage cooing during everyday moments by talking, singing, copying their sounds, and smiling in response. And remember, every baby develops at their own pace. If you ever feel unsure, don’t hesitate to check in with your pediatrician.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do babies stop cooing?
Babies typically start to phase out cooing around 3 to 4 months of age as they move on to more advanced vocalizations, like babbling, which includes consonant–vowel combinations such as “ba,” “da,” or “ma.”
However, cooing doesn’t disappear suddenly. It gradually blends into these more speech-like sounds as babies practice controlling their mouth, tongue, and vocal cords.
Do all babies coo the same way?
No, not all babies coo the same way. Each baby has a unique voice and style of cooing. Some may make long, drawn-out “oooh” sounds, while others produce shorter, higher-pitched squeals. Moreover, some babies coo often throughout the day, while others might only do it during calm or happy moments.
These differences are normal and reflect your baby’s personality, temperament, and even their early experiences with sounds and interactions.
Do babies coo more when they’re happy?
Yes! Babies usually coo more when they’re happy and comfortable. Cooing often happens during moments when they feel calm, secure, and engaged. For example, your little one might coo after a satisfying feeding, while being gently changed, or when they’re gazing at your face and responding to your voice.
Sources:
- ScienceDirect. (n.d.). Cooing sound. In ScienceDirect Topics. Retrieved October 12, 2025, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/cooing-sound
- Endevelt-Shapira, Y., Bosseler, A. N., Mizrahi, J. C., Meltzoff, A. N., & Kuhl, P. K. (2024). Mother–infant social and language interactions at 3 months are associated with infants’ productive language development in the third year of life. Infant Behavior and Development, 75, 101929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2024.101929
- Grierson, J. (2023, December 1). Singing to babies is vital to help them learn language, say scientists. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/dec/01/singing-to-babies-is-vital-to-help-them-understand-language-say-scientists
- Aggarwal-Schifellite, M. (2023, November 9). When you talk silly to baby, the world joins in. Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/07/people-around-world-tend-to-talk-to-babies-in-higher-voice/