It happened. Just as everyone told me it would. My baby found her voice and started saying “dada” — just one day, out of the blue: dadadadadadadada.
I wasn’t surprised, because every mom out there has laughingly said, “Just wait, you carry them, you take care of them and then they say dada before mama.”
And they were right.
But why? Why do babies say dada first? Is there a real reason they say it first? Does it mean they recognize Dad before Mom? Or is “dada” simply easier for babies to say?
I went straight to the pediatrician and asked.
Why Babies Say Dada First
“Don’t take offence if your baby says dada first; 99.9% of them do,” said my pediatrician.
He’s only had one patient in his practice ever that said “mama” first, and that’s because she named the bottle “mama,” so the baby, reaching for the bottle, would say “mama, mama.”
He also assured me the baby isn’t necessarily saying dada and identifying her father. She’s just saying dada because she found those sounds first.
Phew. Okay.
Not that I don’t want her to identify her dad — because he’s a wonderful dad — but hey, I’ve spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears the first few months of her life and I really want a “mama.”
Is Dada Easier for Babies to Say Than Mama?
When babies first begin experimenting with sounds, they aren’t really choosing words the way adults do. They’re learning how to move their mouths, tongues and lips and discovering which combinations of sounds they can make.
That’s why those adorable strings of “dadadadada,” “mamamamama” and “bababababa” start showing up.
What sounds like a baby’s first word may actually begin as babbling. Eventually, babies start making the connection between certain sounds and the people or things around them.
So if your baby spends an entire afternoon happily yelling “dada” at the dog, the ceiling fan and her bowl of mashed bananas, Dad may not want to claim victory just yet.
Of course, that probably won’t stop him.
Does Saying Dada First Mean Baby Loves Dad More?
Thankfully, no.
A baby’s first sounds aren’t a ranking of the people she loves most. Saying “dada” before “mama” doesn’t mean your baby has chosen a favorite parent or somehow forgotten about the person who carried her for nine months.
That distinction is especially important when you’re a tired new mom who has spent months feeding, rocking, changing, soothing and waking up at all hours of the night.
“Dada” can feel a little unfair.
But hearing your baby experiment with language is also one of those amazing milestones that reminds you just how quickly she is changing.
When Dada Takes Over the Restaurant
That night, we go out to an early dinner, the three of us. The restaurant is packed and out of nowhere, at the top of her lungs, she starts it again:
DADADADA.
An older lady sitting next to us said, “Awe, she wants her daddy, how sweet. And she looks JUST like him too. She hasn’t said mama yet?”
Nope!
She hasn’t said mama yet, and she doesn’t look a thing like me.
Oh well, it can always change, I suppose.
I truthfully don’t feel that bad about it. In fact, I know it makes my husband proud that she’s saying dada. It lights up his face every time.
It’s kind of great.
Even if I’m still waiting patiently for my turn.
When Do Babies Start Talking?
Babies begin learning how to communicate long before they say an actual word. During their first year, they listen to voices, watch facial expressions and experiment with an increasingly complicated collection of sounds.
Those early coos eventually turn into babbling, and repeated sounds like “ba-ba,” “ma-ma” and “da-da” begin appearing.
As babies get older, the babbling starts to sound more like real conversation. They may change their tone, pause as though waiting for an answer and imitate some of the sounds they hear adults making.
Eventually, one of those sounds becomes an intentional word.
That’s the really exciting part.
There is also a wide range of normal when it comes to language development, so babies don’t all start babbling or talking according to exactly the same schedule.
When Does Dada Become a Real Word?
There’s a difference between a baby who happens to babble “dadadada” and one who looks across the room, sees Dad and announces “Dada!”
Once your baby consistently uses a particular sound to refer to the same person or object, you’re getting much closer to a true first word.
And that’s why figuring out a baby’s actual first word can sometimes be surprisingly difficult.
Was that “mama” really Mama?
Was “dada” actually Daddy?
Or did the baby simply discover a particularly entertaining combination of syllables and repeat it 487 times?
Whatever the answer, it’s fascinating to watch language begin to emerge.
So, Why Do Babies Say Dada First?
If you’ve been wondering why babies say dada first, don’t take it personally.
Your baby’s earliest “dadas” may simply be part of the natural process of experimenting with sounds rather than a declaration that Dad has officially won the parenting popularity contest.
Soon enough, those random strings of syllables begin turning into recognizable words — and eventually an entire vocabulary.
It’s pretty incredible when you think about it.
I just hope the first word my baby will truly understand is mama. 🙂
