While conducting the development assessment of an infant the nurse notes that he is able to produce bisyllable like Mama, dada etc. What is likely age of baby?

1. A

   6 month

2. B

   9 month

3. C

   12 month

4. D

   15 month

Appeared in: RML Lucknow - 2021

Explanation

• At approximately 9 months of age, infants typically achieve the milestone of bisyllabic babbling.
• This involves combining a consonant and a vowel and repeating it, such as 'ma-ma' or 'da-da'.
• At this stage, these sounds are usually non-specific, meaning the infant does not yet associate the word 'mama' exclusively with their mother.
• This milestone follows the development of monosyllabic babbling, which occurs around 6 months.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

• Option A: At 6 months, an infant's language development is typically at the monosyllabic babbling stage, where they produce single syllables like 'ba', 'pa', or 'da'.
• Option C: By 12 months, an infant usually progresses from non-specific babbling to using 1-2 words with specific meaning. For example, they would say 'Mama' to specifically call their mother.
• Option D: At 15 months, a child's vocabulary typically expands to several words, and they can follow simple commands. Bisyllabic babbling is a much earlier milestone.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

• Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Infant language development milestones to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
• Nurses must be proficient in assessing developmental milestones to identify potential delays early.
• A significant delay in language milestones could be an early sign of a hearing impairment or a more global developmental disorder, warranting further investigation and referral.
• What if? If a 12-month-old infant is not yet babbling or making any consonant sounds, this is a red flag. The nurse should perform a hearing screen and refer the child for a comprehensive developmental and audiological evaluation.

How to Approach the Question

• First, identify the key developmental milestone described in the question stem. Here, it is the production of 'bisyllable like Mama, dada'.
• Recall the typical sequence and timing of infant language development.
• Differentiate between monosyllabic babbling (single sounds), bisyllabic babbling (repeated sounds), and words with meaning.
• Match the described milestone (bisyllabic babbling) to the correct age in the options provided.
• Eliminate options that correspond to earlier (monosyllabic) or later (words with meaning) milestones.

Concept Tested & Keywords

• Concept Tested: Infant language development milestones
• Stem keywords: development assessment, infant, bisyllable, Mama, dada
• Lead-in keywords: What is likely age
• Clinical cues: Age/sex group narrows the expected diagnosis, intervention, or normal reference range.

Question ID

Qf-1bJqFoSUT4NcyMwg2Yd

Copy ID

Reference Book

E6 Ghai Essential Pediatrics(pp 26-904 of 913) p. 34-36