Clap! Babies learn to communicate by waving, clapping, and pointing between 9 and 12 months old. They pick up gestures by mimicking their parents and other caregivers, then learn to apply them in the right situations – using a wave to say goodbye, pointing out an object that grabs their interest, and clapping at something that excites them. Gestures help your baby’s language development, so encourage your little one to clap, wave, point, and use other gestures.
IN THIS ARTICLE
- When do babies clap, wave, and point?
- How babies start using gestures
- How to encourage your baby to clap, wave, and point
- What if your baby isn’t clapping, waving, and pointing?
- After your baby starts clapping, what’s next?
Your baby is a social creature, and gestures like waving, clapping, and pointing are skills they learn to communicate with others.
From birth, babies know how to get the point across by crying when they’re hungry, tired, or upset. As babies’ brains develop, they pick up social skills and start learning language so they can have more complex interactions with others. Gestures are an important tool for communication, much like smiles, laughter, and words.
When do babies clap, wave, and point?
Many babies begin clapping, waving, and pointing between 9 and 12 months old.
The exact timeline is interesting, because some babies begin to imitate gestures between 8 and 12 months, but might not use the gestures meaningfully until 15 to 18 months.
For instance, your baby may be able to wave around 9 months, but may not use waving to say goodbye until closer to 12 months.
While many babies will figure out clapping around 9 months, at first this may be nothing more than a fun game of copycat. Closer to 15 months, most babies will be able to use clapping to express feelings of excitement.
Toward the end of their first year, your baby will learn to point. But many babies won’t use pointing to communicate or draw a parent’s attention to something until a few months later.
How babies start using gestures
It takes much of the first year for your baby to gain the coordination and skill to clap, wave, and point. Here’s how it happens.
Newborn to 3 months
As a newborn, your baby’s arm and leg movements are jerky. Their gross motor skills (using big muscles) develop first, and as they reach 2 months old, their arm movements become smoother and more controlled.
Your baby isn’t just developing their muscle strength and control. They’re also learning about the world around them using their senses. Everything they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell is a new piece of information their brain uses for development. Your baby is watching and listening to you and other caregivers to learn about socializing and communication.
4 to 8 months
Around 4 months old, your baby’s fine motor skills will begin to improve. These allow your baby to make small movements like grasping toys that are placed in their hand.
Socializing is likely one of your baby’s favorite activities. They’re probably babbling, smiling, and cooing to communicate with their caregivers. Your baby will begin to have “conversations” by returning your smiles or responding to the things you say or do with noises.
9 to 12 months
At this age, gestures will emerge. First you’ll notice your baby imitating others when they clap, wave, and point. After they turn one, most babies will begin to use these gestures meaningfully, to communicate something with the people around them. They’ll point at something they want their caregivers to notice, clap when they’re excited, and wave goodbye.
How to encourage your baby to clap, wave, and point
Gestures actually enhance your baby’s language learning – whether you’re making them or your baby is. Babies exposed to a lot of gestures appear to pick up language more quickly, and have bigger vocabularies.
Also, babies’ ability to use gestures between 9 and 16 months old may predict their language ability two years later. That’s why many experts emphasize learning 16 gestures by 16 months old. Suggested gestures are:
9 months old: Give something, shake “no”
10 months old: Reach, raise arms to be picked up
11 months old: Show objects, early wave (wiggling hand)
12 months old: Open-hand point with fingers spread, tap with fingers together
13 months old: Clap, blow a kiss
14 months old: Point with an index finger, make “shhh” gesture with index finger
15 months old: head nod or thumbs up to mean “yes,” wave in front of face to mean “stinky” or put hand up to mean “wait”
16 months old: Symbolic gestures like a high 5, universal peace sign, or shrug with arms out to mean “I don’t know”
You and other caregivers have a major influence on the gestures your baby sees and learns. Here’s how to encourage your little one:
- Use gestures when you’re with your baby. Put on some music and clap, wave goodbye when you leave the room or drop them at daycare, and point out colorful objects throughout your home.
- Consider teaching your little one baby sign language. Repetition helps babies attach meaning to gestures and signs, so make a habit of using the same signs while saying the associated word aloud often throughout the day.
- Tummy time and playing on the floor helps babies develop their motor skills. Create a safe area where they can wave their legs and arms, practice a mini pushup, and reach for baby-safe toys.
- Play simple, age-appropriate games to teach your baby new skills and gestures like clapping, waving, and pointing. Your baby can learn a lot from pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo!
What if your baby isn’t clapping, waving, and pointing?
Most babies will start using gestures before their first birthday. If your baby hasn’t shown signs of waving, clapping, or pointing by age 1, bring it up with their doctor and ask for a developmental screening.
In some cases, failure to learn or use gestures is an early sign of autism.
If your child has a developmental delay, it’s important to catch it as early as possible and get help from a specialist or early intervention program. This can make a big difference in your child’s development.
After your baby starts clapping, what’s next?
Once your baby can clap, wave, and point, they’ll continue to learn new gestures and many exciting social skills.
- Around 15 months, your baby will hug a baby doll and begin to return affection to their favorite people. Babies this age can imitate other children, perhaps picking up toys and dropping them in their toy bucket after watching older siblings or friends do the same.
- Many babies will participate in getting dressed around 18 months by sticking out one arm for you to put on a sleeve or putting a foot in the air when they see you grab a sock. At this age, they’ll use their new pointing skills to show you things they’re interested in, like a dog walking by outside your window or a toy on the other side of the room.
- At 2 years old, toddlers can point out objects when asked. You can practice this when reading, asking them to find characters and animals in theFaut illustrations. Most toddlers will blow kisses, shake their head yes and no, and point to one body part or more when prompted.
- Around 3 years old, your child will be able to put their dexterity to work by stringing large beads, drawing a circle, using a fork, and putting some clothes on without help.
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