Young children tend to have a natural interest in animals big and small. If you have a pet in the family, quite often your pets name will be the first word your baby will try to sound out. Young children will most likely sound out animal noises as they are easy to make and repeat the sound like “baa baa”, or “woof, woof”.
Young children observe animals very closely, they will watch the way they move and sound. This is fascinating to them! They may even try to imitate the animal. You will often see by taking your child to the local children’s farm if you have one, they will pick up noises and sounds and quite often continue to imitate these, especially if they have a book that associates with an animal they have seen or a nursery rhyme they may know.
These words that a baby will learn and the observations that they are making are important in their learning. They will get to learn about where animals come from, how we after domestic animals and wildlife and how animals communicate with each other.
Remember to point things out to young children when you are with them. For example, if you hear the sound of a bird, always name it, copy it and name it again, this will help your baby to begin to learn which sound goes with which animal.