This is an English rendering of a Polish public-health reference. The care paths it names (112, night and holiday care NiŚOZ, primary care POZ) are Polish. This is not medical advice.

PL

This is not medical advice Life-threatening emergency (Poland): 112

Home › Speech

At what age does a child say their first words?

Applies to age: 8–18 months

In short

WHO lists single words (such as “mama,” “dada”) among the hearing and speech milestones by the end of the first year of life. If a child has not reached such a milestone, hearing loss should be suspected and a doctor or healthcare worker consulted as soon as possible.

Sources: WHO, Portal PacjentaChecked: Approved: October 9, 2026Report an error

What is normal

All claims: international norm

  • The WHO leaflet on hearing and speech lists single words, such as “mama,” “dada,” among the milestones by the end of the first year of life.
    Source: WHO – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    By the age of one year:

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

    Say single words like “mama”, “dada”

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • The WHO leaflet also lists turning when someone calls the child by name, and understanding common words, such as “water,” among the milestones by the end of the first year of life.
    Source: WHO – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    By the age of one year:

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

    Turn when someone calls by name and understand common words like ‘water’

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

When to worry

Some claims: international norm

  • If a child has not reached a hearing and speech milestone from the WHO leaflet, hearing loss should be suspected and a doctor or healthcare worker consulted as soon as possible.
    Source: WHO · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Suspect hearing loss, if your child did not reach the milestone.

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

    See a healthworker or doctor at the earliest.

    WHO · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • A child who does not react when spoken to may have a hearing problem.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Twoje dziecko może mieć problem ze słyszeniem, jeśli:

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

    Polish original

    nie reaguje, gdy do niego mówisz

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

See a doctor

  • If there are signs of possible hearing loss, such as a child not reacting when spoken to, consult a doctor and have your child’s hearing tested.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Skonsultuj się wtedy z lekarzem i zbadaj słuch swego dziecka.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

  • The Patient Portal (Portal Pacjenta) of the Ministry of Health (MZ) and the National Health Fund (NFZ) describes a child’s health checkup (bilans zdrowia) as an examination that makes it possible to check whether the child is developing properly and to detect developmental defects and diseases early.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Pozwala sprawdzić, czy Twoje dziecko rozwija się prawidłowo oraz wcześnie wykryć wady rozwojowe i choroby

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

  • The Patient Portal (MZ and NFZ) says that if a child develops differently from peers, it is worth consulting a specialist about whatever is worrying you and using the advice of a midwife, nurse or pediatrician. The source does not link this consultation to the timing of the checkup.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Warto jednak skonsultować ze specjalistą to, co Cię zaniepokoiło i korzystać z rad położnej, pielęgniarki czy pediatry.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

international norm “International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

International norm

“International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

Sources

  1. WHO (who.int)
    License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Source: WHO (who.int). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. WHO does not endorse this site or its content.
  2. Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl)
    License: CC BY 3.0 PL. Source: Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original.

See an error or outdated information? Report an error in this answer. Answer checked against the sources on October 20, 2026.

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