speech development

Boys tend to talk later than girls; they also acquire language skills at a slower rate than girls.

Now new research may point to a reason why. In a newly published study, umbilical cord blood was collected from nearly 900 Australian newborns and tested for testosterone.

Newborn boys are exposed to 10 times the levels of testosterone before birth compared to girls.

(University of Washington) Pacifier, bottle and finger sucking may be detrimental to a baby's speech development if the habit goes on too long.

Persistence of these habits is now associated with an increased risk of speech disorders in preschool children. The children are more likely to have difficulty producing certain word sounds and to simplify their pronunciation.