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When should my child start using gestures?

Firstly, what is a gesture?

Gestures are a prelinguistic (pre-talking) skill that are crucial for communicative development. Children use gestures intentionally to communicate with their hands, body or facial movements.

  • Pointing
  • Waving
  • Clapping
  • Requesting to be picked up
  • Shaking/Nodding head

When should I be concerned if my child is not using gestures consistently?

If your child does not use any ‘gestures’ at the age of 12 months, it would be worthwhile reaching out to a Speech Pathologist who can assist you with your child’s gesture development.

How can I help support my child to use gestures to communicate?

  1. Model the use of gestures when playing with dolls or bears
  2. When people visit your home, wave hello and goodbye. Model waving to your child until they imitate the gesture.
  3. Model shaking and nodding your head when you are saying “yes” or “no”.
  4. Encourage your child to request objects/toys with a pointing gesture
  5. Singing nursery rhymes

Written by Emily Baxter

Blossom Rural Director & Speech Pathologist (B.SP, CPSP)

"As a Speech Pathologist, I love working with rural families on their child’s literacy, speech and language skills. I opened Blossom Rural in January 2021 after noticing the lack of Speech Pathology services in my local Far Western NSW region. The number of rural children, living on properties and remote towns, who were not able to access regular Speech Pathology intervention without driving to a major capital city, was astounding. These were the families I had always hoped to work alongside and provide an accessible service to. I grew up in Broken Hill before heading to Adelaide for Boarding School at 12 years of age followed by university. The healthcare gap between country and city was very obvious!"

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