Dada Most Commonly Uttered First Word

Sorry mamas, when it comes to a child's first word, it seems that Daddy wins out.

According to a poll just released by England's first "Communications Champion" Jean Gross, "Dada" is the first word uttered most often by tykes. The YouGov online survey showed that 15 percent of little ones said "Dada" first. In second place? The very similar "Daddy" at 13 percent. Ten percent say "Mama" first, while another 10 percent say "Dad."

Way to go fathers, but don't get a swelled head just yet. According to the BBC, speech experts generally think the "da" sound is easier for babies to say than "m." Overall, it seems to matter less what a kid says, rather than when he says it, because speech delays are serious.

"Our ability to communicate is fundamental and underpins everything else. Learning to talk is one of the most important skills a child can master in the 21st century," Gross told the London Daily Telegraph.

In some positive news for females, the study showed that girls tend to speak their first word first. Overall, 34 percent of girls said their first word by nine months, compared to 27 percent for boys.

And while expected words like "mama," "dada," "cat" and "no," topped the popular words list, in some cases words including "Hoover" and "beer" were said first. (We'll let you draw your own conclusion as to why.)

Gross expressed concern that almost one in six children have difficulty learning to talk, with boys having more problems than girls. ''It is essential that all children get the help they need from skilled professionals as early as possible. The lack of this is cause for great concern because the results of this poll shows that parents place learning to talk and listen as a top priority for their children, whatever their social class, and do a great deal to help them learn to communicate," Gross said.

But in heartening news, the poll showed that kids whose parents read and sing nursery rhymes to them are likely to talk earlier than their peers because those activities boost language skills. So turn off the TV, mom and dad, and snuggle up next to your kid for a good read. It's not only a good bonding experience, but a language-boosting exercise, too.

And in case you're wondering, here's the complete top ten list of words first uttered by British kids: