I've been wondering whether I should ask or not because I know some don't talk until they're two years old, and some have spoken their first word when they were 10 months old! My boy is 16 months old and kinda says "dada" for daddy and "baba" for mommy. He understands what your talking about when you ask him if he wants juice, milk, water, time to eat, binky, puppy (favorite stuffed animal) & no. But he doesn't really talk. I try to "un-worry" myself by thinking that Einstein didn't talk till he was 3 yrs old. But still should he be spitting some words out? He's a healthy boy, rarely gets colds, got sick majorly only twice (bad cold virus at 4 months old and then croup about 1 year 1 month old. I notice he likes to figure things out i.e. by plucking his fingers on the piano and looking underneath to realize that when he does that, something under there moves or looking behind or underneath things that make noise or move. I read to him every day, sometimes the same book 3 times I could almost memorize the story, lol! Do I need to worry?
BIG Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated. This puts me at ease as I try to tell myself that he'll talk when he's ready, but it's hard not to worry when you compare your child to others. I will definitely "hold" onto those links and thinking that if he's not talking much by 2, I'll have him checked. At daycare yesterday, he did say "mama" :)
Don't worry. Most children develop at their own pace. They don't automatically start saying words perfectly. My daughter didn't start talking in multiples until she was closer to 2 and as she has developed she went through the stuttering phase which is lessening now. Just another thing to be aware of.
I don't think there's anything to worry about right now. Boys are generally slower than girls in speaking and he is only 16 months. My son hardly talked at all until he was between 18 and 19 months. After that, he was learning new words everyday and his language just exploded. First one word at a time and then sentences.
He should be able to repeat, or attempt to repeat, many words that you say. By 18 months he should have a "rapidly expanding vocabulary of words" (they may not be "intelligible" to everyone, but familiar listeners would know what he's saying) or a "language explosion". Does he babble to himself and to you as if he really has something to say? If not, then I would be somewhat concerned but not paniced. Give it another couple months for that vocabulary explosion and if it's not happening, contact your local zero to three (Birth to Three) program. In the meantime continue to label everything you see when you are out and about and around the home.
I have a late talker. She was 2.5. I took her to speech pathologists and the like only to be told she was fine many times. Her fine motor skills were beyond that of the typical toddler. If he is hitting all his other milestones on time or early then probably there is nothing to worry about.
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You do not need to worry. Many kids, especially boys, don't talk until closer to 2 years. It wouldn't be a bad idea to bring this up with your pediatrician at your next appointment, if for no other reason than just to calm your worries, but, really, he is still well within the range of "normal."
My twins weren't talking at age 2 (besides twin speak) so I contacted the speech therapist at the local elementary school. They put me in touch with Luthern Social Services. LSS came to the home as frequently as we thought necessary to work with the kids. As soon as they turned 3, they went to speech class twice a week. They understood everything that was being said to them...but had no desire to talk to us. At the end of the school year, they were close to meeting all of the goals we had set for them (6 months ahead of schedule). When they went back to school in the Fall, the therapist said that the next class would be their graduation~they were above and beyond what was expected at their age.
The therapist didn't think that there were any issues that were keeping the kids from talking to us, she just said that when they were ready they would start talking.
Good luck to you!
Hi - It seems like there have a been a lot of speech and milestone questions lately. By 16 months I was already aware that there was some kind of difference in my son's speech even though he was a very interactive, resourceful and smart kids. He had amazing problem solving skills but his verbal skills were definitely behind. My doc wasnt too concerned even though I was. I finally found out about Child Find and set my son up for an appt at 2 yrs old and he qualified for speech therapy. Your son is not too young to start the process - Part C of the Child Find law covers kids birth-3
I gave you a link to the website for more information. Our testing and subsequent in-home weekly speech therapy were all paid for by the program and there were no income tests.
Good luck to you!
naw-my son was the same way..what works really good is just chat with him..books get mundane-it takes a while..but as you go thru your day just talk to him-ask him questions..believe it or not kids this age feel the pressure you put on them to advance-an it can be overwhelming-eventually as you carry on a conversation-he will start chatting back...good luck
Is your son more "physical"? Does he seem to do more w/ his hands and feet? According to my pediatrician, kids who are more physical are later with verbal skills. My daughter is 2 1/2 and just now starting to say more words, but they are all single syllable. My 2 older boys were late talkers as well. My 5 year old was almost 3 before he really started to talk BUT he started speaking clearly and full sentences when he did. He was just taking his time and taking everything in. I am not going to worry about my daughter's speech unless she is still not talking by the time she is 3. It doesn't really help to have them evaluated before then because they are still developing their skills and you don't want to add more worry by having some "professional" tell you there is a problem when there isn't. The biggest thing my pediatrician was concerned about was frustration. When kids can't communicate what they want it can lead to melt downs and I have had only a few of those when I couldn't figure out what my daughter wanted.
From the sound of it, your son is too busy trying to figure out how things work to talk.
we recently went thru the same thing...our son is now 23 months old and says new words everyday...at 16 months he wasnt saying much of anything at all but he did understand when we asked him things like you mentioned (juice, milk, puppy, etc.) he really didnt start talking until he was about 20 months and now we celebrate 1-2 new words a day! i guess my point is to just give him a few more months and see what happens - I am sure he'll be talking in no time!
i wouldnt worry. my son is 16 months old and doesnt talk much either. i was worrying a lot too, but in the passed month his speech has really picked up. he would just rather point to it and then nod or say "uh-huh" when you ask if you have the right thing or would rather grab your hand and pull you to what he wants.
my son is 13 months and use " mama"for everything but he understand what you say to him and he points thing and he is very active always looking something to do and a new place to hide(he loves to hide around the house) and my little girl she says yes no ,hi,bye i am not woried about him because my older son talks when he was about almost 3 years son i really enjoy hearing the toddler talk ,
I don't think you need to worry. (I'm a toddler teacher so I have seen that children vary widely with this.) However if are are really worried, you can always call LPS and have an assessment. (This is free) In the meantime, you can encourage talking by when he points to something even if you know what he wants ask him do you want milk or peas? do you want the book or the car? When you're reading the books talk about the pictures and have him show you things in the book. I think at the 18 month check your doctor will ask about how many words he is saying. If you start keeping a list now you may actually surprise yourself with what he is saying.
I read thru the posts and one thing noone touched on yet was if he has been focusing his energy on something else. My daughter didn't start walking until 15 1/2 months (13.5 adjusted for prematurity). Before then she really didn't have more than two words. The week after she got walking down, her vocabulary multiplied every day. Now at 21months she's doing simple sentences. Is it possible that he's been focusing on exploring/learning other things that are taking all his energy now? Maybe when he masters that he'll start spewing out all the words he is understanding you say.
This link may help in terms of developmental milestones.
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddle...
It sounds like he's completely on track with where he needs to be from what you're sharing with us.
My son didn't really talk until after his second birthday - even kids that started before him are harder to understand now. Our daughter started much earlier, but she had an older brother showing her the ropes.
We asked our pediatrician with our son, and he reassured us that he was right on track. It's hard not to compare our kids to other people, but as long as he's curious, engaging, and comprehends you (and can communicate in his own way), I'd say he's perfect.
I wouldn't worry. I have a late talker as well. She just turned 2 and has doubled her vocabulary almost overnight recently. She walked at 8 months but didn't start saying things til around your son's age...even now her vocab is very limited...but she can understand everything!
Momma, daddy,juicy,no,why,nite-nite,bye-bye, auntie,matthew, cereal,what, brother....this is her basic vocab right this minute. The doc isn't worried, she is the baby and hasn't had to talk....might be the same with your son....is he the first? When they no you get them whatever they want there really isn't any incentive for them to be more verbal.
Hope this helps!
