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How is your 17 month olds speech developing & how clearly can they speak???

Renee - posted on 09/07/2010 ( 20 moms have responded )

My 17 m old Son is speaking around 30 words, he is my first & I havent been around babies so I really have no idea what to expect.... He can say usual nouns, but I am curious of what is classed as a word & does it have to be clear to be counted?

For example, he cant say the K sound. He can say bike but it sounds like bite, car is dar, cat bat, book is bot! and also S sounds. He can say Bus driver, his favourite at the moment but its buh driver..... brother is bro(d)er. Small mistakes like this, Tah is Dah!!! I read to him often & talk him through everything, he has 3 older half brothers who are teens but he does see 3 kids his age weekly but doesnt attend preschool or daycare yet.

If you have any advice or experience or even better, expertise I would love your opinion on where he is developmentally!

Regarding everything else he is advanced. He walked, teethed, laughed and so forth early. He can understand everything I ask of him and is very smart at pointing to objects or following instructions so he can obviously hear me correctly. He can scribble well, and is showing toilet training readiness so everything else at the stage is on track but I am a little concerned about his speech, just really how clear he speaks and certain sounds....

Thanks in advance.

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Alefiya - posted on 09/23/2012

My son is 17 and 1/2 months old. He speaks about 2-3 words. Like baby,daddy and sometimes his own name. But i still feel that he should speak more words. He understands everything but he doesnt want to speak. He doesnt want point out things he wants. I read him books regularly.Should i be concerned?

Jen - posted on 05/08/2012

My 17 mo daughter says only a few words and I'm very concerned. I know you are not supposed to compare children but her brother was talking 2-3 word sentences by the time he was her age and ALL babies seem more advanced than her. Should I be worried???

Samantha - posted on 10/25/2010

my son can only say mama, dada, huh, and no so far and its rare that he does

Michelle - posted on 09/24/2010

Lol my 17 month old can only clearly say Mama, Dada, Cici, Dog, Ball, Nah-Night, Bye, Kiss Kiss, That, Yes and No. He also says Hmm when he wants me to repeat something to him. He babbles like a mad man but none of it really makes any sense. I would say your son is rather advanced. As mentioned before, pediatricians only expect them to know about 5 words at their 18 month checkup so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Mindy - posted on 09/22/2010

I have 17 month old as well and had the same concern. His older brother was talking full sentences by this age, so I was worried but found that his development is normal. I would count all those as words. mine pronounces brother as bruh...sounds like your son is on track.

Marnie - posted on 09/20/2010

the expectation of an 18 month old at their checkup is to have 3-5 words (if they do not then they might be referred for a speech eval) so it sounds like most of you that are worried about pronunciation don't need to be at this stage. developmentally those sounds will come with time.

Jessica - posted on 09/15/2010

This has always been on my mind...Myles is picking things up more...and will respond if you askj him a question but everything always ends up back at "ugh" he points and says "ugh". I've tried to hold things back when he doesn't say "juice" or "milk"...and no they are not perfect words but he tries at it...but sometimes I am at a loss of how to encourage him to say the actual word or at least try. He can say prob approx 20 words give or take...I never thought it was a big deal but reading this I know all kids progress differently but compared to other kids his age that we are around he seems to be more advanced....but I am thinking should I just try to spend more time with him and just practice?

Holly - posted on 09/15/2010

It seems like you're expecting a little bit too much from him. Boys in general have a harder time with language and are also much more likely to have minor speech impediments. I'm sure you're aware that at 17 months, there are no real expectations for speech development other than the basics (mama, dada, etc) so obviously your son is ahead of most.

Kerry - posted on 09/15/2010

i think you are doing all the right things, just pronounce the word correctly back to him every time he says it wrong and he will eventually get it. :)

Darcy - posted on 09/14/2010

I have been wondering this same thing about my boy and plan on discussing it with his doctor at his 18 month appointment. Right now all I do is repeat the word back to him so he hears the sounds.

Melissa - posted on 09/13/2010

My first son didn't really say anything but about 10 words untill he turned two. Then it all came out non stop. My second son is continuing in his footsteps it seems. He has not really started talking yet either except for a few words that are more gutteral sounds than actually words. I'm hoping that by the time he is two he will also start talking just like his brother did. I found that at this age and stage they are more absorbing the sounds and how to form them than really using them. I think if he has 30 words that is great, and reading to him is wonderful. Keep up what you are doing and if by any chance you get to the two to two and a half mark and he hasn't progressed then talk to your Doctor about it.

Nicole - posted on 09/12/2010

sounds like he is right on track. just keep reading and doing what your doing

Lizelle - posted on 09/11/2010

It's very normal for them not to pronounce everything perfect. Even by 3 years old they still struggle with some sounds. At this point it's more important that they link a word (sound) to a specific meaning. Sounds like he is doing better than most at this age. From now on their vocabulary just explodes.

My 16 1/2 month old is talking about 50 words and this week started popping 2 word sentences around. It's so exciting. But I'm sure it helps a lot that she's got a 3 year old bother that is constantly chatting to her. Only problem is he is busy learning a second language and now she's picking up some of those words. Kind of confuses me sometimes.

Keep reading to him. It's a great way to grow their vocabulary, understanding and attention span.

Shawna - posted on 09/10/2010

wow thats really good my daughter only knows mama, dada, gamma i guess she isnt really to talk yet??

Sarah - posted on 09/08/2010

He sounds normal to me and I think he's talking more and from the sounds of it more
clearly than my 17 month old. I was concerned as well because i remembered my daughter talking way more @ this age but my pediatrician wasn't concerned and told me that boys develop speech a little slower than girls. Maybe he is just so focused on learning all those other milestones that speech has come last. It will come in time.