2 year old's speech

Sarah - posted on 02/18/2010

I think you should do what you feel is best...

I would totally encourage reading books and offering stimulation.. but a child who can speak early doesn't necessarily mean they are smarter than others kids their age; it means that part of their brain is working before other areas. My 4 yr old is inteligent and smart (according to medical professionals) but rubbish at writing or sport. Doesnt mean he is destined to be average because I dont push him to write or play soccer..

My 2 yr old is really good at fine motor skills but doesn't talk as much as your child.. he wont be average if I dont rush to a speech pathologist to find out why he isnt talking yet.

As other parents have said their child talks well (as does my best friends 2 yr old) it seems your child is in a normal range but that spectrum is so varied... .. preschoolers generally only have a 5 min attention span for one activity so I would not be pushing any one thing too much.

Try a variety of experiences like physical activity (kindertots or swimming) or teaching them to cook with you. Buy musical instruments. Conversation about every day life can be as educational as buying expensive toys..

One idea came to mind, what about offering him a chance to learn a second language.. Under 3 is a great time to encourage second languages. You can get preschooler aimed dvds that teach french and german. Some local libraries have reading time and activities for preschoolers he might enjoy.

Just to quantify Im a stay at home mum with an IQ of 140.. I have two sons both infertility miracles (waited 11 long year for them) Im an older mum to preschoolers. So you can understand I want the best for my long awaited kids also. but Im a realist and my 2 yr old lack of speech doesn't mean he is average.. in fact he is very good at many things.. doesn't mean he has him mums IQ! Life experience plays a big part in intelligence and intelligence includes emotional maturity.

The best any parent can do is offer variety and time.. being stay at home you are already offering something many kids don't get. You can give one to one attention that many kids don't get. I think keep doing what you obviously already are as its all good - at least you are wanting to do this stuff and that is the best.

regards
sarah

Dana - posted on 02/18/2010

To clarify----I am NOT bragging. I simply want to make a decision as to whether or not I should put my child in a structured environment. I am a stay at home mom, this is my first and only child so I feel like I need to give him every opportunity and catch him when his brain is eager to work. I am not going to be one of those parents that sits around and watches her child be average if he WANTS more than average in life. I never said that it wasn't normal for other kids to not have the vocabulary that my child does. I want to give him the best in life, and feel like I need to know where on the spectrum of development he is so that I can nurture it any and every way that I can.
Now, if I were bragging---I'd bring up how cute he was...and he is. Blond hair, Blue eyes, straight white teeth, well dressed, polite, a smile that could melt concrete...NOW I am bragging.

Sarah - posted on 02/15/2010

Hi. Your child does seem particularly forward. but its also completely normal for children not to have all the things you have mentioned. My son is end of dec child and tries to say quite a few words and repeats things we say.. he certainly understand everything and recognises all things he should be, follows instructions and completes given tasks..

But I Just thought I would comment for all those who read this and their child isnt doing what you mentioned your child can do.

Kids develop different skills at different times.. where one is good at communication others are better at sports or fine motor skills.. some kids are average at everything and not outstanding at one thing or other.. I love to hear other parents brag.. but to even out the conversation it also doesnt mean kids not doing this stuff are backward or unintelligent. Kids develop at their own pace and will react to family dynamics different.. My 2yr old is the second child.. i have friends with 2 yr olds who are the eldest and those with them youngest of several children.. it all makes a difference but they will catch up by school.

regards
sarah

Dana - posted on 02/14/2010

Thanks guys. It's good to know that other people's kids are at the same level.

Jen - posted on 02/13/2010

He sounds like my daughter whom our doctor has placed at the 3 year old level developmentally. My daughter counts to 30 (skipping only 13 and 16), knows all her colors, shapes, all of her alphabet (both the song and letter recognition), some number recognition, too many words to count, tells stories (glad to know she's not the only one her age), loves pretend play, loves matching, knows some opposites, and knows a few body parts and phrases in spanish.

I also have a couple friends with boys the same age as Savannah. One is 6 weeks older and the other is 2 weeks younger than her. The one older than her is very behind. He's only at the 12-15 month level and in occupational, speech, and physical therapy. The one younger than her is average for a December 2007 baby, but definitely looks behind compared to my daughter.

I do developmental research testing on 3-8 year olds and my daughter is able to do some of the tasks. I don't really think they are able to do gifted testing on preschoolers. I've even looked into starting my daughter in school early, but from what I've read it's hard to do. I've found out though that they now have combined 1st and 2nd grade classes for children who are more advanced so I will definitely look into that when Savannah starts school.

Erin - posted on 02/12/2010

Just keep doing what you're doing, they won't really be able to tell if kids are gifted until they reach school as often the "smarty pants" like ours levels out and the others catch up. Maia does all those things and is reading some words now, she's known all her uppercase letters since about 15 months and somehow learned all her lower case in the last month (I'm not sure from where since I hadn't really started to teach her those yet). She also speaks 2 languages knows her full name, our full names, address and phone number. Understands the concept of counting (as opposed to just being able to recite the numbers which she's been able to do to 20 since about 18 months). She started talking at 5 months and had a vocab of 25 words at 1 year and well over 500+ now with full 6,7 word sentences, I could go on.



But I really think it often depends on just what parts of the brain are the most active and growing for each child, some may be advanced in motor skills or other areas and haven't developed the vocabulary yet. For example Maia only just learned to jump and stand on one foot at 23 months whereas I know other kids who could do it at 15 months. Now, of course if there are huge delays then they should be addressed by a professional but most kids catch up or slow down.