Language Development Question

Cindy - posted on 03/12/2011

my 17 mth old son doesn't speak much either. only simple vowels n he babbles ba-ba, pen (for open), apples, n only recently has the habit of pointing or holding our hands to tell us what he wants. he only starts interested in dvd like hi-5, barney n some others.. do hear gd feedbacks on BB can read altho i had a shorted viewing on e content n some parts i find it too profound for his current age (as it covers a bigger age group).. not that cheap either.. nanny has been talking to him 8-7 daily for the past 16mths n he just doesn't like to learn talking much still.. some PD also can't give much advises .. lol

Teresa - posted on 03/12/2011

We got My Baby Can Read for my son, he was born 9-17-09. I got on here tonight because I was wondering if other babies where comunicating more than my little man. He is just saying a few words like dada, mama, baba and he actually says hello very clearly. There are a few more things that only we can understand (but others can't) like luv you. I tryed to force him to talk more by making him say baba when he was wanting me to fill his up. That didn't work out very well he just screamed and would not say it no matter what. He knows where his nose, mouth, ears, hair, head and ears are. I thought he learnt these things from the my baby can read cds, at first, because after a couple of weeks of watching the cd's he started pointing to our body parts when we ask him, at 12 months old. I am not sure if its from the cd's or just working with him while watching them and repeating what the cd's where teaching. I can't really work with the flash cards because he wants to put them in his mouth and play with them. I think that just reading to him and working one on one with him is doing more than the cd's. I am not a believer in my baby that can read. Atlease my baby can't read, lol.I'm not saying it doesn't work, it just hasn't panned out for my little man. I like to say that any atvantage to learning is better than none. I think that my Gavin needs to be around more children his age, that this might help him alot. He isn't around any other children to learn from them. I have 3 older children 17 yrs, 21 yrs and 22 yrs. Yes I have hit the 40 yr old mark, lol

Teresa - posted on 03/12/2011

This is the question I was seeking tonight. My son is 18 months old he is only say a few words. He is saying da-da, ma-ma, bo-bo, hello and a few things that only his daddy and I knows he is saying, others can not make them out and we can't always get him to evan say these word all the time. He mumbels most of the time. He talks constantly but we can't understand him. Is this normal? Should we be concerned? I think he is normal but other family members are more concerned.

Nicole - posted on 03/11/2011

every kid is different, so I wouldn't worry just yet. LO will be 18mo next week and he's been mimicking for a few weeks now. He's a chatterbox, and I'd say he's pretty consistent with about 15 words.

Betty - posted on 03/11/2011

My daughter born on the 22nd of September is also not saying a lot of words either.

She understands everything I say and tell her to do but she doesn't repeat everything back. Only the stuff she likes. Like "Bubble" which is like her favourite word since she loves bubbles, she says, shoes, tree, car, duck, bye, hi, mama, daddy, more, where, boat, tickle, oh and NO, she says that alot. no no no no no she says LoL.

I'm not too concerned cause I think she's a little confused right now since she hears 3 different languages. I'm Chinese so my dad speaks to her in chinese, my husband is Lebanese so his mum speaks to her in Arabic. My husband and I speaks to her in english. So hopefully soon I'll have a multi-language skilled baby.

Jumita - posted on 03/08/2011

My daughter Agya who is 18 months really can speak everything ....she can makes sentences...she knows when to say "good night, good morning and good girl" and says quite clearly......but she can't say when she has to pee....

Crissy - posted on 03/07/2011

My son born 9/23 has no desire to talk. He tries to cry and point to what he wants. I have got him to say milk more often just by ignoring him trying to pull my hand to show me what he wants and I tell him to tell me. It is nice to hear others are going thru the same thing, I was thinking of posting a conversation for help as well. Has anyone tried your baby can read? I was wondering if maybe that would spark his interest. Everyone tells me its because he's the 3rd child and his sister and cousin talk for him but the last 9 mos his cousin has lived with us the girls just ignore him and he plays alone. I try to get him to say a word before I give in to his wants but he chooses to go without. He has an appt at the end of the month so i guess we'll see...

Baija - posted on 03/07/2011

Relax. Take the pacifier out of his mouth as much as possible and give him a week or so. I'm sure his vocab will open up once he doesn't have something stuck in his mouth. It's hard to talk when your mouth is full.
I still use it in the car, for sleeping and especially when she's cranky, but I try to keep it out as much as possible. As soon as I started this, she started talking/mimicking more and more each day.

Kristy - posted on 03/07/2011

My daughter is constantly talking and says alot of words like, flower, butterfly, mummy, daddy, baby, brother, car,cat, dog, nose, ear, hair, toes, hands,eye, nanna, pa, poppy, phe phe (her aunty) nina (another aunty) alala (talia her friend) arley (harley her other friend) yeah, no, dont, ta, thank you, please, hello, bye bye, see ya, and many more. she has just started putting her words together and saying 2 or 3 at a time. most people are blown away by how clearly she speaks and that she knows the names of about 10 body parts and points to them. I have always read about 2-3 books a day to her and talk to her slowly and clearly and repeat words over and over for her to understand. i am now teaching her animal noise's which she is loving :) i also ive her big praises when she gets things right which she loves and makes her want to do it again which has made learning into a fun game we play :)

Leah - posted on 03/07/2011

My little guy (born 9/22/09) says maybe 8 words consistently. I was (and still am) a bit concerned, but I found this in my babycenter newsletter last month and it eased my mind somewhat:
http://www.babycenter.com/4_16-months-we...

You can view the results without voting if you want to, and it seems like my guy is pretty normal as far as number of words.

My friend's little girl is only a few months older and she's a chatterbox, so I always feel like my son is way behind after we visit.

Heidi - posted on 03/07/2011

Our little guy is not even using THAT many words....just dada or mama or ( I think it may have been "UP" ) :-) From what I have heard from other moms it is really normal....just keep engaging him and reading to him.......trusting Jesus. Heidi

Jamie - posted on 03/06/2011

my daughter born 9-23-09 has amazed us with her vocab! she says hi, byebye, mama, dada, papa, geegee(grandma) , gracie(our dog), pur (whisper our other dog), fishy, baby, oli oli (her stuffed elephant) and she even says spongebob! she just started saying it one day... and of course her main word cookie and she's big on these and see ..she understands almost everything we say to her, and now has tried to start saying boots from the dora show..its coming out as boop right now lol

Caren - posted on 03/06/2011

my little guy born 9/19 has a very good vocbulary, he has over 30 regular words and can string 2-3 words together like "mamma jew pea" momma juice please, he is the youngest of 3 and he actually has better speech them my amost 3 year old daughter who has a sever speech delay, so don't worry all kids grow at different paces, when he's ready he will talk.

Emma - posted on 03/03/2011

my son actually doesnt say one word with meaning no mama dada baba anything...someone is coming to see him next week he is 18 months old

Judi - posted on 03/03/2011

My 17 mo jabbers constantly but says quite a few words distinctly: Hi, gog (dog), uh-oh, go, mama, dada, nana (banana), all gone (means "done" whether the plate is empty or not), tity (kitty), mmmaaaa (kisses). I"'m sure there are more but they are hard to find among all his jabbering. My husband also swears our son has called him by his name too but I've never hear him say it.

Amy - posted on 03/03/2011

My son is 17 months and he talks a lot. They said he's way ahead of other kids. I have nephews though that didn't really start talking much until they were two and now they won't stop. :) sounds like all these kiddos are doing just fine.

Melissa - posted on 03/02/2011

Is it possible he/she is saying words and you just don't understand them?

Liliana - posted on 03/02/2011

my little princess says mama, papa, water, tete(in spanish bottle milk) yayayaa(to ask for something she wants) poque (as why ? in spanish), and animal sounds like dog, cow, lion, tiger, fish, horse.She understands almost everything we said and told her to do.

Louise - posted on 03/01/2011

Wow! Mine has even less words, Ma, Mama, Dada, there (favorite), Car, Nana that seems to be about it. I was really concerned but his understanding is really good and he can indicate yes and no really well. Especially the no. He also knows when we ask him to do something so I think the brain capacity is there. I have spoken to friends with older kids and they all said that from 18 months things seem to turn around. I also think it might be because he is at home all day with his nanny and only really sees other kids once a week, when we do a class together. I'm holding out till +/- 19 months then I'll really start worrying, by then he would have started a play group. So don't worry. I think it will come for all of us. Then we might wish back for some peace and quiet…

Lindsay - posted on 03/01/2011

aside from DADA and babbling, and the random MUMMMMM, my son only really has three words, UP, HOT, and as of last night Boot! ... he's going slow and steady, i'm not worried, he'll talk when he talks!

Angie - posted on 03/01/2011

hi jessica im not sure if im correctly stating this, but ive been taking some classes at a community college psychology has been a major help as far as development, its a life span pysch class but right now were in this stage, and basically there is a development pt called the word explosion. basically your child may not be able to say certain words but with your repetition and instruction your child is able to identify objects with words even without speakign thme, on top of that, i remember reading somewhere in my book that it is 10X harder for a child to learn something so right now learning new tasks and being little scientists as Piaget would say they are actually perfecting these tasks before they go on and start something new. i think that before you know it your son will be babbling off, because my daughter was often quiet speaking here and there or babbling when she wasnt playing or pretending to read, and in these past few weeks shes been babbling converstations and everything. oh gosh i hope this post makes sense. i think you should look up the language explosion online . and something else ive noticed when i take my daughters binky away she talks more. i dont know if your son loves his binky from teething or what not but when i take it away she just talks and talks =D i hope this helps ;/ i dont think hes behind, before you know it hell be saying mommy i need to potty! =D ♥

Ashly - posted on 02/28/2011

My 17month old (9/14/09) is in speech therapy now. The only thing he says is Mama. He understands everything you tell him and will do anything you ask him but refuses to say anything. He points and grunts. During his initial evaluation he was deemed "extremely" delayed. We are working with him and I know he'll eventually get there.

Lee-Anne - posted on 02/28/2011

Hallo, my little 17mth old is about the same - I have consoled myself that he understands exactly what I say to him - simple instructions, simple explenations so he understands and for the first time the other day asked me "whe u gong mumma" I just about fainted!! so it will come - these little Virgo boys are quite sharp!

Susan - posted on 02/28/2011

Sounds like he's doing just fine!!! Don't compare your baby to a few specific children. Sometimes it takes us a while to understand sounds as words and then what the words mean. As long as he's babbling he's practicing. Before long, you'll be telling him to be quiet for all they "why" questions!

Chichie - posted on 02/28/2011

kids develop at differnt stages u shudnt really worry urself but make sure wen u talk to him u use full sentences it helps him, pik out words n knw how to use them my 17mntsh old daughter cqan say sentences obviously the words are not as clear but even a stranger can tell dats what shez say, she tells me tito sit down , and we use 2 languages in my house already she understands them boith and knows to seperate the two. encourage him to watch educational tv programmes and talk to him more it will help.
good lick.

Brooke - posted on 02/27/2011

My 17mnth old has been saying a few new words quite recently as well as the words he uses day to day but the majority of it is still babble, i often find that other ppl pick up on words he is saying/ tying to say but because I'm so used to listening to the babble I don't really pick up on the new words in there. Maybe listen carefully in amongst all that jumble and you will be suprised at what is actually coming out :)

Candice - posted on 02/27/2011

Our little girl 9/11/9 says only our other daughter's name and then gestures/yells for what she wants. We recently found out that she is not hearing well and she is getting ear tubes this week to help drain fluid behind her ear drums, I hope she will start talking soon!

Rachel - posted on 02/27/2011

My son will be 18 months on March 11th, and he has about 80 words. I guess he's highly verbal. However he does go through phases with certain words...usually the new word du jour gets a lot of air play! "Outside" is his big word lately..."ow-side".... and "oh-mea" for oatmeal. Today he was working on the word "pancake." He's really big on food words because he's a huge eater. I have talked to him and sung to him incessantly since he was a baby, and we read a lot and also did Robert Titzer's Your Baby Can Read program starting at 11 months of age. Another device I employed at the sugggestion of Sears & Sears (The Baby Book) was asking questions of Cayce and carrying on a "two-way" dialogue from the time he was just babbling. He would babble something with a great deal of gusto, and I would respond with something like, "Is that so? Well tell me more about this!" as if I fully understood him, thus encouraging him to vocalize further. Whatever we do, I talk to him about it, whether we are grocery shopping or going out for a walk. All of these things I have done since Cayce was just a wee thing in my arms. All of these things have helped Cayce's language development tremendously.

Melissa - posted on 02/27/2011

Our son Chance, (born 9/25/09) is a non verbal child. He uses ASL very cleverly however and we are not worried. Every child is different verbally. If your child feels that they can get their point (desire/need) across they will either use words or not. Our son recently has taken to using more verbal actions rather than using sign language, but he really falls back on it when he's upset or tired. Every child is different. Ask your pediatrician if you are really concerned about your child's development. :)

Gabrielle - posted on 02/27/2011

My daughter was born 9/2/09 and she says momma, daddy/dada, more (moe), diaper (dapper), ball, hi, baby/brother (bubba), that (tha), ya.

Things she knows and can say buy I have to make her are: cheese (chee), shoes (sho), meat (mea), sock (soc), foot (foo), milk (ma), hot (ha), nose (no), mouth (mow) and eye (ey).

It's like pulling teeth to get her to use her words if she is mad or tired. Should she be saying more? With is almost 18 months now.

Sarah - posted on 02/27/2011

our kai is seventeen months old and hes so cleaver he can nearly say the alphebet and pretty much talk in sentences but all kids are different

Karen - posted on 02/26/2011

My daughter born 9/4/9 has just started repeating what she hears this past week and she understands everything
but from day one I would always tell her what I was doing even though she didnt understand and with everything to were going in the car with a tune in my voice almost singing to feeding and changing

Julia - posted on 02/26/2011

i was told by an early childhood linguist that babys associate words to "real" things better than drawing pictures. So if you get books with photos for pictures, and instead of reading the story just point out the different things you see on the pages. Follow your baby's lead, if he seems interested in something, then talk about that... don't worry if you read the pages in order or back wards or every other page... its not really about the story at this stage. Something that I did with my LO was cut out pictures from magazines, nothing crazy, a cat from a wiskers ad, a van, boots, food from the recipe section of my magazine, baby, bear, etc. Then I glued them onto a cearal box and cut around them. I used clear shelf paper to "laminate them" and put them in a box. My LO loves to pull them out at ask "That?" then I tell her what it is. This has really helped improve her word count.

Michelle - posted on 02/26/2011

My son born 9/17/09 has only said two actual words twice and nothing else but babbling. We also have early intervention calling to set up an evaluation on Monday. I really don't think we need to worry, some kids take more time to learn everything and mine is one of them, but he isn't missing a step:)

Chloe - posted on 02/25/2011

i have been told my daughter says alot for her age. She mimic's really well. Some words she does say:
Thankyou
Please
Dog
Marmite (cat)
Nonie (pacifier)
Harry (her nickname)
Baby
Mummy
Daddy
Hello/Bye
Many of her friends round the same age dont speak as much, i think its due to her being a really sociable baby! I was told by Plunket that 10-15 words is normal for a 1 and half yr old.

Christine - posted on 02/25/2011

My son knows how to say some words; thank you, bye, hi, bite, bathtime, cat, dog, uh-oh (his fave) and a few more i'm sure. He can understand commands and speaks more than his cousins did at his age so I know he is right on track. He also pretends to have conversations on the phone and babbles some crazy made up language lol.

Sherry - posted on 02/25/2011

My son isn't much of a talker either, as far as saying indentifiable stuff goes, but he babbles. Best of all, though he doesn't talk much yet, he understands what we're telling him. His doctor said as long as he understands words and can follow commands, such as "bring me your blanket", then everything is fine.

Kat - posted on 02/25/2011

My little guy is not talking. He tries to say a few words but has no desire. Very frustrating but everyone keeps telling me to give him time and he will talk when he is ready. Nice to know others out there are experiencing same thing.

Laurie - posted on 02/25/2011

Yeah! Bye-Bye and occasionally Daddy are about the only things she says clearly at this point. She is on the brink though and I expect she will start picking up new words daily in another month or so. She was born Sept 10.

Tessa - posted on 02/25/2011

mama
dada
cocoa(our dog)
"ba" (ball)
"ight" (light)
dog
yuck(poopy diaper)

That's all we've got over here.. DS is not very verbal, but he just recently started LOVNIG books. He points things out and he wants you to tell him what they are. If you ask "where is the tree/butterfly/cow/ball/dog/cat/etc" he can point to them, but no trying to sound out new words.

Sabrina - posted on 02/25/2011

i know how you feel. my daughter was born on 9-16-09. she does not talk. she says mama, dada, bubba, i, ow, mima(grandma), and thats about it. i taught her some sign language for please, water, milk, and juice so i would know what she wants. but she is taking longer than my son did to talk and he is now 3, almost 4.

Amanda - posted on 02/25/2011

Your son is ahead of mine. My son has yet to really say any words. I have contacted my local early intervention program. Someone should be calling my by Monday to set up an in-home visit. As for your son, I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of vocabulary development. He could just be having a good time with his current words, or he could just be waiting to hit you with a bombshell of words! :)

Davia - posted on 02/25/2011

Just keep on talking in full sentences to him. Even when you don't understand just agree with him and talk back, it will make him feel like he's really conversing. My daughter loves that. To tell you the truth it has allowed her to speak much clearer. Eventhough sometimes she babbles on, I eventually pick up some sentences that she is making. Another good thing is to go on you tube and find a lot of things for toddlers like the alphabet, vowels, sounding out words of animals, colors, etc. Once it is repetitive, he will catch on fast. O and another thing, she also watches "Electric Company" at 17 months she sounds out letters and is able to say more words. Take care!

Alecia - posted on 02/25/2011

my daughter was born 9/19. she has a few words (daddy, book, dog, hi, bye, mom, yum, drink, juice, this), babbles tons, loves to 'read' and definitely understands lots of what i say. so im not too worried. my hubby hardly said any words until he was like 4 and he is very smart and never shuts up now!! the understanding and being able to communicate in someway is the most important. my daughter signs for some things (eat, drink, sleep, play, hiding), points and does try to tell me things...i just dont always know what she's saying :p

Jamie - posted on 02/25/2011

My 17 month old daughter has a very limited vocabulary too, but I do see her trying to use new words everyday, mostly one sylabl (sp) but I do see her trying. Weve got mama, dada, mommy, poo poo, bankie (blankie), nigh nigh, nana, i eat, puppy and kitty down but those about it for her. Hope that helps

Aimee - posted on 02/24/2011

My daughter born 09/09/09 is really similar, only in the last couple of weeks she has started saying and at least trying to say alot more. I was told by plunket that at this age there is nothing to worry about as long as they understand. For example when I change her nappy I give it to her and tell her to put it in the rubbinh bin and she does, or I ask her to get me something and she gets it. She can understand heaps of stuff just can't say it!

Sarah - posted on 02/24/2011

My son (born 9/18) consistently says about 5-6 words...his favorite being "kitty" lol. He will mimic other words occasionally when I ask him to repeat me. He babbles ALL the time, too.

Tara - posted on 02/24/2011

my son is not saying much. He says quite a few words, but you hear then like twice and then never again. He consitently says about about 5 words.

Anne - posted on 02/24/2011

6 words by 18 months? Hmmm.... Donovan will be 18 months on the 8th and says 5. He babbles a lot though, understand my commands and is really good about problem solving so I think he must be OK.... right?

Jessica - posted on 02/24/2011

Thanks Ladies!!! I guess we will wait a bit and see