vocabulary

Aleta - posted on 01/26/2009

Hi! I went through this exact same thing at his 15 month check up. At his 18 month I asked the doctor what she meant by "saying 20 words." Like my son said "dog" for about a week when he was just over a year and then has not said it again since. He has a few words that he uses consistently now but not 20! He has said other words int he past but then will stop. The doctor said it was normal for them to use some words and then stop saying them for a while. So,I just stopped worrying about it. If there were something developmentally wrong with your child, then you would probably have some mommy instinct that would tell you that something wasn't right. Otherwise, I say... "don't worry!"

Kelly - posted on 01/25/2009

Hey, You should not be feeling bad at all, all children are different, my son is 20 months on 9th feb i dont think he has a vocab of 20 words he does chatter alot but i dont know what he is saying half the time, but they are chatting thats good anyway.

you should not let the doctors tell you otherwise or let them worry you, he is healthy isnt he? and happy that is all that matters hun. and of course as i said he is chatting so dont worry and definatley do not feel guilty. x

Kimberly - posted on 01/15/2009

My daughter and my son (who is now 4) spoke at an early age and had many words to their vocabulary. My son was speaking sentences at 18 months and my daughter is putting 3-4 word sentences together. I do contribute their early speech to doing sign language with them. I also do agree that each child develops differently. However, one thing that 2 of my friends have experienced while their sons had slow speech development was that they were most likely using/allowing a pacifier too much. What happened was that anytime the child made noise, they would give him/her a pacifier. Later to find out that the baby was just most likely jibber jabbing which helps develop speech. So, I think that limited use of pacifiers could be a good thing!

Claire - posted on 01/14/2009

well my sone of the same age is speaking more than his brother who is 3!!!!!!!!!

i guess they all just start at different times, dont worrie to much at this point, just enjoy him, it will come when his ready. i think we push our kids to grow up to fast these days when they should not be worring about anything apart from havivg fun.

Beth - posted on 01/14/2009

You should not feel guilty at all!  I don't know if this is your first child but I think that can make a huge difference.  The first doesn't have older siblings to mimmick and the other thing that is known is boys develop their vocabulary slower than girls.  I think one of the best things you can do is spend a fair amount of time reading books.  Just hearing the words will help him want to copy you.  My son had delayed speech and rhyming books were recommended.  If you truly think it's a problem than I would pursue it.  We had our son evaulated just after age 2 and we were able to start a speech program soon after that.  It has made a world of difference.  As his Mom you will know what's best!

Pattie - posted on 01/14/2009

I cringed the first time my dr asked me that question!!  I still feel like a fool, because he wants me to tell him how many she can say.  I'm sorry... but I don't count! lol

I think it has alot to do with KNOWING what they are saying.  Luckily mine is a pointer and very insistant, so I have been able to figure out what she says pretty easily.

I wouldn't worry if your son isn't saying as many.  Only if he stops talking altogether or backslides somehow.  He may be busy working on acquiring other skills right now!

Pattie - posted on 01/14/2009

I cringed the first time my dr asked me that question!!  I still feel like a fool, because he wants me to tell him how many she can say.  I'm sorry... but I don't count! lol

I think it has alot to do with KNOWING what they are saying.  Luckily mine is a pointer and very insistant, so I have been able to figure out what she says pretty easily.

I wouldn't worry if your son isn't saying as many.  Only if he stops talking altogether or backslides somehow.  He may be busy working on acquiring other skills right now!

Dena - posted on 01/14/2009

what words do ur children say? haylee says hot, hat, puppy, kitty, please, more, juice (which to her means anything in her cup), ball, apple, diaper, book, socks, shoes, boots and then she does animal sounds for puppy, kitty, sheep, horse, frog, cow. were working on colors, so far everything is blue and she can say purple and yellow but she doesn't know what color they are.

Dena - posted on 01/14/2009

my daughter just in the last couple weeks has started talking a lot. for her is seriously just happened over night all of a sudden she woke up and just talking up a storm and copying everything. so just work on it and read to him and point out simple things that he can understand

Ashley - posted on 01/13/2009

Dont' worry about it at all. For my daughters 18 month checkup my daughter was not saying many words at all. She was always talking but in her own language. In the last 2 weeks she has started to say and use a few new words each day, and is now starting to use short sentences. As long as he is using talking even if you can't understand it he's practicing and he will start to say actual words when he is ready. all kids do things at there own paces. My daughter didn't start walking until she was 17 months old. she was content sitting and watching things around her then one day she just got up and starting walking around like she had been doing it for weeks. If your not already you can help him but labeling thigns around him. likewhen he reaches for a toy bear , instead of saying do you want that , ask "do you want that bear"

Kaye - posted on 01/09/2009

Quoting Heather:

vocabulary

so, my son just had his 18 mth check up, all went well however our dr said that he should have a vocab of 20 words...He doesn't :( i can count 8-10 maybe & a bunch of words i have no idea what he is saying...lol... Is this our fault? i feel so guilty!...anyone? someone eles in the same boat?

No... it's not your fault! every child is different... he is probably just storing all the words in his head and then later on, he'll come out with complete sentences as someone told me.  Just keep talking to him... he'll get there eventually.  I have an 19 month old youngest daughter and she doesn't say much like your son... we talk loads to her and we are sure she understands every word, she is just stubborn and won't say it!  Our firstborn daughter was talking by 1 year and she is so advanced for her age.  she will be 4 in two weeks.  So don't worry :-)

Kerrilee - posted on 01/09/2009

A child is going to learn at his own pace, he is learning, as you said he is saying 8 to 10, dont let doctors worry you like that, each child is different, they grow, crawl and walk at different speeds, enjoy the all the baby talk, my son is 19 months, probably says aorund 20 words and the rest is jibberish, but i love it cause i know when he does start to talk hes never going to stop!