How well does your 3 1/2 year old talk???

Robyn - posted on 09/02/2009

My son had speech therapy through a program called Sooner Start in Oklahoma because by age 2 he was only talking in vowels. He had just gotten tubes in his ears at the time. He was having constant ear infections during the developmental stage for language growth. Needless to say we can understand him part of the time, but there are still times that we really can't figure it out. Once he turned 3, he got and IEP through the public school system to continue taking speech therapy. He will be taking it until I know that I can understand him a good 90% of the time. If you are worried, have him tested. It doesn't harm him to be tested. They can then say whether he has a problem or not and your fears can be relieved.

Teri - posted on 08/04/2009

My daughter talks almost as well as us adults do. She has teenage brothers and is around mostly adults even at her babysitter's house. I think that has alot to do with it. My boys were close in age and they did not speak nearly as well as she does. I really think there is something to the saying that boys are "slower" to mature than girls. It really has been a world of difference. I also agree that children are all different and do things at different rates.



My best friend's son didn't hardly talk at all (only grunted) until he turned five. She was very concerned and took him to specialists. There was nothing wrong. He eventually came out of his shell and now at age 9 speaks perfectly.



If you have concerns, trust your instincts and talk to someone about it. It couldn't hurt.

Joanne - posted on 06/25/2009

My daughter Oceana, always said words and small sentences till recently...every week she just kept getting more and more better at talking and now she talks well...I wouldn't worry so much about it....you can talk to her more, get her to socialize with others around her age and have mini conversations...which are fun....and be patient...It is when they are 4 to 6 years of age when you should worry if they are not talking much or well....then seek help....it the mean time I wait....

Melissa - posted on 06/24/2009

Out of my four children, not one of them learned to talk at the same rate. My oldest ended up in speech therapy for 3 years. The next one spoke so much that we didn't even know she had mild hearing loss, and never would have suspected. I got her tested just because my 2005 boy needed hearing aids. So I tested them all, but she had hearing loss, I was shocked. She actually has the vocabulary of a 3rd grader, and she is 6. My 3yr old wasn't very behind in his speech, it was his behavior that made us evaluate him, leading us to his hearing impairment. Then my youngest spoke wonderfully, but then regressed, as we looked into it turns out she needed tubes in her ears, now she talks great again.

My point is every child will talk at their own rate, you never know what is normal for them. If you have a concern you need to bring it up to the dr. because doctors don't always ask the right questions.

Graciela - posted on 05/06/2009

I have the same problem. When we went to my son's 1 year dr appointment he was saying less than 50 words and they were concerned. They had hearing tests done and a few others to do with elevation, throwing things balance and such things. After all the tests they found nothing was physically or mentally wrong with him. Finally they set us up with a speech therapist and she came out to our home twice a week to spend an hour with him each day she saw him. This helped a lot. When his time with her was up (just after his 3rd birthday) he was talking fairly better than he was before. Now he is talking a lot but some of the words we have to ask him to repeat himself, and thankfully he does. I have several friends that have children that are about a month or two older than him and they speak very clearly. At times I get concerned but then I remember that nothing is wrong he's probably still learning, just without the speech therapist. The best thing to do would be to read a lot of childrens books and have him prepeat some of the words. Try to work of the p's f's and w's. I remember the speech therapist telling me that those were the hardest for them to learn. Good Luck :o)

Kerry - posted on 04/28/2009

hi estha, i'm sure there is a reasonable explanation behind this. my son alfie has been broght up around alot of adults so talks none stop and some of the stuff he comes out with is unbelievable. all children develope at different rates maybe your son is more developed in something else. hope this helps a little if you are still worried though i would speak to someone about it

Eleanor - posted on 04/27/2009

I noticed at playgroup this morning that kids of this age have quite drastically varying abilities of speech. A little girl said to her Mum "want dwink" and her Mum gave it to her. My son would have said "can I have my water bottle please?". They're the same age bar a few months! You could ask about a hearing test, see if the professionals think there is a problem, but at 3 1/2 your son isn't behind to be talking in broken sentences still. Also, I know dummies can sometimes make kids lazy talkers (which makes their words slur or gives them a bit of a lisp). The best advice I ever heard on helping kids to talk properly was to never let them know you're correcting them. When my son says something that's grammatically incorrect (I holded his hand) I say it back to him correctly in a question (you HELD his hand did you?). He picks it up really quickly without realising I just corrected him!

Estha - posted on 04/25/2009

Thank you, Jennifer, for your reply. His doctor has never said anything about his speech when we go see him, but some of the nurses at the health dept. have mentioned it, so that was why I was getting worried about it. I asked a nurse on our last visit to the health dept. and she said to give him another year. That sometimes boys are slower at developing their language skills. He's coming along better with his sentences and some of his pronounications. He passed his hearing test before we left the hospital when he was born, but he hasn't had a test since then. He's developmentally age-appropriate in all other areas. I think alot of his problem is that he's the only little one around a bunch of adults and older children that can read his mind and doesn't make him say what he wants. He's not in daycare or around other children his age, so that may have something to do with it. I was just wondering if anyone else out there in the internet world had the same or similiar problem. Thanks, again for your input!!!

Jennifer - posted on 04/24/2009

I would consult your pediatrician. Is he developmentally age appropriate in all other areas? He could have a hearing problem which would make his speech unclear.

My 3 1\2 year old can carry on a 10 minute conversation and we can understand most everything she says. However, she frequently does not pronounce words correctly either. I think if he is developmentally normal in all other areas and his hearing checks out ok, his speech will eventually improve.