How many words should my 15 month old be saying right now?

Julia - posted on 12/19/2012

my little girl is 15 months, and both a walker and a talker. she was walking at 9.5 months, and now can say 15-20 words (clearly). kitty, duck, mummy, daddy, bye bye, hi, dog, woof, cheese, teeth, yay, meow, hello, no, bee, ta..
there are others I know with babies 17-20 months who's babies are not walking or talking at all yet. i think this is just genetic, but all kids end up walking and talking by age 2! just different development. however, i think if your kids not walking or talking by age 2 then you should go see someone.

ANISHA - posted on 06/12/2012

My daughter is also 15 months and although the words are completely clear she can say small words like "mommy", "stinky", "thank you", "no", "stop it", "pa-pa" and occasionally she will say "your welcome". Other than that she does alot of what she thinks is talking but at least she's conversational. I'm teaching her sign language so at least what she cant say she can sign. I wouldnt really worry until she's a bit older.

Jessica - posted on 04/28/2012

I worked as a Developmental Therapist and I can tell you from being an expert in this field that most kids develop differently. If you are really concerned, then you can have an early interventionist come into your home to evaluate your child. My son is 15 months old and he just started walking consistently but he his also saying 5-6 words and knows 1-2 different sign language signs.



I think in your heart, you know as a mother. But it's always best to get it checked out because the early years are the most important!

Tanya - posted on 04/17/2012

my daughter will be 15 months on Saturday. she says about 2 DOZEN words and/or phrases. granted she was a little bit of a late walker, that certainly didn't stop her from rambling on :)

as of now she says;

dada

mama

sissy (says it zizzy)

woof

kitty (says kikky)

"what's that"

"who's that"

book

ball

cookie

cracker

eye

tail

car

keys

gramma

dave

etc..



she can also point to her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, head/hair, feet and fingers.



*every child develops differently. if you have concerns, talk to your doctor! they're there for a reason :o) my best friends son is 18 months and barely says a peep. although boys and girls are all together different!

Tanya - posted on 03/21/2011

I actually disagree with most of the responses.. Sorry! I think that at 15 months there should be at least 3-4 words that can be heard clearly, but also at least 2 that are directly related to a want - like saying Dada when he sees Daddy, or saying juice when he sees a sippy cup. By 18 months if there are not at least 5-10 words than I would consult a speech therapist and at least gain some techniques you can utilize at home to work with your child. Our son was speech delayed and I'm glad I went with my gut and didn't listen to all the "don't worry about it" comments I got. As well meaning as people are, speech delays, especially in toddler boys is becoming a growing problem over the past 10 years. Good luck!!

Kelli - posted on 11/12/2010

My 15mo only says daddy and mama. The only other sounds he makes is 'dah'. Its interesting to hear about movers or talkers coz he is definitely a mover!! He has not sat down once since he started walking at 11 months!

Ashley - posted on 01/03/2010

totally normal. my son is 20 months and says maybe 5 words. my dr isnt the least bit concerned. not every child is the same. i asked my dr about how people will say by a certain age they should be saying 10-20 words or whatever and he said not to go by that. he understands everything i tell him and thats the important part. alsoi spoke to my son (not in baby talk) since the day he was born and so did everyone else and that hasnt helped his speach

Rebecca (Becky) - posted on 01/03/2010

I've learned in Child Development and Language Development classes in college that when babies are learning motor skills, their language skills take a back seat. She may be working on some motor coordination right now and when she has finished that phase she will probably grow linguistically while taking a break from motor development.

GAYLE - posted on 01/03/2010

A 15 month old should be able to say around 10 words but every child develops differently so don't worry if she isn't saying as many as 10 words as she will get more words when she is around 2 x

Helen - posted on 01/03/2010

My little one is 15 months and can still only say daddy. I've also heard the theory about babies either being walkers or talkers, and from the new mums group I go to this certainly seems to be the case. She'll talk when she's ready, so I wouldnt worry about how many words your 15 month old can say.

Jacqueline (Jacqui) - posted on 01/03/2010

If you want your child to speak more you have to talk to her more. Mums expect their babies to speak early but do not take the time to talk to them, and I don't mean baby talk. Just talk to her say things to her like ' how are you today' while looking at her if she coos or even smiles say things like ' is that right tell me all about it' wait for her to respond. It might feel silly and awkward at first but continue to do this and wait each time for a response and before you know it she will be talking and you wish she didn't lol.

Liliann - posted on 01/03/2010

everyone told me that my little girl was behind on speaking, especially since my nephew was 3 months older than her and was able to put together several sentences correctly . i stuck by my little girl and when she was a little over 2 , it was almost over night she woke up one day and almost tripled her vocabulary. she still had heard time pronouncing some words, but i was so impressed, and as each day went by it grew more and more. i just think every kid is different, they will speak when they are ready. just talk to them like you would any other person and the words will stick.

Beck - posted on 01/03/2010

Its absolutely fine, if she is saying anything at all right now there is no need to have anything checked, as in order for her to learn and say one word she needs the ability to use hearing, memory, vocal and motor skills, so the one word clarifys she is able to speak and use those skills and nothing is wrong. There is no specific amount of words a child needs to speek in order for nothing to be wrong at this age, if she responds to your voice and makes attempts to talk then things are just fine. As long as there is no tongue tie.

Rebecca - posted on 01/03/2010

At 15 months saying a few words is fine. I think at our daughter's 18 month visit they wanted her to be able to say at least 5.

Crystal - posted on 01/03/2010

My sons doctor says 10 words by 18 months.

Melissa - posted on 01/03/2010

Our pediatrician told us that the little ones are either movers or talkers. She was right on. My oldest moved like crazy and didn't talk until she was 3. My second oldest sat still but talked wonderfully. My youngest is finally talking as much as she moved, and she's turning 3. If you are concerned, check with your doctor and/or google speech milestones for toddlers. Otherwise, simply expose her to as much socializing as possible, and she'll be happy.

Brendalee - posted on 01/03/2010

I would relax, when the child is ready to speak she will speak at her next check up bring this up as a concern, but I really wouldn't worry about how many words your 15 month old can say (unless she has had medical issues that might give you cause for concern i.e. many ear infections, trauma to her head, premature birth ) but again if she can hear you, and if you stand behind her and play with her "noisy" toys and she hears them don't worry she will speak and then ...look out!!!

GAYLE - posted on 01/03/2010

A 15 month old should be able to say around 10 words but every child develops differently so don't worry if she isn't saying as many as 10 words as she will get more words when she is around 2 x

Helen - posted on 01/03/2010

My little one is 15 months and can still only say daddy. I've also heard the theory about babies either being walkers or talkers, and from the new mums group I go to this certainly seems to be the case. She'll talk when she's ready, so I wouldnt worry about how many words your 15 month old can say.

Rebecca - posted on 01/03/2010

At 15 months saying a few words is fine. I think at our daughter's 18 month visit they wanted her to be able to say at least 5.

Brendalee - posted on 01/03/2010

I would relax, when the child is ready to speak she will speak at her next check up bring this up as a concern, but I really wouldn't worry about how many words your 15 month old can say (unless she has had medical issues that might give you cause for concern i.e. many ear infections, trauma to her head, premature birth ) but again if she can hear you, and if you stand behind her and play with her "noisy" toys and she hears them don't worry she will speak and then ...look out!!!