Babbling and speech

I know this has been discussed in the past but to be honest I just wanted to bring it up again. My kids don't really talk much. DD is able to say bye, mum-mum, wow, I, dada but not consistently and certainly not always in an appropriate manner.

DS is great at pointing and going uh, uh, uh... he makes some sounds like mum-mum, baba, nye nye. But not really a whole lot of words and nothing directly directed at me or DH.

Should I be worried? I feel as though DS is quite behind his sister, who seems to be behind what I would expect for 14.5 month olds.

we read quite a bit daily. we watch educational videos. I try and talk to them a lot. I don't what else would help.

Thanks for your insight!

 

Mine are both the same as your DS...no words at all. Lots of "uh...uh...uh..." along with hysterical pointing for what they want (which is starting to drive me nuts, lol) but NO words. They are signing quite a bit but I've just done the essentials (hungry, thirsty, more, all done). Audrée will nod for "yes" and shake her head for "no" if I ask her a direct question but Amélie doesn't even do that with any frequency.

I've been doing everything I can to help them along, lots of reading, repeating the words of the things they are pointing to before giving it them, trying to get them to repeat me (I'm constantly trying to get them to say "mama" and they just looks at me and laugh ). They do understand and follow simple directions (sit on your bum, go to your highchair, time to go upstairs...) so I know there's something going on up there .

I know I've seen it many times on here too so I'm trying not to be worried. I figure if there's nothing by 18 months I'll start having it looked into.

 

I wouldnt be worried, all kids develop at different paces. My boys do have quite a bit of words, but so did my oldest at this age. I have no idea why I have early talkers. Nathaniel definately has more words then William though. He is constantly pointing and saying "this" for things he wants, where as William doesnt. They both do say "What's that, What's this" for things they want to know about. Like at breakfast, William will hold up a piece of toast and go, "What's this?" I answer toast, then NAthaniel does it. They they do it with WHATEVER is on their trays, kind of a game, and done so often, the my 3 yr old now answers them. lol They both say "night night" at nap and bed times. They say "again" if you are doing something to them, like throwing them in the air and want you to do it again. William says bye bye, but Nathaniel says Hi. They can say Grandad, who is my father, and Nana, my mom. They can say mama, but JUST starting linkig that to me.

There will be a day where they WONT stop talking, and you'll wonder why you ever worried.

 

Ok my kids are mutes compared to yours!!! I still wonder if they get that I'm mamma!! I know they do but they are torturing me by not directly calling me that . They are both at a phase where I think they get my instructions but are purposefully choosing to ignore me!! My babes wheels are turning just in the wrong direction... Lol!!!

 

I think your LO's are fine. Our boys clearly say bye, mama, and dada. They try to say dog but can't get the "g" out, and they try to say bird and ball, but it just comes out "buh". The thing is, they hear those three words ALL the time. We have two dogs, they have several balls they play with lots, and we have a bird feeder right next to our living window. We talk about birds, dogs, and balls a lot, so they try to say those. I say tons of other things to them and read to them lots while pointing to things, but so far, they are just catching on to the ones they hear a bunch. I'm sure your kids will be just fine - keep doing what you are doing (reading, talking to them, watching educational videos, etc.).

 

I agree with PP's...keep doing what you are doing. My kids had a few words at 14 months, started saying more words at 18 months and then after age 2, they went through a word explosion. If it's something you are concerned about, you can always mention it at your next pedi appointment. I used to write down the words I heard them saying for their 15 and 18 month appointment so I could tell the pedi how much they are saying and making sure they are on target.

 

lol! As long as they understand simple instructions, like where is so and so, or Noah come here, they are fine. My guys are also a little older then yours, they'll be 16 months AND they have a 3 yr old brother who T A L K S A L L D A Y L O N G ........seriously, sometimes I wonder if he actually breathes.

 

LOL...I was thinking the opposite for me. My oldest does not stop talking all day either (my nickname was "Yap Yap" as a child and he has been dubbed "Yap Yap #2") so I was thinking the girls just couldn't get a word in edgewise and that they are yelling "uh...uh...uh.." and frantically pointing in an effort to be noticed . They all just do things in their own time!

 

My DS is 19 months and doesn't say anything yet. I was concerned and mentioned it to the pedi and she'd like him to say 5 words in the next 3 months so I've been really "playing stupid' with things and making him work for it, but all he does is get frustrated and pitches a fit. Sigh. He is expressive, social, makes great eye contact, quirky...she wasn't concerned based on these things.

DD is right on target and saying about 10-15 words.

Just taking it day by day and hoping he picks up a word soon so I can put my mind to rest.

 

My girls are 23 months and still don't talk! They say Mamama mamama, but not to me. Bella will say co, like for cookie but that just started like 2 days ago. They are more verbal with their babbling though now, they use to be very quiet. My pedi told me if they weren't saying anything by 18 months then we'd have them evaluated. They now see a speech therapist every other week and will start seeing her weekly once they turn two. Bella also just started pointing at things like a week ago. Mine are just delayed and yours may be too. I don't think you need to worry yet. If at 17 months they still have no words, I'd have them evaluated through your local place. (it takes time to get an appt sometimes) Not sure what its called but ours is called 'tri counties'.
Good luck!

 

Thanks ladies! My kids point furiously (especially Noah) and I think he is VERY frustrated right now b/c he is WHINING and having FITS all the time when he wants something and we don't get him. I am not too worried as they are only 14.5 months but to be honest I would rather have talking than the fits and whining I may live to regret my words.. LOL!

Thanks for your input, I will mention it when we see the pedi in a few weeks.

 

I would also suggest discussing it with your ped if you're concerned, but 14 months is still pretty early to be saying real words. Have you tried signing with them? Jack was my later talker, and he took to signing very well. He still to this day uses the "please" sign instead of saying it, even though we don't really do signing any more!

 

I had two late talkers and I actually had a speech eval set up when they both exploded with words at 18 months. I think they decided they had enough torturing me. They literally have gone from 10 words to almost 40 in a month. The thing that kept me sane is this checklist

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/speechandlanguage.html#mychild

 

no real consistent words for us until closer to 15 months. by 20 months one had 7 words the other 20 words... by 2 yrs, no real 2 word phrases, but now at 35 mo. they are talking up a storm and talking with each other etc! i was a little worried, but it seems to have worked out for them.

anyway, I'd say give it some time, but definitely double check with your pedi if you're worried.

and yes, check out signing ... it really helps with communication. we did "eat, milk, more, please" as our main ones!

 

My two were late talkers (20-24 months for first real words), but according to the chart that Irene posted, they're in the 5 year old range now. And they're only three and a half. So it's entirely possible for late talkers to totally explode and be off the charts.

 

Mine are 14.5 mos old too and they do better with signing. They know how to say daddy, mama, fish (ish) trees (tish) la na (filipino term for no more) and socks (taks) but other than that, they point and immitate. They know quite a few of sign language (around 8-10) so am not too concerned about it. By the way, just want to say that I really enjoy this stage. They are so fun!!! ;-)

 

Mine are the same age as yours. Both are far behind where DS1 was at this age, but I am not worried yet. The official milestone is 3 real words (not mama & dada, but words like cup, ball, dog) by 15 months, so we have month to go. My girl twin does tons of babbling & immature jargonning directed at me (it's like she thinks she is talking to me) but the only real word she says is uh oh. My boy twin also babbles a lot, but seems to have some words too. His words are MUCH less clear than I remember DS1's words being - saw for sock; doo for shoe; uh for up; baa for ball; etc. Sometimes I wonder whether I am just imagining they are words, although he uses them consistently in the presence of those objects. Both twins sign milk, water, and more. They both understand simple commands like, "go get your shoes" or "lay down". Honestly, I worry that part of the reason they don't talk as much is because I don't spend enough time talking to them. I don't have to explain the reasons why to this group! I know you understand.

Hope this helps!