brags...and worries

DD's language skills blow my mind constantly. She says probably ~3 dozen words right now and can even correctly identify some colors. She'll point to yellow things and say "Yeyo, yeyo!" And she understands everything you tell her.

DS only has a handful of words, half a dozen or less, though his comprehension is very good.

I only started worrying about this recently. Before, I thought, Oh, it's OK, he's just specializing in gross motor skills. He was always ahead of Ivy on that - crawled and pulled up to stand long before she did. But now she's even starting to overtake him in that department. She's standing without holding on to anything, and he isn't.

Is this just another round of the "unfair comparison of twins" game, or should I be concerned?

 

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I'd really try not to worry Holly!

My girls each had only a few words at your kiddos age. Just now are they starting to really, really take off.

I think Ivy's just way ahead of the curve. And it is so hard not to compare! But I think even a handful of words is great!

 

It's been said before, and I'll say it again and again. Boys typically develop language skills much later than girls. There were times it seemed like my boys were 6-9 months behind girls the same age. They caught up by age 3 so don't worry about it at all.

 

Definitely don't worry! First, all kids are different. And, like pp said, boys are generally (not always) a bit slower developing in that area. I know it's normal to compare and worry, but try really hard not to! Hey, my kids are almost two, and my boys say very little still. But, I went through this with Will, and I know it will come, and they will not be behind due to it!

 

ds was always first to reach milestones, then for talking dd is saying more (though as time passes he is catching up) and she is much more adventurous so seems to discover and learn more than ds. But then ds will notice something that none of us noticed and I know he is fine :icon_biggrin:
I think it is partly the twin compare thing and also boy vs girl and also that all kids are different!

 

Way too early to worry! Nadia only had ONE word at 18 months, and then her language took off (although she signed a lot, and comprehended everything). By 2, she was pretty much caught up, and now she has quite the vocabulary, and is reading very well for a 4-year-old.

Seriously, at their age, even half a dozen words is excellent! I think it's just hard not to compare because Ivy is so far ahead....

 

I have both girls, but very similar circumstance here. One daughter says about 3 dozen words very clearly, the other about 6 and while they are understandable, they aren't anywhere near as clear as her sister's. Both the developmental pedi and our family doctor have said that the daughter who says six is right on target and the one saying more is just ahead of the game (probably due to her being a later walker, and just very interested in speaking). I have a personal "theory" (although not based on any scientific fact) that my DD that speaks well has inherited my DHs good ear for languages and my DD who is not saying so much has inherited my poor ear for sounds. I can't sing well and I can't copy an accent at all - my mother is even worse - every accent she tries to do sounds Swedish.

 

Thanks for all the reassurance! It was easier to avoid the worry trap when Andrew was consistently ahead with all the motor skills - it seemed more balanced that way. It is just so weird to see her starting on a motor skill (standing alone) first for a change! And I think the language thing also feeds into some more vague concerns I have about him, that he's just not as connected with people as she is, more off in his own world...

So it is VERY helpful to hear that it's just normal! Thank you for helping me keep my head on straight! And yes, he does talk some. He signs "more," and says daddy, watch, cat, book, that (as in, "Tell me what that is, even though you just told me a dozen times already" ), snack, door, drop (as in "I just dropped my toy for the 100th time...why did you say you had a backache again?")... OK, now that I write it down too I feel better! More words than I thought. It's not like he uses all of them every day, but he does say them. It just seems like nothing compared to Ivy, who is busy dictating the great American novel from her crib... :lol:

 

It is very easy to compare children . . . especially multiples. I think children will always surprise you because they never "follow the book." My DS is much more verbal than DD and DD is much more physical than DS . . . not textbook. They are who they are! I wouldn't worry; just keep working with them both.

 

It's so hard not to compare!! But I do think your DD is way ahead of the curve - she's even ahead of Natalie at 19 mos! Also, I think the receptive language (what he understands you saying) is far more important as far as gauging if he is "ok" and it sounds like he is fine there. Hannah says a lot more words than Natalie who still mostly grunts and points, but they both understand everything and even laugh at jokes so I'm not worried even though the pointing & saying that is still going on with Nat. Hey, did I just hiajck your thread?- sorry