How many words do 18 months olds say?

Hi ladies, our 18 wc appointment is coming up. At 15 month wc, they were behind. They only had 5 words. Their Pedi required 8. Now they have 16 or 17 now. I am trying to take note lol. It seems like they talk a lot. I might not pay attention or don't understand. Their baby sitter said they could say more. But I never heard those words so I didn't count them. I googled many kids say 50-100 or even more at 18 months!!! Seriously!!!

So how many words should they say at 18 months? And how many do/did your twins say? Many thanks!

 

50-100 words at 18 months? Holy crap, my 22 monthers are wayy behind then.

 

I know some kids who don't say ANYTHING at 18 months. My kids were at about 30 words each then, but I have lost track now at almost 21 months.

Don't forget that "sounds" count as words, too. "Choo coo" for train, "baa baa" for sheep, etc. If your kids have 16-17 words, I wouldn't worry at all. I think our pedi said they liked for kids to have around 15 words by 18 months.

 

DD had about 50 words. DS had 5. I'm not worried--DS understands everything. Sometimes I give him wierd instructions to see if he understands ("Please put the cat food in the bathtub") and he complies. I would be more concerned about whether they are able to understand and hear--if they can do those things, the words will come.

 

My rule of thumb is that as long as my kids can communicate with me (as in pointing or just getting their point across) and understand what I say I don't worry. I've had a huge range in how many words my kids could say at 18 months. I had 2 that talked in sentences and others that said maybe 5 words. They all started talking when they wanted too and haven't stopped yet!

 

I agree with pp's that if they can & try to communicate, that is the most important aspect. I would recommend sitting down with your husband to write down all the words that they say. You will be surprised to see how many words they actually know. At our 18 month wc, one baby was at 75 words & the other was at 80.

 

It always blows my mind the difference in what doctors expect from toddlers at these check ups - our doc said they needed 5 words at 18 months. My girls barely squeaked by with 5 each (and mostly only because they didn't actually go for their appointment until they were 19 months old). As others have said, I wasn't worried because their receptive language was excellent. ardon:

 

I also wouldn't worry, but I would count the words your baby sitter says they use. You might also want to reconsider what you are considering a word. I count a lot of the sounds that my girls make as words. I know something that sounds like wah-wow actually means telephone because my daughter says wah-wow every time the house phone rings and she doesn't use the same "word" any other time. It's not phonetically perfect, but she is communicating using an intentional, repeated sound.

 

LOL Cat food in the bathtub. Wyatt does that without being asked LMAO.

WOW My kids don't have any words other than momma and dadda. at 15 month checkup nothing was said about it. They can understnad and follow directions so I am not to worried about it though. I think as parents we put WAY to much pressure on ourselves for things like that.

 

15-20 at 18 months is just fine

 

Your pedi said they needed EIGHT words by 15 mos?!?! Mine are in trouble then!! They only say 2!

 

Good morning ladies! Thank you so much for allyour replies. Honestly I am not worried that my kids behind. They started talking alot now. I guess we always communicate so well so they dont see the need to talk. And I think I just don't count something not real words lol.

I am more concerned about what their Pedi will say. I hate it when she says "oh they're behind" blah blah blah. So far they are ahead for everything but speech. So if 18 months they need to have 5-20 words I guess we are ok. Thanks alot ladies!

 

I wouldn't worry either, mine talk way less than my friends kids, but I figure they communicate with eachother so they don't need to communicate with us.

 

I agree...we are nowhere near that!!!

My son had a word explosion when he turned 2...he went from almost no words to too many to count within a couple of weeks. I think my girls will be the same. They have a few words now but the only ones that are clear are "no" and "uh oh". Everything else sounds the same so I'm not sure if they are actually words. They have just started with body parts in the last week or so (hair, nose, eyes...) but again, most of them sound the same. Like everyone else said as long as they understand instructions and can attempt to communicate what they want I think that's pretty much all we can expect at this age!

 

My girls will be 18 months on October 2nd, as for us, we dont talk much, one of them can say clearly, up and and dad, and dog, the other one says milk, up, dada, dog. They say mamamamama, but dont always call me mama. Howver they can do every single animal sound there is, I know we are behind in words a little bit bit they are way advanced in everythign else, and can do any task that I ask them to so I am not worried!

We have to remember, we always compare our kids, but they are alllllllllllll different, maybe there is a justified range of words they should be saying, but they will learn when they are ready! Atleast that is what I keep telling my self

 

:laughing:
Agreed - words will come. I've done the same too with my girls - they understand so much more than we give credit for.