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Behaviour/development

16 month olds...what are yours doing and does this sound 'normal'?

7 replies

mamjar · 01/05/2013 20:28

Ds2 is 16 months. He's has been diagnosed as having hypermobile knees and ankles so still isn't walking so I accept the fact that he is lateish with that but other things have been worrying me too.

He does crawl fairly fast but sometimes does revert to commando crawling on his tummy to get anywhere long distance. This is getting less frequent now but he still does it a couple of times a day.

He can pull up to stand, often only holding on with one hand but does seem a bit wobbly and doesn't seem to know how to get down again so either just slips down like a fall or whinges for help to sit down.

He points at things when he babbling and points when out and about in the pushchair but if I ask him a specific question like 'where's the sheep?' when looking at a book he just looks at me or continues babbling over the top of me Hmm .

He can build a tower of two- three blocks but gets very whingy and frustrated when they fall down.

He can not feed hiself with a spoon very well. It just tips and spills everywhere or he just gets his fingers in the foodm, grabs the spoon, throws it on the floor.

He has a few words but none of which are particularly cclear to any outsiders. He says 'more' 'uh oh' and 'bus' clearly. Other than that it's odd word that we know what he means like 'Jaw' for his brother's name Joe. 'oof oof' like a bark when he sees a dog. 'dat' for that. 'tic tic' when he sees his feet which I think means tickle tickle as he laughs when I say tickle ticke and get his feet. 'bar' for ball. That's about it for speech. Normal??

He receives physiotherapy once a week for his hypermobility but most of the session he spends whinging as he doesn't really respond well to a stranger poking him and wanting him to crawl to her etc. He seems very clingy, can't walk away from him for a second, cries and moans a lot and has always been a grumpy baby who whinges for no apparent reason despite a lot of trips to the paediatrician and cranial osteopath. We know think he is just frustrated with not walking and not being able to communicate effectively. DS1 was similar although slightly less whingy by this age as he was walking by 11 months but still very moody and prone to tantrums til he could talk well.

Anyway, does this seem normal and what can I do to improve his speech? What are others his age doing and saying?

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mamjar · 01/05/2013 20:32

Oh also he can point to his head when I ask him where his head is. Same with his nose and mouth and feet and his willy Blush which I think is OK but I seem to remember DS1 was more like a 'little boy' at this age and less like a 'baby' but that might be rose tinted glasses and just the fact that he was walking by now!

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Thurlow · 01/05/2013 20:40

Sounds about right! DD is 15mo but out off what you're saying, she can -

She understands about three commands, she can get a hat, a fire engine and her blanket, but is stubbornly refusing to learn any of the news words we try and teach her! Occasionally she seems to understand more complex sentences like 'let's go to the living room' but it is very sporadic.

Can't build a tower, and isn't interested in trying much.

She can't feed herself with a spoon and isn't interested in trying if there is actual food around, though she will pretend eat and feed us if the bowl is empty.

She has half a dozen words, but only daddy, hiya, bye-bye and ta are understandable to outsiders. We can understand oh dear, baa baa, and up above (weirdly, for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

She commando crawled for ages, barely did any real crawling before walking.

I know what you mean about seeming like a 'little girl' but I think it's the walking that does it. I'm no expert and this is DC1, but it does sound like your DS is frustrated that he can't walk yet and that he can't yet get or do what he wants.

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StitchAteMySleep · 01/05/2013 20:55

All sounds fine to me.

I have a 15 month old.

She is walking.

If I ask "where's the sheep" she might point to it sometimes if she wants to, if not she will carry on doing whatever was interesting her.

She can build a tower of 3 blocks then knocks it over laughing (frustration in your ds's case is also normal).

She will (when she wants to) eat yoghurt from a loaded spoon and dip it in the pot if I hold it for her. She will also take the food off the spoon with her fingers, mush it about and throw the spoon on the floor if not interested.

Her speech is above average, she says 2-3 word sentences like "where's daddy", "done poo poo", "want get down", new words are bossom (blossom) and shadow. Dd1 at this stage was still on single words. All children are different, but the guidelines are that most toddlers will say 50 words by 2 years old, he will pick up loads in 8 months so don't worry about it.

She will point to eyes, ears, mouth etc...

Have you looked into baby sign language? I used it with dd1 and it helped a lot with her communication frustrations.

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meandtheboys · 02/05/2013 12:28

Bump!

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tholeon · 02/05/2013 12:38

Sounds normal, my dd is 16 months this week, walks but still a bit wobbly, maybe 10 words but don't think outsiders would understand many of them. Understands some commands but hard to work out sometimes what is lack of understanding and what is lack of choosing! My son had no words except animal noises till 17 months, remember worrying about it but he is now nearly four and rarely shuts up. It will come, just lots of talking to him, singing, nursery rhymes to encourage it, which I am sure you are doing.

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CinnabarRed · 02/05/2013 12:42

Sounds normal to me too. DS3 is now 19 months old, and has changed enormously over the past couple of months.

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MortifiedAdams · 02/05/2013 12:45

I think they are all so different at this age and can pick.something up.within a week. DD didnt sit unaided til 7mo, crawled at 11mo and got up and walked at 14mo. Now at 16mo she is.walking competently forward and backwards and has just started running. My neice was walking at 8mo which totally baffled me as dd seemed so so so tiny at that age.

DD can understand simple instructions such as "go and get your hat"; "come and hold mamas hand", "get a storybook". She knows and can point to and say the names of.various body parts. Can do.about ten animal sounds. Has about 30 words. Just starting to count to three.

Since she has been on her feet, she has drastically improved in what she is learning and her overall temperament. Are there any specialist shoes or boots that he could wear to offer additional.support to his ankles?

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