Tell me about talking at just-two years old. Don't want to worry but concern is starting to creep in...

[feelingratheroverwhelmed]

Hi,
My DS turns two next week. He is very "chatty" and seems to enjoy verbal communication but he doesn't make a huge amount of sense a lot of the time! I've tried really hard not to compare him with friend's children, some of which have been super-competent with language from a fairly young age. But now those weren't very chatty suddenly seem to be improving by the day...

Books don't help that suggest he should be getting something like 10 new words a day. He is nowhere near that. He goes to nursery three days a a weks where I know they are encouraging him. We also work very hard at home with him, looking at lots of books (he really enjoys this) and talk to him all the time.

He can say mummy, daddy, nanna, shoes, choo choo, car, has his own adorable word for dog, tactor, dinner, stuck, ball, bye bye, teeth, baby for bubbles and probably a few other words that I can't recall of the top of my head. For animals he can do the noises but not the names (snap snap for crocodile etc). He'll put two words together at times (mummy shoes, bye bye Ha Hoos). He's got some consistent gibberish-y type words that he uses too.

Unlike other friends children he doesn't make an attempt we say "can you say xxx?". He certainly seems to understand a lot, and can follow instructions fairly well (when the mood takes him!). He is very very physically able and has been from a young age.
We've been waiting for an audiology apt for a while but this was just precautionary and I don't think there is a problem with his hearing. Nothing has been picked up of previous tests.

I think it's maybe just the sudden realisation that he's about to turn two and I always thought he'd be further on than he is at this point.

Should I be worried? Or just relax and see how it goes.

[gomez]

Please relax - we have three DC. DS1 who is the youngest had very little language until he was around 2.5 (but could communicate very well if that makes sense)but by 3 was talking in full grammatically correct sentances. This was about 1 year slower then either of his siblings.

[hanahsaunt]

He has more than my ds3 did at 2. In fact, he was referred to SALT and had his first appointment. At his second (aged 2y 11mo) he was discharged for being advanced for his age ... good to keep an eye on in case there's a problem but there is a huge increase between age 2 and 3. Dd appears to be following in his footsteps - highly communicative, very able to follow complex instructions (without use of gestures etc) but non verbal.

[YankNCock]

Honestly don't think you should be worried. If you know he is hearing and understanding you, the language will follow. It's really hard not to compare with other kids, I know. DS has a friend who is a month younger but does everything (walking, talking, potty-training) about 3-6 months ahead of DS.

I found DS's talking came on in bursts rather than evenly (10 a day the books say? stop reading the books ).

One thing that really helped us was the Chatterbox class at the Sure Start Centre. Great ideas on what I could do to encourage speech and lots of reassurance that DS was quite normal!

[Trouble100]

I think you should relax. He sounds to me (without any professional experience I should point out) perfectly normal. He has a good range of different sounds and words and the milestone at 2 is putting 2 words together which he is doing.

Easier said than done: I know it's v. hard not to compare - my DD1 was very slow to speak and it turned out she had glue ear and after a year of monitoring she had an operation to correct. BUT at coming up for 2 every word she said sounded the same (like a muffled 'ball') and she started to develop communication through a made-up sign language as I could understand her better that way (amazing how they develop!). By the time she spoke so we could understand her, she was talking in full sentences (and now won't shut up... ).

By contrast DS2 is 21 months and sounds similar to your boy, quite a few words, putting 2-3 together, good range of different sounds, copies everything, picks up new words regularly (but not 10 a day).

Try not to be distracted by what others are doing, just make sure he keeps making progress at his own speed would be my advice.

[Proon]

I was on MN when ds was 2.3 and worried about the same thing. He got to about 2.6 and his language just blossomed. It happens very quickly.

There's a very good book by David Crystal called "Listen to your Child" - I highly recommend it as a readable but expert book on how children learn to speak and how to appreciate what they can do with relatively little language.

[feelingratheroverwhelmed]

Thanks ladies. I've been determined not to let what my friends children are doing worry me, but it's getting harder as time goes on! Your posts have been very reassuring.

[Ciske]

He sounds like a healthy little boy who is just learning at his own pace and you're clearly doing all the right things to help him along. Just relax and enjoy watching him learn. Aren't they cute when they start talking? :)

[aStabbingStrangleways]

he sounds just like my DS at that age: obviously understanding but not really speaking, very physically able. i felt just the same as you, not really worried but couldn't help comparing against his friends. but at about 2.5 he too suddenly blossomed and now, at just 3, people often remark on what a good vocabulary he has and how well he speaks polite talk for 'he never shuts up, does he?

it's good that you're getting it checked out to be on the safe side but (in my non-medical opinion) i wouldn't worry :)

[mrsravelstein]

ds2 didn't say a word, literally not one word, til he was a couple of months past his 2nd birthday. and even then it came really slowly. i worried constantly about it, as ds1 had been speaking in sentences from just after his 1st birthday. ds2 is now nearly 4 and is incredibly articulate with a wide vocabulary. by the time he was 3, you wouldn't have ever known he'd been a slow starter.

[feelingratheroverwhelmed]

ciske we try and get him to day "dog" as aften as we ethically can as his word and the way he says it is beyond adorable!!!! Mrs This is what I need to keep in mind, that some children don't say anything at all and all is well. They are all unique little beings, that's what I need to keep in mind

[RustyBear]

When I was about to have DD, DS was just over two (about two and six weeks). I had to make a list of his 'words' for my parents who were going to be looking after him while I was in hospital. My list was about as long as yours, with a couple that I had to 'translate' and a couple of two-word phrases. I thought this was normal and didn't worry until DD was the same age, when I realised that where DS would have said 'dink', DD was saying 'I would like a drink please. Apple juice please'

But now, nearly 20 years later, DS is a confident fluent speaker with excellent literacy skills, a good degree from a top university and is working for a major publisher, where part of his job involves presentations to staff about the project he is working on. He 'caught up' with DD around the start of junior school, though he has always been one of those children the teacher has to encourage to speak in class, once he has the confidence to speak, he is very fluent.