19 month old NOT TALKING?!

[MissMia84]

Evening all,

So my DS is 19 months and not talking. He'll say mumma and daddy, but nothing else. He understands commands such as "Give it to mummy" or "lie down" or "naughty" or "up up up" (at bedtime) or "help mummy" (tidy up tous) or "give it to Phoebe" (giving our cat treats). However, he is making no attempt to speak whatsoever! We use apps on the iPad to encourage talking but everything is just DADDY!


Should I be worried?
Do boys generally talk later than girls?
When did your son start talking?
Any tips on what I can do to encourage him to talk?

Thank you :)

[MrsTawdry]

It's ok I'm sure. He's 5 months off two yet...by two they're "Meant" to have 50 words...but they don't all have that.

Your description of his understanding sounds very good....I wouldn't use Apps to encourage talking though...you're his best example! his two year check will sort out a lot of worries for him.

[IAmAPaleontologist]

Does he babble? Babble is good and generally the talking comes.

If you are concerned then speak to your HV but 19 months isn't necessarily a cause for concern, especially if he has good understanding and is saying a couple of words. Anecdotally, my now 8 year old could say "hi", "bye" and "uhoh" age 2 and the HV wasn't remotely concerned.

As for encouraging talking, just talking to him and playing with him will do that. No need for ipad apps etc!

[MagicAlwaysLeadsToTrouble]

I'm not worried and my 19 month old girl is the same.

She says mumma, Dadda and no

But she understands everything we say.

Both me and her Dad were late talkers, my MIL swears that DH didn't talk till 3, though I doubt that.

My older girl was the same and but caught up and had her 50 words by 2. Though her peers were talking in full sentences and she only said single syllable words! Though a couple of months post 2 her speech just took off and she caught up and over took some of her peers. So I'm not worried about DD2, I'm pretty sure she will be the same.

[janx]

He could be a late talker or there could be something else going on. Does he babble? My ds never babbled and only had a few words at 19 months. I had lots of people say he would catch up or words to that effect, but I followed my gut instinct and sought help. Glad I did it early as he has verbal dyspraxia and early intervention really helped. My advice is go and speak to your GP or even better find a local walk in speech session for kids if they run them in your area. Not saying there is anything up, but no harm to get it checked

[curiousgeorgie]

My 19 month old also doesn't talk, doesn't understand the commands you've talked about... And doesn't even say mummy or daddy.

I'm worried!

[MissMia84]

Thanks all - I guess what Is most noticeable is that all kids develops at different rates and I shouldn't worry.

I would just like to add that the iPad is only used at lunch time to help learn his farm animals (flash cards) and I talk to him all day, sometimes going off on a tangent

I guess I just need to be patient

[HollyJollyDillydolly]

My dd is 19m and I'm getting concerned about her speech. She can say mama, dada but not in context. She used to say juice,no more and 1,2,3 But this has disappeared. She makes lots of random noises...ba da ma etc. My ds (5) currently attends a SRB due to verbal dyspraxia and it was a long road with lots of he's just a late talker before anyone listened to me. My dd does Make more sounds than ds did at this age but I'm still concerned.

It took approx 16wks to get ds a speech referral in my area so if you are concerned see your hv to get the ball rolling. It's easy to cancel an appointment if it's no longer required.

[BarbarianMum]

curiousgeorgie have you spoken to your GP about your concerns?

[jessthefletch]

I can understand your concern, my 17 month old calls both DH and I 'baba', and that's about all he says. But try not to worry. My DF's favourite story about me is that I 'didn't say a single word until I was two, but I hasn't shut up since'.

[jessthefletch]

• she hasn't

[curiousgeorgie]

I haven't yet but I'm going to make an appointment. DH and my mum keep saying its normal and not to worry...

[BarbarianMum]

I would if I were you (this is to curiousgeorgie). It won't hurt, might help and the reality is that you are worrying.

[Rabbitsnap]

My son didn't say his first word until he was 19 months. I know several others the same, including my nephew, who was well past two. They are all indistinguishable from other children now and some are very articulate for their ages. I know the speech therapist always said what was important was their ability to communicate their needs/ wants and their understanding. I wish I had not spent so long worrying.

[Rabbitsnap]

Curious georgie, I am sorry I posted quickly without reading the thread. If I had, I wouldn't have been so insensitive. I am sure your child will be fine, but it is always good to get them in the system, as waiting lists can be so long for speech therapy. I bought the book 'it takes two to talk' by jan pepper. I found it really useful, both in terms of understanding the theory of speech development, and giving loads of practical things to do to help. It is really expensive on amazon, but you can buy it cheaper elsewhere.

[LovesBooks]

My son is the same, he is 18 months and says nothing at all. Babbles but no words. Am not worried, he will do it in his own time. He was a late walker as well but now runs about the place

[MissMia84]

Thanks everyone for all your comments and advice, it's great knowing there's people going through the same as me!!

xxx

[Ferguson]

I'd be more worried that he's being trained on an i-pad!!

Babies and toddlers are supposed to touch and play with REAL things - dolls, teddies, Duplo bricks, wooden spoons, safe kitchen implements.

What the HECK is he going to make of FARM ANIMALS on an i-pad?? Get him a Duplo farm set. Do you live in the country, where he can see a lot of REAL animals??

Do you have the radio/TV on a lot?? If you do, TURN IT OFF, and let his babbling and your talking/singing be the sounds he hears most!

[Toomanyexams]

If you are worried, talk to your GP to put your mind at rest.

From my perspective as a parent of two DC, your DS sounds "normal". Both my DDs were at the same level at that age. In fact, my eldest DD barely knew 10 words at age 2. I was talking at/to her constantly. She is now doing very well in school. She has even called back by some local independent schools for scholarship assessments after taking the 11+ exams. So I just want to assure you that even if he doesn't seem to be saying much at the moment, and even if his peer group seems to storming ahead right now, it doesn't really indicate anything about his intelligence or potential.

A lot of DC seem to make a Great Leap Forward when they join a playgroup/nursery school around 2 1/2 or 3 years old. Maybe they suddenly need more sophisticated communication to cope with the more complex and stimulating environment.

[MissMia84]

Ferguson - we live in the countryside with animals at the bottom of our field.

I don't let him watch TV.

[MissMia84]

Also fully aware toddlers need to play with REAL things, this is why we have sacrificed having a dining room so that he can have a play ro full of all kinds of toys (kitchen, animals, dolls, bricks, cars, trains etc). He's been obsessed with the iPad since he was a baby (my husband uses it for work) so we thought getting him some apps (instead of deleting important files) would be best).

We also feed the ducks every day and he's fully aware of the animals in the field.

[Woodifer]

Why are farm animals on an ipad worse than farm animal in a book. Learning animal names, colours are realy common first book/ reading experiences.

For what its worth I don't think DD said much til she was 2 - and now at 3 is incredibly chatty with (I think) big vocabulary.

DS is coming up 18 months and doesn't really say words (but does sing!)

[Ferguson]

That's great he has this good environment, and the animals are a bonus that most children don't get to enjoy - and sorry if I offended you.

Yes: I think boys are often less inclined to talk than girls, and probably girls are better at MOST things than boys, at any given age.

I don't think you need to worry about not talking, just yet. Does he react to animals, make suitable animal noises etc? And I assume he is happy, and there are no problems with his hearing or sight?

Woodifer - I think books are still preferable to 'screens' as the pages can actually be turned, and even sucked or torn by some babies. I don't know what the consequences of sucking an i-pad are.

[MissMia84]

Ferguson - he gets very excited at any animal but they are still all "Daddy" (quite funny when it's a pig haha).

His hearing is spot on although he does pretend not to heard when o tell him he's being naughty

[hanbee]

Sometimes this can happen when children hear lots of talking that isn't related to the focus of their attention. The wrong word can be associated with an object. Many speech therapists recommend setting aside 30 minutes a day where there is no back ground noise and all talk is solely about the child's focus of attention. I recommend a book called Baby talk by Sally Ward, really useful up until age 5.