To think my 2yr old should be saying her sisters name by now?

[Tatteredlace]

Youngest DD is 2yrs 2 months. She says Dada and Mama and a few other words (cow, shoes, towel, biscuit etc) but they are not that clear.

She had a hearing test 4 months ago because we were worried about her speech and she was diagnosed with fluid in one inner ear. She has a follow up test next month.

Surely she should be saying her sisters name (its only 4 letters/2 syllables). Her sister says mummy (mother when she wants to be dramatic) and daddy so I thought the 2 yr old would have started saying mummy and daddy over mama and dada??

She has been referred to speech and language and we are on the waiting list but DH's family are saying im being a drama queen and she is just lazy and letting her sister chat for her.

Aibu? Am I being a drama queen?

My 2 yr old calls me 'bubba'. She says daddy fine and a few other essential words but apart from that we aren't getting very far.

Dd didn't swap from Mama to Mummy until nearly 3. Daddy was slightly earlier. She does have issues with her speech, still waiting on SALT and she's now 4. We suspected hearing issues with her because of her speech but it appears not to be the case for her.

You aren't being dramatic, you are being very sensible. Waiting lists for speech therapy are long and if she does need some help it's far better to be proactive. I wouldn't panic, Lots of kids need help woth speech but you are sensible to do something about it.

I agree that Mama and Dada are very cute! My youngest of 4 is fast approaching 9 sigh, I have fond memories of the words my babies used 'head ford' (forehead) 'you gits' (music) 'bef kist' (breakfast) Enjoy your baby but I think you've done the right thing getting it checked - no harm in that at all!

My brother required grommets for his hearing plus I did most of the talking for him so he didn't speak until he was 4yo.

That being said, I used to work in a nursery with children from 3mths to 4yrs and their development of milestones would vary wildly (with the vast, vast majority ending up ticking all the boxes at one point) It's natural, so I don't think you're a drama queen for getting it checked but please try not to worry too much in the meantime either

My Dd was severely speech delayed due to fluid and pressure in her ears. Our consultant said it's basically like being underwater for them and everything is very muffled.

My DD's ears eventually cleared on their own and then spoke when she was around three.

But even now if she gets a cold or a sniffle her ears block again and she can't hear much.

I'd give her a break to be honest.

My DS (first child) had very limited speech at 2.... By 3 he was speaking fluently!
Had he been a second child, i may have (unnecessarily) worried more as my DD (second child) was notably more advanced at 2. Of course, keep an eye on his ears, and they may be hindering progress, but developmentally this isn't unusual on its own at 2..... And try to ignore posters who pop up on other threads saying their DC could hold deep metaphysical conversations and perform differential calculus all whilst skipping up alpine mountains from the age of 15 months.

of course YANBU

children never talk late because they are 'lazy'. Some just talk late but will talk in their own time. But some children have underlying conditions which impact on their speech and language development and won't just dissolved. You did the right thing by getting her referred. Just follow your instincts.

3 year old ds1 had a slight speech problem

So for months people thought i had called my daughter Lala

The looks i was getting...especially as he always had at least one of the sodding teletubbies in his hand

I do honestly think that some children dont feel the need to do stuff when they have an older sibling

I still get blamed for my brother not walking til comparatively late

Hi OP, we had similar with our now 4yo. As it turns out he is autistic but at 2 his speech delay was the only issue he had - he passed the rest of his 2yo milestone check easily (including the imaginative play bit).

But here's the thing, as other PPs have alluded to. It could just be a bit of a speech delay, it could be the first little sign of something else or it could be nothing.

The crucial thing is that you've noticed there could be an issue and you're keeping a close eye on it.

NHS resources are scarce, and our experience is that SLT is directly and significantly affected. So if you can get a referral for SLT now you have a decent chance of getting some help before your DD starts school.