To ask what age your child started talking?

[SharronNeedles]

Probably worrying unnecessarily but what age did your DC start talking?
My son is 15 months and we've only had "mama" and "dada" but not used correctly or to either of us specifically.
He'll shout "mama" or "dada" quite randomly.
He doesn't use any other words but does babble quite a lot.
I've read to him since birth and he loves books but just isn't using language.
First child so I have no idea how old they are usually when they start to develop language but I know a few other mums who's little ones are saying around 5 words at this stage and using them correctly ("car", "Hiya" etc) so I'm just wondering.

Really, really don't worry at this stage.
It's not a concern until they're a fair bit closer to 2 and not acquiring words. I think a rough guide is using two-word sentences at 2.
Babbling is basically practice for language and if he's doing that that's great.

It's pretty old now, but I found 'Listen to Your Child' by David Crystal (it may be out of print but you can certainly get it on Kindle) very reassuring.

My DD started at around 18 months, but very slowly as she’s bilingual.
She literally narrates my life now so enjoy the peace while it lasts.

My DS who will be 4 in July talks non stop. He didn't really start properly speaking until he was 2 and a half. You need to remember that speech is only part of language. Comprehension tends to come first...can your DS follow instructions and understand what you're saying? My DS knew from an early age what was being said and he did say lots of of words by the time he was two but it was definitely two and half before he started to put them all together. Now he's nearly 4 he won't stop talking 😂

Totally normal.
Mine is 18 months and still gets Mama and Papa confused.
I've stopped worrying as he can say a few other words now and always gets them right. I suspect he's having us on.
Sounds like your's is well on his way.

That still sounds very normal at 15 months.

DS didn't even really say mama until closer to 18 months, and was very tricky for anyone other than us to understand until he was about three. By age six he was speaking English fluently (and another language less fluently) and wouldn't stop talking.

If I'd had DD before DS I would have been very worried, as she came out with first words at 9 or 10 months and was a real chatterbox by 18 months. Luckily she was the second child...

It is so varied, my DS didn’t say much other than a few words til he turned 2 whereas DD was speaking in sentences from about 18months. I think as long as you’re speaking and reading to them lots and they’re babbling and show understanding then it is fine.

Dd started talking at 7 months but ds started around 15months.

He's now 2.5 and although his speech was normal for his age in the last few weeks something has just clicked. He's suddenly become a real chatterbox.

Ds is much more self contained than dd and I think that was a factor in his not being bothered about speaking.

Honestly there is such a huge variety, it's far too early to worry. I thought DD was going to be a linguistic genius because she had a couple of words at 9 months - but then that was pretty much all we got until she was about 16 months!! Now at 2.5 she speaks in sentences and never, ever, ever shuts up.

Her cousin was almost silent until he was 3, then just started talking.

Another friend of mine had his little girl at a speech therapist at 2 because she had so few words, but now she's 3, you'd never know it at all.

At the other end of the scale, my friend whose little boy is one day older than DD is definitely some sort of super rocket scientist in the making and has been using full sentences from a ridiculously early age, well before he was 2.

All you can do is keep talking and reading to him and keep an eye on it. If you still have concerns as he gets to 2, ask your dr. But it's far more likely that you'll look back on these days and beg for peace in a few months' time!

2 years 4 months started with full sentances and 18 years later hasn't stopped. Didn't say Mama until 19 months and then everyone and everything even the dog on the street was Mama.

Sorry up to 2 years 4 months had about 5 words.

I have 4 DC - one was talking very clearly in correctly formed 9 word sentences at 18 months 2 of them had speech delay, one of them severely so although she chatted away she was pretty unintelligible until her 4th birthday, both had different hearing issues.

The other was on the younger end if "average".

My son is 2 and has about 40-50 words, at a push... i referred him to a speech therapist and we have had an initial assessment. The speech therapist is coming to visit him at home too.

Hes understanding is brilliant, follows two part instructions etc and communicates his needs so that reassures me a little.

However my friends children all the same age are speaking in full sentences now and it actually breaks my heart. I think "what am i doing wrong?". I try to be relaxed but it is hard.

I would try not to worry tho as your lo is still so young! Sounds perfectly fine so far!

My ds1 didn’t have a single word until he was 3 years old. Then it was straight onto full sentences. Unfortunately he couldn’t be really understood by anyone other than his dad and me. He had a tongue tie that wasn’t cut until he was 5 and had to have extensive SALT to re-learn how to say all the sounds.

He’s 8 now and we still have to remind his of some sounds (sh, fish) but he talks non stop and can be fully understood.

My Ds2 was actually talking before his older brother was.

I think 15 months is a bit young to be worrying and I’m sure he’ll be fine. No harm talking to your HV if you’re worried though.

Neither of mine spoke in sentences at that age and I wasn't worried.

Ds has just turned 2 and is talking in sentences just about. It happened very quickly and it's getting better every day. Think after 18 months there was a lot of progress.

DD spoke in short sentences at 12 months. DS didn't really master short sentences until nearer 2. My niece said not a word until she was nearly 3. They're all utterly fluent years later

We took DD to speech therapy drop in just before 2 as she said little (not even 'Mummy'). They weren't concerned although sent for hearing test (fine) just in case and by 2.5 she was a chatterbox.
Way too early to worry although it is disconcerting if they have chatty peers.

Dc4 is 16 months and can say

Hiya
Mama
Dada
Gone
Na-night
Bye
Goal
Ta

Dc1 was not as talkative until nearer 2
Dc2 could speak full sentences at this age
Dc3 was a similar level to dc4 now

They are all different

I do think they often pick up quicker when around other children so siblings or nursery etc

DD1 was talking in full sentences by one. DD2 was the complete opposite as she never really spoke before the age of two, just the odd word. We took her to a speech therapist who tested her hearing and found no reason for her delay. She did start talking eventually and was fine by the time she started school.

She is 11 now and doesn't stay quiet for a minute.

DD started about 14m, properly talking in sentences by 2; DS didn't start till gone 2 - can't remember when exactly but wasn't worried and now just gone 3 talking in proper sentences. They really are all so different! Ask the same question about starting to walk and you'll get a similarly varied response (although obviously around a different time span).

Most of my friends and acquaintances have also found boys to be much later starting to talk as well; Relax, it will be fine!

I had one who barely said a word till he was 3 and then suddenly started speaking fluently, one who genuinely had a bit of difficulty and need SALT intervention until she was 6 (now 8 and we’ll within normal limits for her age) and one who made fairly ‘standard’ progression - I can’t remember how he was speaking at 15 months, I just know I wasn’t worried in the slightest after dcs 1 and 2 both having a delay of some sort. All different, all very articulate now. I know it’s hard not to worry, but at 15 months there is still plenty of time - it isn’t helpful to compare to peers, as they do all develop differently. I would wait until he was much closer to 2 before raising any concerns.

Mine said his first clear, repeated, in context word at 17 months (Before this he had said Dada but not in response to seeing his dad or asking for him and other things that sounded like a word but never repeated them). Within 6 weeks he formed his first three word sentence. By his 2 year check we estimated his vocabulary to be well in excess for 400 world and he was forming five word sentences. He is now 7 and has not stopped talking since that first word. It was as if he waited until he could say everything before he said anything! He had a speech and language assessment at 4 and half and scored as a typical 8 year old over all and 9 in grammar and vocab.
If you are getting babbling and correct responses to what you say there is nothing to worry about.

Both ds were around 9 months with their first words, and speaking in full sentences by between 16-18 months. Ds1 took part in a university study age 2, as his speech was so advanced for his age. But it means nothing! They are no different to their friends who were speaking a lot later. They are not little geniuses!

3 for my eldest who went from babbling to articulate in just a few weeks. 2 for my other three children.

I think at 15 months we were at peak signing usage....I think DD had only a couple of spoken words but about 150 signs on the go.

Baby signing was a godsend for us as DD was incredibly frustrated about not being able to talk!

I was so excited when she started with a few words, but then I would find I couldn't guess at what she was trying to say because she moved straight from trying to say 'car' to trying to say 'parachute', which just wasn't on my list of likely things my child might be trying to say.

Anyway the point, if I have one, is that at that age they usually have way more vocab in their heads than they can get their speech apparatus to produce....so if you want to know what they have to say, maybe consider signing....

For an exact example - my Dc has just turned 15mo and can say mama, daddy, teddy, nanny, no, yes, dog, bottle, dada, ding dong, car, tree, beep, nana, hiya, bye, happy, garden, cheese, yoghurt, beep, lala, ta, duggee but at baby group similar ages and even older just babble. And there is a 13mo that speaks full words a LOT. I really think at this age it doesn’t matter and I wouldn’t worry at all, your dc already says more than some babies I know! They’re just so random.