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.

Barely a word until two or three, but they are listening and taking in everything.

Dd was a very early talker and had over 100 single words by the time she was 1 and was joining 2 together shortly after. Ds had speech delay and said few words before the age of 2. I didn’t realise he was delayed though as I kept being told not to compare him to dd who spoke early. He had fully caught up with intervention by the time he was 3-4. There’s such a big variation of normal but if you are at all concerned I would self refer for speech therapy as the waiting lists are so long you don’t want to be joining the back of the queue when you’re sure there’s a problem.

My eldest had clear words at 18 months and was making sentences before 2.
My youngest - I took him to the HV clinic at 18 months as he wasn't talking at all, just making noises. By 2 he had a small collection of words, all nouns. At 2 1/2 a speech therapist friend of mine gave me some advice as he still wasn't making even simple sentences. It worked. (Match + 1 if anyone's interested)
He's nearly four and has good clear speech.

Every child is different but of course it's difficult to stop yourself from comparing your child with other kids his age. My DD couldn't say a lot of words at your son's age but was constantly babbling and doing a lot of miming to get understood. It never stopped her from socialising with children and adults alike or even pretend to read stories to her baby doll. I could see that she understood what I was saying and following simple instructions. She was referred to a speech specialist by the nursery as a precautionary measure. Apparently she didn't meet the criteria and by the time it came up I didn't feel it was needed. She's now almost three, in the pre-school group at nursery. She's made huge progress in a short period of time. She can tell us what she's been up to during the day and even makes up bedtime stories she tells us before going to bed.

I'd say that until your son is two, you shouldn't worry too much about it. After that you can ask for a referral for a speech therapist if you're worried. By the time it's sorted he might not even need it. And lastly, I don't know if your son goes to nursery but I think spending time with other kids, younger and older, helps a lot with developing their language.

DS1 began picking up words in the normal range around 1 but got delayed in joining them together around 2. He was very minimalist with joining words up. I remember him being 2.5 and raiding a food cupboard... shortly after he said "walk" so we went out for a little walk. When he found a nice patch of grass, he pointed and said "sit". We sat down and he pulled out a box of rasins each that he'd raided from the cupboard.
He did get frustrated though and was a very tantrumy toddler for a prolonged time.

I raised concerned about his lack of progress at 2.5 and he fell in the lower range of normal. At 3.5 after continued slow progress, he was referred to speech therapy which targeted the specific gaps in what he was picking up. By 4.5 when he started school he'd done a lot of catching up and was officially discharged at 6. The SALT was astounded at his fluency at that appointment and at 7 he does not stop and has very thourough, in depth conversations with great vocabulary. (It does look like he is dyslexic and I wonder if his verbal language development is connected)

The range of normal in the early days is very broad. In our case, intervention helped but it did take a relatively small amount of targeted support to fill his gaps. He may well have filled them in his own time anyway, but it was helpful that he was in the right place for starting school.

Talking to the HVs early was useful for getting that support further down the line and if it had resolved itself, wouldn't have been to any detriment anyway.
No need to panic though. For many children it clicks quite suddenly when they are ready

my DD is also 15m and not talking yet (my DSis has two and says you get a walker or a talker, so I guess I have the former!) other than mama/dada/ta.
She seems to understand everything we say though! I was telling a story about her pulling a specific funny face earlier today to a nursery staff member and she pulled the face on cue (without my requesting it). She makes a funny "ah" barking noise and points at things to get what she wants and shakes her head vehemently for no.

Ds1 - first word at 10 months. By 2 was able to have a full conversation.

DS2 - much much later - not sure when exactly but certainly at 2 it was only odd words. Very noticeable compared to DS1 but got there in his own time.

They were just two extremes.

My ds2 only had 3 words - yes, no and Mum - until 2 months before his third birthday. Our HV wasn’t concerned as he had good comprehension skills so no referral for speech and language. He’s 4 now and doesn’t not stop talking around us but is very reserved at pre-school, not sure if there’s a connection or just his nature

DD is 14 months and is nowhere near saying mama or papa.

She says babbababaab occasionally.

Really don't worry, youngest at 2 could barely say anything and even then it usually wasn't relevant. Current favourite thing to say at 3 is parasaurolophus and can name at least 20 dinosaurs.

They all develop at different rates, if the understanding is there then the rest will come in time.

Speech is also hugely subjective so when other people say their child is talking they don't necessarily mean the same thing that you mean. Some will interpret the first sound the child makes that sounds like a word as them talking - so the first dada noise or hiya sound without any context, other will count a sound that the child uses for a certain thing as talking even if its not really like the proper word (e.g. Ooggu while looking at a picture of a lorry = he said lorry) others don't count the first word until the child has used the same clearly identifiable word in context more than once. So it might seem like everyone one
else's children are ahead but they might have a different interpretation of "talking".

My DS1 started putting 2 words together around 2 years old. He's 3 now and has just started to talk clearly and properly. It's ace having little convos with them.
Although it gets annoying after a while lol ;)

Hi OP
Some great advice on here
www.afasic.org.uk/help-for-your-child/not-talking/what-to-look-out-for-in-babies-and-preschool-children/

DD started talking at 9 months, full sentences by one. But literally didn't sit up until 13m and didn't walk til 20m! Swings and roundabouts innit. I wouldn't worry too much, it's so varied.

DS1 didn’t say a single thing till he was 2. No babbling, he was entirely mute. Then said a whole sentence in the waiting room for our first speech therapy appointment.

DS2 is always saying something, very emphatically, to us. We just can’t understand a bloody word of it He is nearly 2 and only has around 10 words. Understands absolutely everything you say to him though. I’m not worried, it comes when it comes.

DS2 is 21 months and is only just saying proper words, he's very unclear. He's nowhere near sentences. However, I would say his understanding is far better than DS1 at this age, who was talking ten to the dozen.

Honestly don't worry

Ds1 said his first word (hello) at 8 months and by 18 months using whole sentences.
DS2 babbled a lot and didn't start using phrases and sentences until he was about 2.5
ds's 3 & 4 (twins) ended up in a special needs school as they had virtually no speech!

What I am trying to say is that all Dc's are different, all of my Ds's are now adult and they are all capable of conversing with one and all.

Your HV will point you in the right direction if she feels your DC is in anyway delayed with regards to speech. As far as your son is concerned I wouldn't worry yet.

In my experience, with my own and my friend's dc, it varies greatly. Most of them started speaking sentences at around 18 months or a little later. Some dc started earlier, some later. Ds2 who's 3.5 has spoken in sentences from about 18-20 months but it's still hard to understand some of what he says. Ds1 started speaking in sentences a little later but was easier to understand at 3.5. He's now 6.5 and talks a lot!!
I wouldn't be worrying at all at 15 months. It'll just suddenly happen and you'll wonder what you were worrying about. That's my experience any way. If it doesn't happen until later you can always look into speech and language. Some of my friend's dc had it and ds2 is down for it to help with a few sounds he has trouble with. Also, some sounds are much more difficult to say so some dc may have more trouble than others.

One of mine was talking almost full sentences at 15months and the other barely said a word at aged 3.

Both are the same now. Eldest is a man of few words and the other never stops talking. No issues with speech though.

I'd say all perfectly normal.

Thank you all for your posts! Sorry it's taken me day to respond.

He's deffo a walker. He is the most active baby i know! He's great at figuring things out, stacks blocks, plays with his toys properly, tries to run etc but he I was just worried about his language. So it doesn't sound like I should be concerned! I'll see how he gets on.
Thank you everyone

Mine were all considered “late” at about 2.5 but now talk very well and have excellent vocabulary and conversation skills. Unless there are some other red flags, please don’t worry just because of unrealistic guidelines

Sorry jumping on this thread...

My daughter is 21 months and still not walking or talking.

We are in the process of moving clinics. I’m not sure I’m ready for what they’ve got to say. At 12 months doctor suspected that she is hypermobile and she will get there eventually with her physical ability. I am worried now there’s two significant milestones missed.

DD does understand what I’m saying and signs. Any one had a similar situation and everything turned out ok ?

Almost 3.5 before I could have a proper conversation with him. Almost overnight, he went from speaking the odd word or two to full-blown sentences.