To think a 13 month old cannot say 106 words?

[TinyChatterbox]

Just over a year ago I had my first child and like many did an antenatal group. As lockdown commenced several of us managed to track each other down on Facebook and we started a group chat. There are now 5 of us who were in the original antenatal group in this chat and its been lovely to catch up albeit virtually every now and again.

All 5 of us are first time parents and one of the group boastfully posted yesterday evening that her daughter (who is 13 and 1/2 months) can now say 106 words. Now I'm not disputing she may think her child says that many words but she's talking utter bullshit isn't she. There is absolutely no way her 14 month old actually says 106 words which could be understood by anyone.

It's really pissed me off and I'd love some clarification because one of the mums in the group, who is quite a young mother, has responded in a blind panic that her child who is also 13 months only says 8 words. She's understandably completely freaking out and has messaged the health visitor as there is clearly something wrong with her daughter.

YANBU - The mum is deluded to think her child says 106 words.

YABu - It's perfectly possible a 13 month old can say 106 words.

Bendingspoons has made me feel much better, phew. 😅

Some mums boast and make things up about their PFB. After a pregnancy and 13 months of rearing her child this woman should know that.

To be fair she hasn't actually got anything to go on as like many children this age they have not met with any other babies and consequently the mums have not seen any other babies or spoke to other parents. So knowing what's normal can be quite difficult.

Another poster asked why would she lie and I'm not saying she is lying but I am sceptical that others would understand all of these words. If she thinks her daughter can say 106 words clearly and in context that's great but I still think it was crass to brag about it and make another parent feel crap.

Although I'm actually more doubtful after this thread as her daughter also walked early and most posters have said with their children it was one or the other. So to do both does seem incredibly unlikely.

They are both equally daft. Two of mine were very talkative at this stage, the others less so. I have no clue who many words they had because it never occured to me to count and enter a league table!

Within 12 months they will all be much of a muchness and obsessing about being "first" with meaningless goals like this just sucks the joy out of watching each child develop as an individual.

Ds was quite a talker early on, but I can't remember how early. His sister just grunted and pointed for a long time, interspersed with epic tantrums.

He is now a silent pre teen and she never, fucking ever, stops talking.

Mine could say 107. Her baby is quite stupid really.

And there is a book out there that came from our health visitor.

It did have counting words as a "thing". I don't remember ever counting but it's understandable some first time parents might when prompted.

You're stirring things and trying to cause trouble, not to mention patronising this "young mum" who is "understandably anxious" and "panicked".

Of course with you being older and oh so wise it'll "go in one ear and out of the other". How good of you to start a thread with the sole purpose of calming this anxious young girl.

I'm sure she's coping absolutely fine but you clearly don't like the other woman.

My dd is 14 1/2 months and can say mommy, daddy, her brothers name (sort of) ta, wipe, no, up, nanny, moo, book, cake, mine, and a lot of babbling and nonsense sounds. And most of those words have come out in the last couple of weeks, she seems to be picking up about 1-2 words a week at the moment. I'm pretty sure she's average. 100 words plus seems very advanced.

Just smile and laugh... won’t be the last time you hear about a baby Einstein on the parenting journey

Yes, it is perfectly possible, my children talked very early indeed.
It means nothing though, all small children develop different skills at different rates....and who the hell counts words anyway?

I reckon they're probably words only she understands.

My SIL does this. She send videos of her 1 year old saying 'look what new word we learnt today' and you have to ask what word she is actually saying as it just sounds like baby talk

My 1 year old favourite word is 'there'. She just points to everything she wants and says there. Saves having to know lots of different words i guees

All kids are different. My daughter didn't walk until 18 months and only has 8 words at the moment. Don't let it stress you. I'm sure you'll all find out soon enough if she's lying or not!

Tinychatterbox I really dont see why it matters. Your 13 mo is within what is normal for their age so that's all that should matter. They vary so much that age, DS1 walked at 9 months, had a huge vocabulary at 13 months and could read at 3 (not learned words, proper blending). DS2 walked at over a year (crawled way earlier than DS1), couldn't speak very much before 18 months and couldn't read till he was 5. Walking is irrelevant, once they walk they walk whether it is 9 months or 2 years. In my first time mums group it varied between that range but you'd never know which it was now of course.

Please don't worry, if you think she's lying then ignore, it'll soon become clear if she is, if she said it to make you feel bead then she's being a cow but it may have been unintentionally.

If you have genuine concerns specifically then speak to your HV, if not then just ignore her.

Although I'm actually more doubtful after this thread as her daughter also walked early and most posters have said with their children it was one or the other. So to do both does seem incredibly unlikely

Thats not a set rule either. Some can do both. It doesn't really matter that much though surely.

This Mum just hasn't learned the 1st lesson of having a child ahead of milestones (or even worse, one that sleeps 12 hours a night): shut up and don't tell anyone! I wouldn't worry I am sure you are about to teach her this valuable lesson.

I don't think this precociousness makes any Mum or child better or worse than anyone else's. It just is what it is.

Who on earth counts past the first ten (twenty at the outside)?!

My niece is exactly the age you're talking about born in Nov 2019. She can't say any words yet. I do quick video calls with my sister most days so I'm really up to date with her development. She can walk, which she stated slightly earlier than her older sister.

She does communicate very well still though! With head shakes etc. So I feel the idea a child that age can say 100 plus words a bit much. But I do think it's really important to just relax about these things. There's huge variety in development before it becomes an issue.

I doubt it very much. My little one is 18 months and nursery have told me she's very advanced with her speech. I haven't counted but she's probably somewhere around 100.

Also I think comprehension is also so important at this age. Some kids that make a lot of chatty babbly noise but dont seem to understand a word you say or follow instructions.

This Mum just hasn't learned the 1st lesson of having a child ahead of milestones (or even worse, one that sleeps 12 hours a night): shut up and don't tell anyone! I wouldn't worry I am sure you are about to teach her this valuable lesson.

Seems really sad to me. Woe betide you if your child is ahead of a milestone. To be publicly proud is very distasteful. One must never mention it to others for fear of being called a boasty insensitive fibber.

Very unlikely. My son had two words until two weeks before he turned 18 months (and yes, I was a bit worried), at which point his speech exploded and I lost count within a couple of months. He's now two and never shuts up.

Who on earth counts past the first ten (twenty at the outside)?!

Who doesn't

@110APiccadilly

Who on earth counts past the first ten (twenty at the outside)?!

As evidenced by this thread apparently lots of posters. I honestly genuinely didn't know it was even a thing people did. I made a note of the first word DS said and when he said it but that's only because the baby book we were given had a space for it.

My middle DD both walked and spoke early. She walked by 9 months and was steadily walking on pavement quickly after. She had early three word sentence structure. She was always a mature, sensible child. That changed and she chose a knobhead to have children with. In the whole scheme of things, these things aren't indicators of anything. There's a lot of factors in how people's lives turn out. It's when they are massively missing milestones you a word with the HV.

It was suggested at one point that both my granddaughters needed S&L input. Within six months, without it, they didn't shut up. It's like toilet training, it isn't impressive on a CV.

i counted my pfb son words, and my third born was also pretty good, i remember sentences at her audiology appointment.
but again, walking was 14 - 15 months, which i thought was great.
let her be proud op, perhaps she miscounted!

If the child is saying 106 words, I suspect that’s ‘repeat after me.’

Like a parrot.

Children with a vocabulary of 50 words start combining them into phrases. Is her child doing that?

Thought not!