14mo can't say Mama and Dada - is this a problem?

[thetraveller]

List of developmental milestones I have says a 14mo should be able to say Mama and Dada intentionally, differentiating between the two. My DS doesn't do this (although he can make both sounds). His hearing seems good and he babbles away nineteen to the dozen; just no words yet. Is this normal or should I be worried?

Normal. DS hardly had any words at all until well after he was two, then started talking in sentences straight away. Never shuts up now ...

My son was late at talking and was referred to a sppech therapist who tested his comprehesion.She found that even though he could not talk at 1 and a half his understanding was there. Now we can't get a word in edgeways and he uses relly long words like paricularly? If you are worried see the HV and you will be referred to a speech therapist who will test hearing and comprehension

Normal. DS was 18mo before he said anything, and his first words were 'thank you'

Took til about 20mo before I heard mama.. little rotter.

Sounds normal to me, DD didn't say mama or dada until she was about 18 or 19 months.

If you are worried ask your HV for a hearing test

Phew - thanks for the reassurance. Friends' 12mo saying, "Cat", "Duck" and, bizarrly, "Moon", so was starting to panic. I know I shouldn't compare....

We have a routine doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks, so will mention it then just in case they want to do a hearing test or similar. But DS's hearing seems good to me; he loves music and dancing and will hum tunes to himself

Tonari - what a wonderfully polite DS you have!

I think there is a huge range - some kids are just much more verbal (and less interested in other stuff). My DD (14 months) is like this - she is really into language and tries to talk really hard. As a consequence she says quite a lot of words. She has been saying Dada in context for about 5 months now, and has just started calling me Mama as a proper name in context.

My godson however was totally not interested in producing words till much older (and is so bright has won scholarship to most academic public school in the UK). I dont think you should worry or compare too much.

My godson on the other hand was a very keen walker - my DD can walk if she tries but really isn't that bothered about doing it and often just crawls instead.

So they all have their little things that they major in!

Does he seem to understand you even if he doesn't say words himself?

I think he understands some things (like, "No!") although he usually chooses to do his own thing so it's difficult to tell. He never responds to his name, for example. He's very physical, with lots of walking, running and climbing, so I guess he's just more focused on that at the moment.

Children vary a lot in how quickly they develop. Early speech is not a sign of intelligence or anything to do with parenting.

Does your baby make lots of lovely noises? Does he make his feelings known by gesture. Does he understand anything you say? If you call his name does he react?

Many children don't say their first word until 18 months. If you are concerned then I would ask your health visitor.

You sound to me like you've got a classic little boy who loves his physical stuff and isn't so bothered about the verbal side yet. My godson was just the same.

My DD won't climb or run without help/attention from Mummy. She is perfectly capable of climbing down the stairs on her own, but she wants me there with her. Although my DD sounds like she is more verbal than your little boy, I bet she is much less confident physically than he is.

Might be an idea to get his hearing checked just to be sure - you could even do your own tests? I have a bit of a hearing loss so have been very watchful with DD - she is fine, but I often do little tests like saying "DD?" quietly from next room or asking her a question to see if she responds and hears me.

I think his hearing is pretty good as he reacts to the slightest sound (eg keys turning in front door lock / somebody dropping a small object behind him etc), but I will get it checked out next time I'm at the doctor's.

reallytired - he does make lots of different noises and gestures. He doesn't respond to his name and I'm not sure how much he understands of what I say.

"reallytired - he does make lots of different noises and gestures. He doesn't respond to his name and I'm not sure how much he understands of what I say."

I think you need to go to your health visitor and ask for a proper hearing test. Prior to the newborn hearing test a health visitor used to test baby's hearing at 7 months and one of the tests was to see if the child responded to their name. If a 14 month old does not turn his head when his name is called then that would set off alarm bells for me.

There might be a simple problem like glue, that is stopping your child from learning to speak.

Development is a journey not a race. Your little one is has lots of time.

Traveller

I think you will "know" when your DS does understand you well, as he will start interacting.

EG you might say OK lets go downstairs now and he will look at you, say something eg "yeh!" or smile or whatever, and then walk/crawl towards the stairs.

If you say, eg "do you want your juice/biscuit", what does he do? Does he start looking around for it and getting excited (this assumes he likes biscuits!)

Do you live with anyone else? For example, if you were to say when eg Dad comes home, "oh listen DS, is that Daddy coming home?" what would he do? Would he look downstairs/towards the front door? Or start to show signs of being excited about seeing Dad?

If you say "where are your shoes/where's your pram" - what would he do?

Etc ect!

DD is 16 months and has one word - 'Bubbles'!! It's clear and is often accompanied by pointing towards the pot of bubble solution! She's beginning to use 'Mumumumumumum' or 'Dadadadadad' vaguely and sortof if she wants our attention, but it's certainly not a clear 'mummy' or 'daddy'. She does seem to understand things we say though.

I'm pretty sure DS wasn't saying Mama or Dada by that age. DD may have been saying Dada but certainly wasn't saying Mama. Which brings me on to the second point -- both of mine said Dada months and months and months before they said Mama (directed at me rather than a general mamamama noise). DS even said the name of MIL's flipping dog before he said Mama.

But if you're not sure he's understanding much of what is said to him and he's not reacting to his name I'd get his hearing tested -- may be nothing but there could be a problem.

I'm with ProfLayton. DD said Dada months before Mama. Perhaps from 15 months. Now at 20 months she shouts Mummy , Daddy and is imitating everything. This has happened rapidly following a period of physical development.

Will definitely get the hearing checked out. Although just had a disagreement with DP who said DS doesn't react to his name when it's said in a stern, "DS, no!" way, but does react when it's said in a more encouraging way. He could be right; I have a sneaking suspicion that DS hears everything perfectly but is just stubborn selective about what he reacts to.

Oh yes, my DS does that -- when he was three I did get his ears tested because he was so good at ignoring his name, without even twitching. 14mo is quite young to have cottoned on to that (if he's really not reacting at all) but your DS may just be unusually gifted...

Bumpsadaisy's comments seem to mirror the conversations that I've been having with a few friends recently.

Our babies (15-18 months) tend to be 'movers' or 'talkers'. I think that movers get what they want themselves and talkers try to ask for it. I realise it is a small test group

The three I was with on Monday 16-18 months, none of them are using mummy and daddy meaningfully. They are using quite random words in fact of which 'shoes' seems to be a favourite .

Have you tried asking him to get things for you? That I find quite surprising with my daughter.

I also am not always sure that everyone you talk to about this actually tells you the truth. I know one that is meant to be stringing whole sentences together at 15 months, but I've never heard him say a single recognisable word