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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

16 month old talks in sentences, counts and picks out words in stories

196 replies

Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 15:39

Hello. I'm new here and wondered if other mums have had children who have developed these skills so young. My 16 month old daughter talks very clearly in short sentences, can count and knows how many objects - not just saying numbers. She also started pointing at words in stories and telling me what they said at 14 months.

I only know 4 other mums with kids the same age, all of whom are non-verbal or only saying a couple of words and just want to know if my little one is within the normal range of development. One of the other mothers I mentioned thinks there might be something 'wrong' with my daughter. In my heart I feel she is 'normal' just quick mentally.

She also crawled at 14 months and walked at 16 months so not quick at everything whereas the other 16 month olds we know were all early walkers.

Also wondering whether me being at home with her all day one-to-one has an effect. Other 4 mums all work full time, kids in nursery.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

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BrawToken · 25/07/2011 20:42

Neither of my kids spoke (sentences) until they were twoish. Both walked at 8 and 9 months. My pal had a dd like yours 4 days after my dd2 was born who was extremely quick off the mark, but a stroppy wee thing She was very slow to walk and my dd2 (now 2.11) still runs rings round her physically but is not as advanced verbally/counting/reading etc

Swings and roundabouts really.

pommedechocolat · 25/07/2011 20:45

It does sound like she is advanced in speaking at this point.

It is almost certainly not to do with your constant presence.

Your genes - maybe. You not working - nope.

Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 20:51

Thanks youarekidding - yes that was the reason for my post! I'll be careful with the maturity issue although she's not interested in tv yet.

For what it's worth I don't think it makes the blindest bit of difference come primary school age when a child reads or talks. They will be no different when they are ten. I think I've just been worrying over nothing. As I said, I should stop listening to more experienced mums and trust my own judgement.

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Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 20:55

Thanks, my mum did say once that the nursery school had me tested when I was three and that I had the ability of an average 6 year old (reading/drawing/wriring/spatial) not physical stuff but I went on to leave school as soon as possible so I could pay rent so nothing happened with that!

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jellybeans · 25/07/2011 21:00

My older girls were very advanced with speech and in G&T sets at high school. I SAH for one and WOH for the other so not sure that has much to do with it. My twins had a difficult birth and had severe language delays and reading issues but caught up fully age 6. Now they are average to above in their grades. My youngest DS was talking very very early and can say the alphabet at 2.5 and say very long sentances but he was a quite slow walker and had feeding issues with his reflux. But I am not sure it means anything really long term. Most kids are quick at some things and slow at others. Some kids are very bright but mess about at school, others are not so bright but try hard and acheive, you never know.

keevamum · 25/07/2011 21:15

Hi,
I just wanted to reassure you it is normal although as others have said it is advanced for her age. My eldest was the same very verbally advanced she was putting two words together at 10 months old and speaking in sentences at 15 months old. She is now 11 and still naturally bright, just got into a grammar school. However, she is also very lazy and now her peers are definitely catching up and unless she starts to apply herself at secondary school she will be overtaken by her harder working peers so it will even out at some stage. She could also count and read words. However like you said with your dd she was later with her physical development and is still now hopeless at sports!! There is always a trade off! Enjoy her though I think you are very lucky to have such an insight into their minds at such a young age. My second dd developed normally and for a while this concerned me as she was poles apart from her big sister but is now doing very well at school because she is unlike her sister in that she works much harder.

Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 21:20

Thanks jellybeans. If she's like me she'll always be last on sports day!

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Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 21:23

Thanks Keevamum. I feel like she's normal now after everyone reassuring me. This really is a nice place once you get past the folk trying to wind you up!

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lingle · 25/07/2011 21:28

"the thing to watch is that a) it doesn't encourage you to talk to her/ let her watch things to 'old' for her as her emotional maturity may not be advanced "

Yes I agree. When a child starts to talk so early, people (other people I mean, not you) tend to forget that her speech stage is not the same as her overall developmental stage. So they might be expecting inappropriate things (and the poor child may try to behave accordingly whereas her later talking peers may get to enjoy being babied a wee bit longer).

My child spoke (very) late and I used to find myself judging my neighbour's early talking 1/2/3 year old as if she was a 3/4/5 year old (because that's what she sounded like to me) and expecting her to behave as if she was much older.

lingle · 25/07/2011 21:29

Oh and no it won't be anything you've done it's just the way her genes unfurled.

Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 21:30

ok, thanks lingle, will watch out for that.

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sedgiebaby · 25/07/2011 21:32

I'm a first time mum of an 9 month old, so what do I know...but I think you should be very proud of your dd. Please just enjoy her and try not to worry, she sounds delightful :)

Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 21:36

Lingle - I didn't really think it would be but was just running reasons through my head as to why my child was so different.

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Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 21:38

thanks sedgiebaby :)

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StitchingMoss · 25/07/2011 21:45

Hi Opuchi, and welcome to MN .

I would definitely second what lingle has said about not treating your DD as older than she is. DS2 (21 mths) is very advanced verbally and with his comprehension and I know I expect much more of him than I did of DS1 at the same age .

As a teacher I would say it's incredibly hard to know how children will develop over time as some of them plateau while others leapfrog. Just enjoy every minute of her - the time flies by .

And I'm so sorry to hear of your losses. I had 2 m/cs before my DC were born - devastating .

Good luck with ttc x

Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 21:50

Thank you stitchingmoss. Sorry for your losses also. I appreciate I am very lucky to have a healthy child and can only hope that she might have a sibling to play with in the future.

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Chundle · 25/07/2011 22:12

Op she is prob totally fine however a very small minority of kids that do read etc at an early age can be autistic but you would know by now if this was the case or not so I'd go with the flow and enjoy her jibber jabber :)

Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 22:26

I think now perhaps this is what the other mother was implying, either autism or hyperlexia but I'm not going to worry now. She was very concerned about my dd not walking (until three weeks ago) so she maybe just worries too much and passed those concerns on to me. Many people have told me about their similar children so it appears my daughter is not so unusual after all :)

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Ophuchi · 25/07/2011 22:52

Thanks again to all who provided useful replies and to all of those who made us giggle with their daft wind ups. The magical fanny comment really made my day! Seriously though I can go to bed feeling reassured that my wee girl is just fine. I wish you all the best of health. Goodnight.

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PippiLongBottom · 25/07/2011 22:54

OP, the other mother is jealous. Just saying.

dycey · 26/07/2011 07:59

I am curious that so many posters are so convinced that environment has no impact. OP, surely that is just a matter of opinion since nobody actually knows. The posters who have personal anecdotes are worth giving a little more weight to. I think the nature / nurture debate is still ongoing. And very interesting.

dietstartstmoz · 26/07/2011 08:18

Hi Op and welcome to mumsnet. Just wanted to add my bit.
Your DD sounds great and i'm sure she is fine developmentally. All kids develop at different rates. But, I did want to expand on the 'on the spectrum' comment earlier. By this they have meant Autistic Spectrum Disorder, and I have 2 Ds and DS2 is on this spectrum, so he is Autistic. It is a spectrum as there are a 1000 different versions of ASD and no 2 kids with ASD are the same. Some Autistic kids can have very advanced skills in some areas, including reading and numbers, but issues with other areas. My HV passed my son at all his developmental checks, despite us as parents being concerned. There is a condition called Hyperlexia, which is where kids have a reading age very advanced for their years (often linked to ASD), although your DD sounds like her speech is very advanced too so it's probably just linked to that.
I just wanted to explain what 'on the spectrum meant', and should any parent have any worries at all they should always see their GP and ask for a referral, my HV did not pick up on any issues and DS2 passed all his checks with her.
I'm sure your DD is just fine, enjoy her.

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Ophuchi · 26/07/2011 08:19

Pippi - I don't think so, I think she's just a worrier. She has 5 lovely children, all who happened to be very early walkers and tbh it would be a bit sad if she were to be jealous.

Dycey - Yes, I had thought there would be more of a divide on that score but apparantly not. I know we as a family are very happy with the choices we have made for our daughter. One of these included on demand breastfeeding up until very recently so that would have been very hard to do had I been working. But just because it was right for us doesn't mean it's right for others. Each to their own. :)

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Ophuchi · 26/07/2011 08:23

Thank you very much for the information, dietstarts. I think perhaps she's just a bit of an early starter but we'll have to wait and see. :)

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Chundle · 26/07/2011 14:06

With regard to being stay at home mum I have 2 dds. Dd1 did everything early and read fluently before starting nursery at 3 however I worked fulltime. Dd2 I am stay at home mum an she is speech delayed and has trouble with behaviour and other issues so I guess doesn't always work out the way you expect.
Maybe look into hyperlexia just to be on safe side 16 months very young to be reading but she may just be very early starter

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