No talking at 14 months....Am I being silly ?

[crikeybill]

To worry already ?
DS 14 months says no words at all. Ok he says da da da but its just a sound really. I dont think he says it for Dh iykwim ?
I spend time with picture books, pointing to things etc but he doesnt say a word. He makes lots of sounds and babbles but nothing coherent.

Im worried I might have been influenced by others with 14 month olds who seem to be able to string a couple of words together already. Plus Im sure dd1 and 2 were able to say more at this stage.

He has been slower at almost everything then the girls to be honest and now DH is telling me we should be concerned that he doesnt talk or walk etc.

Am I/we being silly ?

My 15mo DS is the same wrt talking, right down to the dadada. He does walk though. I have been starting to fret a bit!

My 15 month old DS only really says 'Dadadada' but he says it for everything, a couple of times he has said 'Mum Mum' but that's it.
I am not worried as I am sure he will speak in his own good time. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his hearing.

Its silly isnt. I have never been a worrier. Ive always been a " they will get there in the end " type of parent. For some reason I cant put my finger on though, I think there is a problem with his speech.
He's bright enough, and certainly understands ( it would appear ) what im saying. He can follow simple instructions such as " put that in here, take this out, put your arm/leg in etc " so Im not worried about his hearing. He just....doesnt talk.
Ah well. I will wait and watch.

You seriously have nothing to worry about OP - he's still very young. If he has no words in a few months time then maybe think again, but it isn't unusual at all not to be speaking yet - mine wasn't at that age and neither were many of my friends' children.

Every child is different - my DS is nearly 21 months and just starting to say recognisable words. What's more important at 14 mo is that he's showing signs of understanding - the communicating will come. Look at it this way: you must be meeting his needs pretty effectively because he'd probably start talking if you weren't and he needed to make himself understood!

My DS2 is 17 months & is, I would say, at about the same level as your DS. I had the health visitor over today, because I was starting to be concerned and she reassured me that, while slow, he is still within the 'normal' range. She said that it could be that I have been anticipating his needs too much , and that from what she saw today he seems to be making a very good start in all areas. She also said that the fact I did not talk (or walk!) until 23 months was relevant, as DC tend to take after one parent. She said if he was still this way at his 2 year check, she would start to be concerned.

Coincidentally, DS2 has also only just started walking (last Sunday!) & HV was not concerned about that either, so please don't worry if your DS is not walking either. Mine is a very lazy laidback & contented little chap, am I right in thinking that yours might be the same?

I wouldn't worry - they all have their own rates of development. My first child had over 60 words at about 18 months, and DS2 still has no recognisable language at 21 months, but he has started to come out with sounds that might be words. Sort of. I know damn well that from a psychological perspective, any and all form of speech/not speaking under the age of 2 is regarded as 'normal' - the variability is huge. So I'm not worrying (trying not to) for a few more months. Your son is still v young to fret about this at all.

Does he crawl and pull himself up by holding on to the furniture? Wouldn't worry at all about the talking . Some shift around on their bottoms. So long as he can sit up steadily, I wouldn't worry

DS2 had plenty of one words answers and comments, but only recently has he started using them .. he's at school nursery

It was tactfully pointed out that he didn't need to talk as me, DP, DD and DS1 were doing all his questions and answers for him.

Get him interacting with other children. No one teaches kids things faster than other kids :)

My ds is 16 months and has been at nursery for about 2 months now, just one day a week, but we've definitely noticed an acceleration in his standing up. He couldn't stand apart from very wobbly bambi legs style on his birthday. Though he was 2 months prem.
Anyway, he's not a talker yet either. Maybe cos his older sister doesn't let him get a word in! He babbles loads though and I'm sure he's babbling with meaning! It'll come soon enough, probably in a great big rush!!

Boys are always slower..so i have been told and my ds never spoke until he was passed his 2nd birthday and now never shuts up! Really i wouldnt worry especially if he has other siblings. They will do the talking for him. I also have a 15 month old and she doesnt really say many words but does babble mostly. She has just started to say bye bye, baby and daddy...but thats it. As i say though, my ds said nothing and i spoke to the doctor and she told me not to worry.

I don't think there's anything silly about checking in on development...

I think it's still early personally. I think HPs are 'concerned' if a child is not walking by 18 months, and not using 15 single words or two word sentences by 24 months. Even then it's no guarantee of there being anything the matter.

The only thing you might want to check at this stage is his hearing, as that is often an influence on speech. I agree with PixieP too - boys are slower and speech is often slower in younger siblings because older ones speak for them.

Sorry didn't read posts about understanding so ignore hearing comment. Understanding instructions is also in the criteria for assessing communication skills - if he's OK there I would say he is on track and agree with sajaruss that talking will probably come in a flurry.

14 months is really early. My DD wasn't saying anything at that age I don't think, and at 18 months was only saying a couple of animal noises really. Babbling is a good sign, understanding is even better.

One thing we realised we were doing was anticipating all of her needs very quickly, so if she made even the slightest sound at dinner time I knew she wanted a drink etc and got it. One tip is to do lots and lots of routines "peek a boo" etc and over time, just pause, and let them communicate with you. Don't push them to say anything (and never say "can you say...") but give them lots of opportunity. Sure it'll be fine though.

FWIW My DD's speech exploded as she got nearer to 2.

Yes you're being silly

DS had maybe one or two words at that age, but at 22 mo his language is only really now beginning to take off. Just keep encouraging him, chat to him, read to him, 'pretend' to converse with him etc. and he really will get there. My DS knows most of what we say to him now, though invariably all our questions are answered with "no"

Agree also that boys are slower. My niece had a much wider vocabulary both at 14 mo and now. However my niece didn't walk till 17mo, while DS was walking at 14 mo. It's horses for courses.

Sorry for hijacking your thread a little bit...

It's just, I was going to start a similar thread and my DS is 16 months and doesn't say really anything yet. Well, he does sort of say car, daddy and mommy, but not really reliably.. What I was really wondering about, is the way you say you DC can understand and follow instructions. Mine doesn't seem to have a clue and I was wondering if this is still normal at this age..? I have to admit, I don't really do it much, but sometimes I might ask him to pass me the ball or something like that and he doesn't even seem to realise I'm asking him a question. How do you encourage understanding?

My DS babbled, but didnt say any actual words until 19 months. He's now 23 months and says new words daily, and is starting to put two or three together. It really happens quickly - honestly, try not to worry. I remember panicking when he didn't point at things at 13 months, which looking back seems silly now that walking takes hours because he wants to point at every single stone, tree, leaf etc and name them