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Behaviour/development

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

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Original poster

20mth old speech development...

27 replies

MadRambler · 25/04/2013 19:52

My DD is 20 months old today. We had a playdate yesterday with a little girl exactly the same age, who we hadn't seen since before Christmas.

I'd wondered before if my little girl wasn't saying very much, but I have no family or friends here with children the same age (except this one little girl) and have no other DCs, so I have no comparison.

My DD is very lively, bright, cottons on to things quickly and talks all the time, except that she's not yet saying actual words! I know she doesn't have a hearing problem, as she can hear a packet of biscuits being opened from 300 yards away!

Her words are: bye, no, oh boy, uh oh, all gone, daddy, mow (trying to say the cat's name) & on a couple of occasions we've had a yes or fifi (flowertot). I think that's about it. The little girl yesterday used words a lot more - up, here, bad, eat, take it etc etc and it really stood out for me how little my DD actually says.

Could you tell me anything you remember about how and when your LOs started to speak? If I'm expecting too much, fine, but it'll put my mind at rest (hopefully!). Thanks.

OP posts:

BedHanger · 25/04/2013 19:55

Mine had no words until he turned two. Six months later and he's using 4-5 word sentences.

Original poster

MadRambler · 25/04/2013 20:00

Thanks, Bed - hurrah! Keep 'em coming! I'm so isolated here (middle of nowhere in Spain), particularly with regard to English-speakers, that MNers are the only people I can ask.

OP posts:

thewarmestowl · 25/04/2013 20:23

I don't think DS2 said much at 20 months; he certainly said nothing (not even 'mummy') at 18 months, and was referred for a hearing screen. He is now 24 months and never stops chatting, far too many words to count and short (3/4 word sentences), e.g "more juice please" or "let's go park". I was starting to think that he'd never talk, but he is now pretty much where he should be for his age.

Mondayschild78 · 27/04/2013 07:32

DS is almost 19 months and has a similar range of words to your little one eg. Daddy, uh oh, bye bye, no, teddy, bubble, mama. That's about it, seems normal compared with others I know around this age tbh. If you're in Spain are you bring up your DD as bilingual? That can have an impact but if so I'd say she is doing quite well. I know one bilingual 21 month old who says mama and that's it and he's been normal development on everything.

ChoosandChipsandSealingWax · 27/04/2013 07:36

Don't worry your little girl is completely in the normal range (have several times been to health visitor to discuss this so i know what the ranges are - two of my DCs had proper speech delay - DS1 because he had glue ear, and once that was fixed his vocabulary doubled in a month! And DS2 has autism, which affects speech development - at four years old he speaks like a two year old).

WifeofGru · 27/04/2013 07:46

Normal. My 19 month old says a similar number of words, and her elder sister was similar at this age. I would not worry. As you say, they comprehend so much more than they say!

Sheshelob · 27/04/2013 07:50

Do you speak two languages to your DD? Bilingual kids' language takes a bit longer because they are processing two.

madhousequeen · 27/04/2013 08:05

as long as she can understand I would not worry at all at this stage.

sheshelob - that it not the case. there has
been a lot of reseach and bilingual children do not talk later.

SkiBumMum · 27/04/2013 08:12

About the same as my 19.5m dd2. Dd1 was speaking in sentences at this age (we had a family wedding so I remember clearly what she was like. Strangers were commenting on her speech etc). I know now she was the unusual one!

Sprite21 · 27/04/2013 13:54

I worried about this with DD but nursery said the constant babbling means she's confident and ready. And if she understands instructions as well then it's nothing to worry about.
DD's language has come on so far in the past few months. Yours will too

Original poster

MadRambler · 27/04/2013 14:10

Thanks everyone for your replies. She can understand perfectly and is very good at following instructions (even if she does willingly ignore me!).

We're not bringing her up as bilingual. DH & I were both born and raised in England (although DH is half-Spanish). As English is our first language, we speak that to her all the time.

At the moment her exposure to Spanish is quite limited, unlike some children we know who have one English-speaking parent and one Spanish-speaking. Even her nursery is bilingual, so they speak English to her at lot (although very basic words). It could cause a little bit of confusion, I suppose, but after reading what you've all said, I'm content!

I have a very forward niece, who's now 6, so I'm probably remembering her in an exaggerated, genius-type way!

OP posts:

daytoday · 28/04/2013 16:33

I have two daughters. Eldest was very fluent well before she turned two. Younger, I really worried but at 24 months, literally overnight she started putting two words together, and within 1 month the change was incredible.

Your DD sounds like my youngest.

JollyPurpleGiant · 28/04/2013 16:36

My friend's child was reluctant to talk at that age then at about 21months her vocabulary multiplied by 50 in the space of a week. it was as if she knew all the words and just suddenly learned how to say them all overnight.

JollyPurpleGiant · 28/04/2013 16:37

babylab.psy.ox.ac.uk/research/oxford-cdi/oxford-cdi-online

Here is a list of words. At 20mo understanding is far more important than saying them. You may find when you see the list that she says more than you think :)

JollyPurpleGiant · 28/04/2013 16:37

babylab.psy.ox.ac.uk/research/oxford-cdi/oxford-cdi-online

cakesonatrain · 29/04/2013 15:01

DS is 21 mo, and can say
Mama, dada, hiya, no, yeah, in there, oh dear, all gone, more, duck, quack quack, sock, toe, shoes, bear, bowl, spoon, sheep, giraffe, juice.
The later words on that list are quite new and are not totally reliable and probably not recognizeable by anyone other than me and dh.
He asks for food and drink by gesture.
We had been a bit worried until recently, when he has started to pick up more words more quickly.

cakesonatrain · 29/04/2013 15:10

...and also
car & teeth!

SoulTrain · 30/04/2013 15:29

I'm very worried about DS - 23 months tomorrow and he says nothing other than "Mama" and makes different animal noises. Waiting for a referral from SALT but because he's not 2 he's not "priority." He understands very well but friends of his age are miles ahead of him in terms of speech. I was so looking forward to the talking! What are the symptoms of glue ear - sorry to hijack OP!

BedHanger · 30/04/2013 17:38

Soul, just to reassure you that a 23 month old isn't a priority because it's not uncommon for them to suddenly catch up. As I said upthread, DS1 only started talking at 24 months. He went from nothing to completely on track between 24 and 27 months, and now at 30 months he's using the odd seven-word sentence.

I understand your worry - I was very concerned too. The first thing we did was get him referred for a hearing test (which was clear). They were happy to do this earlier than you'd usually get a SALT referral. He had it done at about 20 months. Worth pursuing if you suspect something like glue ear?

SoulTrain · 01/05/2013 08:25

Thanks so much Bed, I assumes the SALT referral would trigger the hearing test - didn't realise I could refer to that myself.

BedHanger · 01/05/2013 08:39

I requested the audiology referral through my HV - the GP should also be able to do it.

firawla · 01/05/2013 17:51

my 20 month is not saying any more than that op. I was a bit worried about him as his understanding doesnt always seem too good either, and have other dc with autism but slt was not massively concerned about him at the moment, they seem to worry more once they hit 2.
my ds1 was talking loads by this age! ds2 not much at all, he still doesnt talk really and hes 3 and half. ds3 - we will see..
it is quite worrying for parents, but hopefully they do have a massive improvement around 24 months as loads of people here seem to find that the case. if shes v bright and understands a lot then that is a great sign

chattychattyboomba · 01/05/2013 22:09

OP - DD just turned 2 and she went from saying a few words - mummy, daddy, uh oh! Oh no! Hunnie, Dodo (trying to say Koko - our they are our dogs), sorry, yes etc to now speaking in 4-5 word sentences almost overnight! Just to reassure you, i was worried as she has a very limited vocab and now talks non stop!
Such as 'oh no! Where are you? Oh! There you are! Funny!'
And 'mummy, i'm a big girl'
Along with 'Hunnie girl, come here!'
And 'buy it! Want it! Pay! Mummy pay!'
She also now answers a couple of questions such as how old are you? 'I TWOOOO!!' (Holding out 4 fingers)
What 's your name? 'Na nam ish Awi' (my name is Ari)
What does the cow/dog/cat/duck etc say?

Prepare to be amazed!!

GoodtoBetter · 01/05/2013 22:22

We live in Spain and DD (2 in a fortnight) hears English and Spanish at home and goes to Spanish nursery in the mornings. She has around 20-25 words in a mix of the two. DS only had about 40 words at 2.5. I think even if she mostly hears English, she's still getting the input of 2 languages by living in Spain, and some kids are just slower. It'll come.

Original poster

MadRambler · 02/05/2013 09:57

Thanks everyone, I'm still keeping an eye on this thread.

Hope all goes well for those who are a bit concerned about their DC...

OP posts:

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