Worried about 1 year old's language development

[Eminybob]

My DS is nearly 13 months and doesn't seem to have any words yet.

He can say mama and dada but not really in context, I thought he said nana for banana a couple of times but I could have been imagining it.

He used to be quite vocal and babbly until a few weeks ago but has gone really quite recently, he mostly says uh-guh. A lot.

He is just starting to walk at the moment so I'm not sure if he's putting his speaking practice on the back burner while he's mastering walking?

How much should he be talking at this age? Do I need to think about speaking to someone about it yet?

13 months is still pretty early to be talking I think. I wouldn't worry!

He's only 13 months.

Oh. I've read somewhere that babies should have 3-4 words by now. Maybe I need to put the baby books down!

I wouldn't worry about it at 13 months at all. If he has been babbling away then that's fine. They might have one or two words at this age. I expect your suspicions about him diverting his focus onto his walking are correct. If his language doesn't seem to progress over the next few months with him picking up a few words then maybe pop along to your health visitor for a referral for hearing assessment in the first instance. He is very young still. Loads of kids his age won't be saying any recognisable words at all.

HTH

DS is 12 months and says "uh-oh!" all the time.

That's it really. He used to say mam, but it meant "give me my dummy", not mama (me). He doesn't have a dummy outside his cot anymore so he doesn't say it- well, he says mama and dada etc but it's just babbling really.

Uh-oh means all the following: something fell / I dropped something / I deliberately fired something across the room and I find myself hilarious / get that thing I deliberately fired / get that thing NOW!

I thought he said banana too but he won't do it on demand. It was more "bana".

My LO had mama and nanda (Xander-our cat) at 13months. We did baby sign and he used a LOT of those so I was a little worried about his speech but realised he was still very little.

He's 19 months now and seems to come out with a new word everyday. I've lost count of them now, not all perfect pronunciation but still he's able to communicate well. It seemed to start and ramp up really quickly.

Walking practice probably does mean he's popped speaking effort on the back burner. He's still very young OP, I wouldn't worry.

Expected level is 6-18 appropriate sounds at 18 months. (or it used to be). Appropriate sound might be "brmm" for a car or "moo" for a cow, not the correct word.

He probably is concentrating on walking. My ds had no discernable words at all 13 months. He was nearly 2 before we got Mummy.
Nothing wrong with him at all.

Thanks everyone I feel better now.

When he had his 9 month check up with the health visitor (when he was actually 10 months) and you have to fill that form in with what he can do, she seemed really surprised that he didn't have any words then! At 10 months! So that's been playing on my mind.

Just as an aside, he's really clumsy, especially since starting to walk and is forever banging his head. I'm a little worried that he could be doing himself some damage which could effect his development. Please tell me I'm being silly and PFB?

You're being silly and pfb!

21 month old dd bangs her head at least twice a day, she went straight from crawling to running and skipped the walking part. Except she's really clumsy which doesn't mix well with running!!

Your being pfb and silly

My 13mo conveys everything he needs to say by shaking his head and making a disgusted face or by pointing and saying 'ah' (I've convinced myself he's saying 'that'). I don't think he'll ever need to learn any words

13 months is pretty young, but if you think there's 'something' wrong, trust your instincts and don't be fobbed off. I started worrying about DS speech/language at about 18 months as he only had 2 words, everyone told me he was fine and would catch up quickly: he didn't and at nearly 3 we are still waiting for SALT which if I'd pushed earlier he would be having by now. Of course not saying at all your LO is bound to have problems too, but be pro-active and start working on it early, if you do think there's a problem.

My dd could say 'uh oh' and 'hiya' at 13 months. At 19 months she could say 2-3 word sentences and at 2 was an extremely good talker and way ahead of peers. Nothing to worry about she's just a baby