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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

18mth old girl, has only 4 words, pls tell me that's normal!

69 replies

unpaidcleaner · 04/02/2007 10:58

All she says is 'gone' 'again' (they sound exactly the same but she uses them differently, so you can tell what she means), 'bye' and 'mum' (she calls her mum that,but also any female adult who's looking after her (such as me). She doesn't seem to have learnt any new words for about 6 months - is this normal??

OP posts:

paulaplumpbottom · 04/02/2007 11:06

I don't know if there is any truth to it but rumor has it that Einstein didn't say a word until he was five.

mytwopenceworth · 04/02/2007 11:12

i found this for you

BarbieLovesKen · 04/02/2007 11:16

Emmm, I don't really know, DD is my first so ive noone else to compare her development to but to be honest, I think I personally would be a little concerned if her vocabulary was that little at 18 months - dd is 15months and has about 50+ words at the minute and can put a few 5-6 word sentences together But I do believe all babies develop at completely different rates plus there was a thread on here the other day, I think it was called something like "first word by one" (i think!!?) and a lady was discussing the same concerns, the other mumsnetters seemed to think of this as perfectly normal, with babies not speaking until 22 months etc.. and now chatting non - stop. So maybe it is nothing to be worried about??? .... (oh sorry!!... im no help atall)

Original poster

unpaidcleaner · 04/02/2007 11:17

Thanks for the link, which i read and now i'm thinking maybe we should worry! It says at 18mths they should use about 20 words, not 4!! I'm sure mine talked a lot more at the same age, in fact never stopped talking! The BBC link also says something about not joining in socially. this little girl is very placid, everyone says 'such a good baby' but i'm a bit concerned that she'll sit for long periods of time just doing nothing, watching what goes on around her & not interacting. but i would not want to worry her mum so i probably will say nothing!

OP posts:

Original poster

unpaidcleaner · 04/02/2007 11:21

By the way, is the 'mum' thing normal too? She calls her mum 'mum' but also calls me that ( I look after her about once a month, for weekends) so I'm guessing she calls whoever looks after her 'mum'. Maybe mine called other people 'mum' but nobody told me in case it hurt my feelings! Do all kids do that?!!

OP posts:

juuule · 04/02/2007 11:22

Normal. One of mine didn't say much until he was 2 and half. As long as she is understanding most of what you are saying to her then it's only a matter of time until it all starts coming back out. She's probably just spending this time taking everything in.

juuule · 04/02/2007 11:24

Yes I'd say that's normal aswell for some children. A couple of mine have done it for a while and I've heard other people's children do it.

harpsichordcarrier · 04/02/2007 11:24

yes, it's normal. vey very normal. 20 words by 18 months is an average so some children will have more, some less. what does she understand, that's more important in lots of ways
I have seen a lot of children grow up over the years and language development means dick all ime and almost all children catch up

DumbledoresGirl · 04/02/2007 11:24

Good Lord, compared with my oldest child, that sounds positively great. Ds1 did not speak any words at all until he was 26 months old. His speech was clearly behind his peers for another couple of years, but by the time he was in Year One at school, I was told his vocabulary and ability to articulate his ideas were good. He is now 10 (year 6) and one of the most able in his class. I wouldn't worry about a child of 18 months "only" having 4 words, or her use of them.

Original poster

unpaidcleaner · 04/02/2007 11:25

THanks for the reassurance!

OP posts:

harpsichordcarrier · 04/02/2007 11:26

oh and it is also normal ime for a child to "unlearn" words or choose not to speak them for a while and concentrate on other areas of development.
children in general don't read child development tables, thank the lord

belgo · 04/02/2007 11:27

yes absolutely normal, my dd1 only had one or two words at that time as well, and she's three now, and still not the best talker, but she's fine, no problems!

belgo · 04/02/2007 11:27

lol at harpsicord carrier

crispyduck · 04/02/2007 11:27

I have 15month ds2 and he can say the odd word(not more than 3 words) and I am not that worried at the mo. They all develop at there own pace.

malaleche · 04/02/2007 11:33

Please check she is not deaf by standing behind her and going ssshhhh very quietly, or playing a high pitched electronic toy, see if she turns round.
If you are in any doubt tell her mum so she can be tested properly.

mytwopenceworth · 04/02/2007 11:34

have to disagree with those who are saying it is normal. sorry, it is not normal. normally, they are saying more by that age. I speak as the mother of 2 autistic children who were practically mute until about 5! and your second post added to the alarm bells.

When i first started saying i thought there was something wrong/different/odd about my eldest, people said oh, no, dont worry its normal, its all normal. well, it wasnt. and i have said to some of these people 'you said it was normal' do you know what they said - i didnt want to worry you, i wanted to reassure you.

that is no good. if there is a possibility of a problem, then to try to say there otherwise because you want to be reassuring is not helpful. you can only deal with things by facing them head on, and that means saying i think we have something here that needs investigating.

it may well be that she is a late talker, but i would really be asking questions. the site i linked to was very clear that it does not neccessarily mean theres a problem, but it could point to something.

it is always better to get it checked out. if there is nothing, then no harm no foul, right? but if there is something then good, because early intervention is vital to achieve the best results.

lexij · 04/02/2007 11:43

Hello, this is my first contribution to a thread, cos i actually have the confidence with this one! I am a speech and language therapist, and regularly see children of 18 months with few single words, it is not uncommon, a child of 18 months is expected to use between 6-20 clear single words, but understands many more. This is not necessarily a predictor of delayed speech and language developemnt in the long run. Developmental norms aren't the be all and end all, every child is different. If you are still worried talk to your health visitor who can refer you to a speech and language therapist if necessary. Hope that's helpful. x

lexij · 04/02/2007 11:48

mytwopenceworth is right too, early acknowledgement, advice and intervention is preferrable to 'wait and see'. x

belgo · 04/02/2007 12:12

unpaidcleaner - are you sure she can't say more words? maybe to her own family? (for instance my dd2 16 months can say 20 words but no one will believe me because no one else has heard her say many of them! and she says mama to me and my dh.)

losty · 04/02/2007 12:14

lexij - that is v helpful, thanks. My DS is 31 months and has v delayed speech, due to a congenital tumour in his throat/mouth, which has now been removed. At 18 months he had no words. At 24 months he had about 3 or 4. Now he has loads of words and is doing what children a year younger than him start to do, echo. But mostly it is still totally uninteligible. Although you can usually get the gist of it from the circumstances. But, at what point though should I be worried about this vagueness of his words (no one else can understand him atm, and often I struggle too!)? atm I am not worried in the slightest, as he has made such progrss in the past 18 months!

sorry for hijack unpaidcleaner, but still relevant I thought!

Isa11 · 04/02/2007 12:18

No expert, but I've met MANY kids who didn't say much until they were two or so. When kids meet different developmental milestones varies considerably from one child to another. Of course, there is no harm in checking with an expert, but 4 words at 18 months does not yet sound like something to freak out about.

Twiglett · 04/02/2007 12:19

DD said nothing, diddly-squat, nada until she 2 years and 1 month old

DS was speaking in sentences by 17 months

they're both normal

Piffle · 04/02/2007 12:21

my dd was classed as non verbal by Speech Therapist at 3 yrs old
At age 4 she now has above average speech
Your dd has LOADS of time

lexij · 04/02/2007 12:25

hi losty, sounds like he really has made good progress in a short amount of time. it is good that you aren't getting stressed about it all, it doesn't help anyone, have you discussed this with any health professional recently, like your health visitor/ speech and language therapist?

losty · 04/02/2007 12:28

No I havent discussed it with anyone. I dont have a HV or a SaL therapist. (My kids have always been under hospitals so the primary care routine stuff has slipped through the net. eg I had to request jabs etc!) Would like one though. Someone to chat it through with

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