18 month old doesn't talk

[INeedToGetOutOfMyHouse]

My 18mo DD only says three words: No (which she uses to mean yes and no), Dad (which she uses to mean Dad and Mum) and milk. She understands us when we speak and makes noises and gestures to communicate, but she is going to nursery soon and I would like her to have more words to use there to make friends with others her own age. What can I do to encourage her to learn more words? Are there any books or flashcards you can recommend? Or should I just stop worrying about it and let it come in its own time? I was a late talker myself (didn't say a word until 22 months). I'm perfectly capable at communicating now, but I had a bad lisp at primary school which I'd like to help DD avoid if possible. Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

When my son (now 24 months) was 18 months old he only said a handful of words ( that only I could understand). I too was worried as I was severely speech delayed myself ( I didn’t talk in sentences until 4, had a lisp and was in speech therapy until I was 7/8). Around 21 months my son started talking. It’s like he woke up one day and it just clicked .He’s currently saying well over 100 words ( I can’t keep track anymore ) , has great articulation and is talking in short 2-3 word sentences.

Reading helped a lot. I find letting my son point to pictures in the books and talking about them helped rather than always reading the story. Kinda interesting but a lot of my sons first words were at the dinner table and related to eating ( bowl, plate , cheese, bread , spoon etc )! I think it’s because when we eat together he gets one on one time with me and we eat and chat away, pointing at everything and saying words .I wish I could do that all day with him ( and I do try but he has a younger brother who needs me too )

I'm just jumping on this thread as I'm in the same boat as you with my DD x

My daughter didn’t speak until she was nearly three. We talked , I talked she said da da da da, we read, we sang . She could point to anything I asked so she knew what it was but couldn’t say it. Then she started to talk around three and she was fine. She also had health issues that cleared up around the same time so maybe it was related.
My second daughter didn’t get round to saying much until she was nearly two , but then I got the impression she was happy to let her siblings do all the talking! She went from a few words to sentences in a couple of weeks.
I think if they are generally happy in themselves and reaching most of their other milestones then don’t worry about it, they’ll get there in their own sweet time.