18.5 months no animal interest??

[hazelrae]

First post on mumsnet :)

Just after a bit of advice! My little boy is nearly 19 months , I've been taking him to farms and he is not interested in the animals in the slightest , barely looks at them , could this be cause for concern or am I being ridiculous? Does anyone else's toddler not show interest in animals ?

Bit of background - he is behind on his speech , not words yet , lots and lots of babble however and no other concerns (good eye contact , responds to name , etc etc ) ..... only other niggly concern is the animal thing . He also doesn't make animal noises at all .

Thanks for any opinions !

(Oh also if anyone has any positive late talker stories feel free to make me feel better , 

@hazelrae Hiya, I have what I believe is a late talker. He's nearly 18 months. Not really a 'babbler' I don't think (silly question, what's babbling?? He makes noises but they're mostly declarative and it doesn't sound like speech??). Anyway he has a few words but not many, and with the lack of babbling I do wonder whether they'll come. It's funny though, to answer your actual question, my son is really quite obsessed with animals to the point it was starting to make me worry!! Not sure if this is a helpful reply other than to illustrate maybe there's no middle ground, toddlers are all or nothing!! haha x

Thanks for your reply !! :)

I know they aren't officially classed as 'late talkers' yet maybe that was the wrong phrase , 'at risk of being' maybe be more appropriate haha! My little boy has no clear words yet but by he babbles a lot I meant 'mamamama' 'dadadada' 'nononono' that's about it tbh not sure if this is classed a babbling either

At his 18 month HV appointment I brought it up and she said give it another couple months a lot can happen at this age . But I'm still slightly worried he's behind in speech!

Ahhh I think that's so cute your little one is obsessed with animals ! I'd love that haha shows we all worry about different things too doesn't it ! .... for me it's more he's that uninterested I can't get him to make animal sounds either which concerns me a little but maybe I'm over thinking !! Xxx

@Cluelessmum5 sorry didn't @ you in my reply and not sure how to edit it!! Xxx

Ah no I totally get you. I know at this age they are potentially not late talkers but depending on what you read they are?? When I say my GP he said kids should have 6-10 words at 12 months??? But then we ended up instructing a SLT and they said he was developmentally on track... So when I say I believe he is, I mean, that's my opinion but not necessarily everyone's haha! I have an older child and they were talking very early so there's definitely a marked difference in their communication development. I have been frequenting these boards for a few months now and from everything I've come to know about speech and language, if the understanding is there then the speech will likely come? So does your little one follow basic instructions etc? I honestly wouldn't worry too much about the animal thing, yknow, as I say my youngest is mad for them but eldest wasn't bothered in the slightest. What is he in to? I think all you can do is nurture that :) xx@hazelrae