14 month old talks loads but doesn’t point yet among other things

[Raeleigh24]

Hi all

wondering if anyone has any advice.

I have a lovely 14 month old DS
but I do have some concerns about him mainly the fact he’s not pointing yet that’s my biggest concern but he does talk a lot for his age and understands absolutely loads!

he can say about 14 words most of them are said in context he’s always been great at babbling from very young

he understands so much for instance if I say turn lights off/on he will or where is this or that he will go get it if he hear keys jingling at the door he knows it’s his dad and will look at me and say daddy before DP Has even come in the house if I say have a sip of drink he’s get his drink and drink it etc etc etc I have no worries about his understanding at all

he also use almost all other gestures
clap , wave , put hands in the air for dont know , arms up to be picked up and says UP , blows kisses , shake head for no , do most of the actions for songs ( wheels on the bus ect ) BUT WILL NOT POINT!! the only from of pointing is to things in books he will point at pictures and name a couple of them ie duck or ball he will point to my nose eyes month and the other day his cousin was eating an apple and he pointed his finger basically touching the apple and said apple I have spoke to the HV about not pointing and she said she will just call me in a couple months or so ..

he’s also on the cusp of walking taking unaided steps across the room and can now climb the stairs right to the top ( which he’s very pleased about )

he does like a little spin of a wheel but this will last seconds at a time and he’ll go play with something else ( this was also a slight worry )

he’s just started to bring toys over too me and he likes sharing / showing me his food at lunch

and iv started taking him to a nice little play group and he doesn’t seem to want to play nicely at all doesn’t share and he smacked one child :( the only time he’s happy at play group is snack time and when we all sit in a circle and do song time he absolutely loves it!

sorry for long post he’s my first I know all children develop differently but I do get concerned x

Can’t edit post but just wanted to add

he loves playing with me and DP
his imitation is very good
good eye contact
responds to name 90% of the time
loves seeking praise ( will do something and look back at me then clap and wait for me to clap then look back at whatever he was doing )

He sounds on track or even advanced in communication. I think for pointing you can still wait to 18 months but i wouldn't worry from your description.

@ItalianMUM89

thanks for reply.

that’s what I thought and have been told by several people that his speech is brilliant it’s just the lack of pointing that really bothers me and he’s just starting hitting and terrible at sharing ( hopefully that’s just a phase) and the spinning of wheels and he hand flaps sometimes mainly when he’s waiting for his food or frustrated il just have to give him a few more months hopefully he picks it up soon , he does follow my point when I point something out.

@Raeleigh24 verbal communication is advanced than non verbal you don't need to worry at all. Any words at this age is phenomenal

@mthrofflwr

ahhh right that’s interesting because I’m sure I read somewhere could have even been an old post on here maybe that non verbal communication ( pointing ) mainly is more important to have first rather than actual speech or words. He’s learning a new work every week or so and using in context most of the time , am I worrying over nothing :/

typo - a new word every week or so

If he's following your point and pointing at things in books, you might well see other forms of pointing emerge in the next couple of months (pointing to request, i.e., I want that thing I can't reach, and pointing to share, i.e., 'Look, a big dog! Isn't that exciting!').

Pointing is a bit of a special gesture because of all that's going on behind the scenes mentally. Firstly, 'following a point' means understanding to look where the finger is pointing, not at the finger itself, so your wee one has got that bit. Then they have to realise that you don't automatically know what they're thinking – you don't necessarily know they want a biscuit, you may not have seen the big dog. Then they have to realise that they can deliberately get you to focus on the same thing they are by pointing at it. And in the case of the dog, there's the added factor of wanting to share the experience with you – they don't need help with something, they just want you to see it too!

Pointing is a very common way for young toddlers to do all that, but it's not the only way. If your son wants something and can say the word, of course he may just say 'milk' or 'biscuit' or whatever – pointing to request naturally becomes less common as speech develops. Pointing to share isn't replaced as much – as adults we still point to show where to look for something – but if he says 'dog' then looks at you to see if you've seen the dog, then looks back at the dog, he's showing many of the same skills, with or without the pointy finger.