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21 month old rivalling marcelle marsau - fret or fret not?

11 replies

foxymagoo · 01/04/2008 14:17

My ds is a happy wee sole but at the grand old age of 21 months his vocab is limited to "bye bye", "Mummy" and "Daddy" (and not always in the right order!).

I know not to take what the 'books' say to heart but according to them he should know 200 words by the time he is 2 .

His understanding is really good and he knows all the parts of his body and can point to anything in his books (where is dolly etc.) but when I ask him to tell me what Mummy is pointing at - nothing. Diggers are his favourite thing in the world but he won't name them even when we see one in real life - he just points and says eh, eh, eh. He rivals Justin for his sign language too - he scrapes the ground with his hand for digger, strokes his arm when I say we are going to visit his baby cousin etc.

He does have days where he babbles for hours but nothing as tangible as a noun.

Do you have any tips to encourage speech or do I just need to chill?

He is also a Gemini and they apparently never shut up!

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dylsmum1998 · 01/04/2008 14:29

i wouldnt worry personally, my ds was like this until he was 2 then ,there was no stopping him, now i have trouble shutting him up he's 9 now and has a very good vocabulary
just keep doing what you are, reading, chatting etc. he'll get there

LiegeAndLief · 01/04/2008 14:32

Could be worse - my ds is 20 months and he thinks I am called Daddy. Nothing approaching Mummy has ever passed his lips, although he has made an attempt at Gruffalo...

Seriously though, ds can say probably 3 words that are intelligable to other people and max 10 more that we can sometimes understand. Think your ds sounds normal and as long as you are talking to him and he seems to understand what you're saying he'll get there in his own time.

Sputnik · 01/04/2008 15:05

My DD was the same, but when she started talking she did catch up very quickly. We found she responded well to music and rhyme, cds of classic nursery rhymes and simple songs were good.
Now she's 3 1/2 and a right chatterbox.

Youcannotbeserious · 01/04/2008 15:08

my DSD was over 3 before she really got into talking....... Before then, she kind of pointed and squalked (but not much!)

She's a right little chatter box now!

foxymagoo · 01/04/2008 20:54

thanks for reassurance! I'm just so looking forward to the day when we can blether and I can pass on my wisdom in a Karate Kid time way..

Sputnik - he does love to dance and I've started forgoing Radio 2 in the car for his "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" CD of 30 nursery songs - aaargh!

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foxymagoo · 01/04/2008 20:55

I meant to say Karate Kid type way

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ceebee74 · 01/04/2008 20:57

Foxy - I was thinking about posting this myself! My DS is 20 months and although he has about 30 words, only about 5 of them would be understood by anyone else.

When he wants something, he just points and goes 'eh eh eh eh' in increasing volume until I go and see what it is

Am also starting to get a little bit worried but this thread has made me feel a little better.

ceebee74 · 01/04/2008 21:00

Lol at the conversations you could have with him! DH works away a lot so 'speaks' to DS on the phone. As DS's speech is so limited, the conversation always goes like this:

DH: What's your name?
DS: Jish (that's Josh to me and you)
DH: What's my name?
DS: Gaga (that's daddy to me and you)

Occasionally DH will throw in a 'what noise do dogs make' to which DS will reply 'awoof' but that is quite rare.

foxymagoo · 01/04/2008 21:05

Our conversations are more like this:

Me: ooh, what's that? (pointing to v. familar picture in book) can Isaac tell Mummy what that is?
ds: smiling silence
Me: caving after silence, "that's right its a digger!, can you say digger?"
ds: smiling silence

Fast forward 25 years, will he be the strong silent type that girls LOVE?

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Lakelover · 02/04/2008 14:09

My Ds (21 months) is exactly the same also. A few words ( about 5 very unclear ones) - but mainly pointing and grunting. He can point to loads of things when asked, but cannot say any of those things. I have a hothousing friend whose son is 20 months and has about 300 words, knows all his colours and numbers and the entire alphabet, can sing two or three songs etc - hard not to compare them, but I really try not to... it'll come eventually. DS was late walker also, 18 months, so am figuring he'll take his time with everything! x

josta · 02/04/2008 20:46

I wouldn't worry, he sounds lovely and very happy. He's obviously taking it all in and understands words etc, he'll get there with his talking...

My ds is 19 months and sounds just like your ds. He says mummy, daddy, doggy, more, oh dear and maybe a few more words, but he understands it when I ask him to do something and points to pictures in books when asked what certain things are.

He also does the babbling thing which I find very endearing, it won't be long before thats gone so we should make the most of it!

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