how early is an 'early talker'?

[dreamymum]

and i mean stringing together more than 2 words

Isn't Blimey a good word. Don't think I've used it for 30 years!

IIRC babbling is innate behaviour is children. All babies babble, and all babies make a wide range of sounds. With time, and positive reinforcent NT children will begin to associate specific sounds with specific items or behaviours. Sounds which are not used in a native language (eg for english speakers the 'click' sounds of languages like Xhosa (sp?) will tend to decline, as they are not reinforced)

Even profoundly deaf children will go through a period of innate babbling, but this will decline as they cannot hear the reinforcement.

S[each develops as a learned behaviour due to reinforcement of innate babbling

Thats right Martianbishop, my ds used to babble then he stopped because he couldnt get any response.

get hear!!

I love the word blimey! And sorry, mr genius blogger is probably on this site because I clicked on his bastard iq test link. Silly me.

What I find extraordinary is him saying that he has never been questioned before. I notice he hsn't come back - what's the time in Singapore?

My dd didn't babble, or at least not typically. She only grunted . No hearing problems. She was delayed in her speech, had no words at all until 2.7. Her second utterance was two word phrase (first word 'no', second 'no way' ). She's odd. And stubborn.

I'm sure i read somewhere that the range of normal development is quiet wide because different people find it easier/harder to understand toddler babble. So, for example, today DS (20months)said 'look, mummy another red bus' or as everyone else heard 'loo, mummy, lulla reee buh'. Some parents find it easier to pick up on speech and will therefore report earlier speech development whereas others may have only picked out the 'mummy' in that sentence IYSWIM and so would still say their child only spoke in one word. Some people even believe their 2 week old says 'water' That's why comparing within the normal range is not very helpful. I think it's the same with defining crawling as well though I may be making this all up.... but not intentionally I assure you.

Is Mr. Blogger asserting that his 2 week old understood why he needed and wanted (water), and could ask for it emphatically and clearly?

Now that is genius, that level of needs awareness and decisiveness. My 4yo can't even decide what he wants for breakfast...

I mentioned my precocious talker earlier. I actually think she wasn't an early talker, she was an early enunciator. She when other 1 year olds say "loomuledba" - she said "look mum, red bus." The other child's saying to too - but not clearly. She never got ls and rs muddled up, or lisped or said t for c or any of those other endearing things most children do. MAybe she just had a very talented tongue!

You put that much more succintly than me, Seeker. I'm sure that's why you have to look at comprehension if you're worried rather than actual speech.

DD1 only said mama and dada when DD2 was born at 18 months we were worried about her at the time, fast forward now she's she past 3 and never stops talking.

DD2 I think she said things like "here you go" at around a year maybe a bit more but certainly she has talked a lot earlier.

seeker...blimey is indeed a wonderful word.

(I first said it at 5 weeks old, btw)