How many words would you expect a 16 month old to be able to say?

[Thomcat]

Is the fact that my 16month old only says 'mama', 'dada', 'cat' .... and think that actually might be it.... is that ........is that....enough??!!

Ds1 said much more than ds2 does at the same age.

although yesterday ds2 had me in fits we were walking home and he kept pointing up and saying
"mmmmmm get it mum"
it took me about 5 minutes to realise he was pointing at the moon sadly i couldn't get it and he ended up yelling mmmmmm get it all the way home....how awful am i lol

not sure if the mmmmmmm is moon or mmmm cos it is pretty (to him he is 15m) But has a 10yr old brother who talks the hind legs off a donkey and anything else nearby.

DD is 16 months and has four words - "mama", "dadda", "up" - she really likes this one - and "bye bye" but is trying to say a few more - "bounce" is the latest she's trying to say as we bounce on the bed.

I was reading an old article the other day where Prof Tanya Byron said that most children say 10 words by the time they are 15 months - first time I've heard this figure.

There's a wide range in my ante natal group - one girl had about 10 words at a year, others have only mamma and dadda now. As a friend with a 24 year old said - there are very few who won't be speaking when they're 3 years old.

Sounds normal based on the children I see. Much more interesting is how many words she understands.

Message withdrawn

ds2 is 17 months and says mummy, daddy, versions of his brother and sisters' names, about three or four other things and (as of yesterday) "stuuuuuuuck!"

Agree with everyone else though - upwards of zero is normal.

Miaou, you're back? I've missed you.

(was Colinandcaitlinsmommy)

There was a thread not long ago about babies and talking that got me worried (as usual). Got an impression that a one year old should have at least a dozen words:-(... My 13 mo twin boys say mama, dada, papa, babe and something that could be cat. Everything else is expressed through very animated babble, different sounds and tres' cute, but no other words. Have ordered 'baby talking manuals' form A..zon and was ready to conduct a 'boot camp' in early language skills.
Will relax a bit(that should make DH ecstatic)....
Great thread!

oh hello dooneygirl! I wondered what had happened to you!

Sort of back. Keep popping in occasionally

My dd2 is 14 month and says mamma only when upset and bye, but dd1 at same age could say about 10 words, each are soo different. it'll come and before you know it you'll not be able to shut yours up.

My DS is 16 months and doesn't say any words. Lots of babble and some pointing.

Soprana, My uncle did that. Not a peep until he was close to 4 and then he said "Please pass the salt" at the dinner table!
Can you imagine the faces around the table!?
Turned out he was extrordinarily intelligent and an absolute perfectionist who had been practising his words for ages, but wanted to get it right before taking it public!
He was odd.

Ds3 - 16mo - only says dada and it means everything. He clearly understands things and can follow instructions but will not say anything else.

DD at 16 months didn't say anything intelligible from what I remember.

Now at 3.3 she says a lot

Glad to see this - I was starting to worry a little. My 16mo says Daddy, Mummy and Yay but thats about it. He says yes and no but not properly and not consistently - tend to come out as yeah and na.

He babbles constantly but not much sense emerges.....

bye bye tends to come out as die die which is a little worrying......

Dd1 said practically nothing at that age. At her 18 mths check I don't think I could get her to say anything for the HV. Of course she could point to her shoes (she loved her shoes) and close a cupboard on request so we just squeaked through! Dd2 was much earlier and dd3 is a total chatterbox. It's hard not to get freaked out when people tell what you their super-baby is doing - when dd1 was little we had friends whose daughter was exactly the same age and who was an amazingly fluent talker. It used to really upset me - till dh told me not to be daft!

Anything between practically none ("dog" & "car") (DS1) and full sentences (DD1). There is a huge range.

I'm finding it's blurring a bit but I think ds just had a few words at 16 months, he's learning a lot more now at 20 months. As others have said, he also understands a lot more, though he chooses whether to take any notice or not!