I know it's been asked a million times before but - toddler speech question

[snafu]

Aargh, quite annoyed with myself for feeling the need to start this thread, but it has been playing on my mind, so...MN wisenesses needed, please!

OK, ds is two (just). Chat chat chat all day, except that none of it is actually intelligible. An average 'sentence' will be 'Tee middlehub doo neefle.' or similar. Cute as hell but...when should I be expecting a bit more in the way of speech that anyone but mummy can actually understand?

He does have some words - dooo for dog, dah for duck, wawa for water, joooo for juice etc etc, but that really is about it. And he says 'ta mama, ta neenee' for thank you mummy/nanny...

Sorry for sounding so paranoid But... should I be getting at all concerned?

an eeny weeny annoying bumpette

Does he go to nursery? DS2 barely uttered an intelligible word until he started 2 full days at nursery at around 2 and his language then exploded. Of course, you've seen DS2 so this may not be a good example...

(DS1, by complete contrast, spoke early and clearly.)

He starts nursery 3 afternoons a week next month and I was wondering if it might make a bit of a difference, soupy. I do feel a bit silly for worrying but you know when you start comparing...it's a slippery slope...

Thanks dino, btw, that would be useful.

I still worry about DS2's language as he can't manage some letters (R being the most obvious).

Worry goes with the territory

Don't it just [rolls eyes in weary, martyred, tell-me-about-it fashion]

hi snafu, my DS was just the same, he spoke a mix of Klingon and Clanger at two. He's now two and a half and never shuts up! He was helped by nursery too. I think some children need a good reason to get going and competition for the wendy house & fire engine had a big effect

He probably has more words than you think if he is babbling all the time and it sounds like sentences. Listen hard to what he is saying - when kids start to talk, they often only use the first sound or one part of the word, but they are still saying a word! Eg my dd used to say 'shide' when she wanted to go outside, or 'wah' for walk or 'hah' for hop. Anything that sounds even a little bit like a word, and is used consistently, is a real word. Practically all two year olds I know are hard to understand, including my own.

sorry - you know about that of course, if he says juju for juice or wa wa for water. but still listen hard because there might be more of these semi-words. He sounds fine to me. Deaf, Intellectually disabled or autistic children are not big babblers, as a rule, so you can pretty much rule out that anxiety. If you want to help him with his articulation, read him lots of nursery rhymes and once he is really familiar with them, try leaving off the last word or last few words in the rhyme (eg Jack and Jill went up the...?" Wait ten seconds at least and see if he tries to fill in the word. If he makes ANY noise at all, give him lots of praise. My dd was a late talker but a big babbler: I used this with her and it seemed to help. But I am sure he would come good on his own even if you did nothing.

Hi Cath - thanks, that's very reassuring. He does indeed say those 'half-words' and I guess his usage of them is pretty consistent. I will stop fretting now (and avoid highly articulate toddlers and their mothers!)