Anyone’s toddler go through a stage of saying ‘what’ all the time

[Summerdays2014]

Hi,

I’ve never had any concerns about my 2.5 month olds hearing. His speach is greaf and he is meeting all milestones etc. But... for the last 3 weeks he is saying ‘what’ so many times a day it is driving me mad. He is also starting to ignore me if I talk to him. Now I’m not sure if this is just a normal toddler thing like saying ‘why’ and being too engrossed with his toys... or if there is something wrong. He still sits and listens to stories, loves singing and being sung too and seems to hear everything hey duggie says...

Just wondered if anyone had experienced the same?

Thanks!

2.5 YEAR OLD that should say!

Is his hearing definitely ok OP? My DS had a few days of saying what and ignoring me. Turned out he had an ear infection. Yours might not but it’s definitely worth eliminating as the cause

Hasn’t considered an ear infection to be honest. He’s got no signs of it but I will definitely keep an eye on him-thanks.

My DD did this. Actually it was “huh?” Which was worse! Then changed to what for a while but I refused to repeat myself more then once and she grew out of it. It is the most annoying thing!

Yep, DGD, who is 2 and a half, says 'what?' all the time. It can be quite funny and is usually a sign of disapproval or that she was so absorbed in what she is doing that she has only belatedly realised that someone was talking and might have been talking to her.

Glad to hear others do it to. Popopokemon, I think I’ll try not repeating myself like you did and see if that works.

You could also try checking he is listening when you talk. Stop him doing his thing, hold his arm and look him in the eye before you say something. (Only the important stuff obv!!). Then you will know if it’s listening or hearing that’s the problem.

DD still does it age 8. It's automatic, she has heard me and I refuse to say it again so there's a bit of silence until she answers the question. It's almost an automatic response to say 'what' when I've asked her a question.

Bizarrely her dad (ExH) did it as well but it can't be a learnt behaviour as she's not around him enough (literally a day a year).

My DS did that and it turned out to be too much wax in ears which was impacting hearing, plus glue ear behind that. Now trying to get these sorted before he starts school. Might be worth getting checked for ear infection / too much wax etc in case.

DD2 has started doing this, she’s the same age. She does suffer with chronic ear infections so I’ll definirely be keeping an eye on it and going to se the doctor if she carries on.

Yes! DS did it around 3, drove me mad. I thought hearing loss/ear infection too but it wore off after a while. Occasionally does it again now for a day or so but not massively often. He’s now 4

Thanks everyone. I’m going to book a doctors appointment just to check for wax/fluid/infection etc and then take it from there. Glad I’m not the only one it annoys (I’ll feel awful for being annoyed at him if there is actually something wrong...) My mum says I should teach him to say ‘pardon’ instead, but it’s not what he says, it’s just the constant need for repetition that is driving me to distraction...