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Original poster

16 month old says no words?

26 replies

BeautifulBlue · 31/10/2018 10:52

My DD doesn't say any words, looking online it seems like she should be copying words at this point but she doesnt - she does babble 'mama, dadda' & random noises... she understands words like no, 'let's go out' she'll run to the door... should I be concerned or is 16 months quite young still? First child so no idea! Thanks!

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EmmaJR1 · 31/10/2018 10:58

My son is 17mths he can say -

Mum
Dad
Daw (dog)
NaN
No
Yeah yeah yeah
Deeee (duggee)
Car
Boo (book)
Bow (boat)
All gone
Oh no

He mostly babbles, says gah gah gah and eeeeeeeee a lot...,

I'm not sure if he's on target development wise or not but at least it's a comparison,,,

ileclerc · 31/10/2018 11:00

Walking at 1, talking at 2.

It's way too early to be worried!

pickingdaisies · 31/10/2018 11:06

I worried about my dd not talking, she would point at things she wanted. A week before her audiology test (shortly before age 2) she suddenly began talking in complete sentences. We were gobsmacked. Mention it to GP, for reassurance if nothing else.

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BlueChampagne · 31/10/2018 13:32

About 18 months for my two. Now they won't stop (8 and 11).

thinkingcapon · 31/10/2018 13:40

Bluechampagne that's probably not making the op feel any better!

Op I think you've absolutely nothing to worry about.....if still no change by 2.5 then prob worth having a chat with hv x

OpposableThumbs2 · 31/10/2018 13:45

DD2 didn't do anything but babble until 18 months, now a year on she is extremely chatty. No need to worry yet. Doing lots of singing & rhymes is supposed to encourage words.

Viviene · 31/10/2018 13:49

You have nothing to worry about!!

AnonEvent · 31/10/2018 13:49

I know loads of kids of a similar age who aren't talking, it sounds like she's got a grasp of mama and dadda, which is a great start.

I know how hard it is NOT to worry, DD didn't even try to walk (I know it's slightly different to talking) until she was 17 months, I was really worried, but the walking came, just like the talking will come for your guys.

itsjustmebeingme · 31/10/2018 13:52

Don’t worry, they all develop at different stages. Comments about what their child do say isn’t helpful and if you continue for feel worried maybe have a chat with your HV

FlipFlapBat · 31/10/2018 13:53

My DC2 had no words by his second birthday. He could hear (had been tested) and understood instructions very well (like get your shoes) but was totally silent. We had been referred to specialists, had detailed hearing tests and seen a development specialist. They all agreed he had excellent comprehension, but he hardly even babbled. My DC1 by example was talking in sentences at 18 months.

Now at 2.5 my DC2 never shuts up! Within a few weeks he went from repeating words to ordering us around with full sentences and is fairly clear.

It’s way too early to worry! Even siblings are so different you can’t really compare to other children!

Haworthia · 31/10/2018 13:58

Speaking as a mother of one child who talked early and one child with a speech delay, wait until the two year check. Nothing will be done until then, really (and possibly not until closer to 2.5).

It’s really not worth worrying at 16m Smile

bigballss · 31/10/2018 14:16

Daughter is 18 months and she's only just started saying things like ' see you soon'. She says bye, hi, yeah and all the usuals but I think it's more about if they understand you at that age. So if you say 'shall we put your shoes on' they go and collect them or sit down ready.

I wouldn't worry, they are all different and at 16 months wouldn't worry me at-all

Original poster
BeautifulBlue · 31/10/2018 14:56

Thanks everyone, you have reassured me. 18 months seems to be a common denominator & 2 months can make a big difference when there this age so I'll wait & see what happens!

OP posts:
ThePants999 · 31/10/2018 19:35

DS had no words at 16m, or 18m, and hardly any at 20m. Then a bit of an explosion shortly before turning 2.

RayRae19 · 31/10/2018 22:38

My LO is also 16 months and I also wonder if she's on track, there's only one word she really says properly.
Lots of people I have spoken to say that it seems to happen all of a sudden, something clicks with them and then they start to speak a lot.
There are so many different influencing factors but definitely try not to worry x

Kellie137 · 31/10/2018 22:50

It’s totally normal to worry if LO is on track, my LO is 19 months old and I’m “concerned” with his speech. Says a few words but not many but as everyone keeps telling me it’ll come when he’s ready. The favourite one I hear all the time is “oh boys are lazy, don’t worry” 🙄 it’s hard. Its easy to compare too but I’ll wait until he has his development check at 2 years and go from there, the main thing is your LO understands instructions and reacts to them. I remember thinking at 6 months he doesn’t really roll over, what’s wrong, turns out he just didn’t fancy it, then why isn’t he sitting by himself, should he be crawling by now? The worrying never ends, he obviously just did it all one but I’m sure like with mine they will wake up one day and just start using a whole load of vocabulary we’ll wonder where it’s come from.

Pebblespony · 31/10/2018 22:54

DD is 16 months too. Plenty of 'chat' but no words. We're not concerned.

Orlande · 31/10/2018 22:57

Dc 1&2 didn't talk til 2, so Dc3 seems very advanced saying hiya, ta and cat at 14 months Smile

AprilShowers16 · 31/10/2018 23:08

My Ds said about three words at 17 months, he’s 2.5 now and talks non stop. It’ll come!

perfectpanda · 31/10/2018 23:34

Dc3 is 16 months. Only says mama and dada. I haven't worried at all ( yet). He babbles lots and appears tp understand plenty. From what i remember, my older dc didn't really get talking by now. And one was fluent by 2, and the other pretty non verbal until 3!

0lgaDaPolga · 01/11/2018 16:39

I wouldn’t worry. My son is 17 months and can say:

Mama
Dada
Cat
No (bo)

He will sometimes mimic words we say, so if I say juice he will copy and say ‘jus’ or something like that but not spontaneously.

Some of the toddlers his age we know have loads of words, some are similar to him. I’m not worried as he is on track or ahead in other areas, I think some of them just take longer to walk. He seems to understand a lot, like shall we go out he will go to the door, or go get your shoes and he will get them.

PivotPivotPIVOTTT · 01/11/2018 16:43

My 18 month old says

Hiya
Hello
Ta ta
Baba (baby shark)
Attempts to about her big sisters name
Babbles mama but doesn't actually use it in reference to me
She also says no but doesn't actually know when to use it just says it to everything you ask her.

I'm trying not to worry as I remember my eldest being a late talker. She also doesn't point at anything that does worry me although I'm trying not to worry too much.

PivotPivotPIVOTTT · 01/11/2018 16:44

Attempts to shout

mistermagpie · 01/11/2018 17:10

My DS is 19 months. He can say daddy (to everyone), no (or more accurately 'no no no'), stuck and bird. That's it.

My DS1 was exactly the same and I was really worried but now he's 3.5 and both our HV and his nursery have commented that his clarity of speech, vocabulary and sentence structure are all far ahead of his peers. (He's quite far behind physically but that's a different problem!).

Some kids take a while to get it but when they do it just clicks, I'm not worried about DS2 and I dont think you should worry either.

Patienceisvirtuous · 01/11/2018 17:15

DS wasn’t saying much at 16 months - at 18 months he’s got a few little words in his arsenal :)

We’ve found the first words picture books really good.