2 year old not stringing sentences!

[3milygrac3]

Hi everybody. My little boy is 2 next month and I'm really worrying about his two year check up. He can say quite a few words and does always try to repeat some of the words I teach him. He's a very clever little boy who definitley knows what he wants, loves playing outside and in the dirt etc. However, when I try and sit down with flashcards, books etc he just would much rather go back to playing outside 😂. I know all babies develop differently but I am worried at what they may say. He learns better by seeing our family car and then it sticks that's a car. I'd say he learns more when he can physically see an object and if its interesting to him. Has anybody else had the same experience? Thank you x

Try not to worry too much, although it's easier said than done, I know. My middle ds hardly had any words at the time of his 2 year check. Health visitor wasn't concerned, but I was so worried she agreed to do a hearing check. Also couldn't help comparing him with ds1, who had been an early talker. 20+ years later and both are working towards their Masters degrees! They really do develop at their own pace and it doesn't sound to me like you have any cause for concern

Flash cards aren’t at all necessary for children to learn to speak. They learn better from talking and singing songs. I used some with my nearly 4 year old to teach blending of sounds for reading but I wouldn’t use them easier than that.

Speak to the HV about your concerns. She may suggest a hearing check and a referral to speech and language.

My eldest DD had 5 words at her 2 year check. That got a referral to SALT. From then until she started school it was check ups every few months... Because she was progressing. Only once she started school they actually started anything serious.

He's young. 2yos don't need flashcards. They need books read, songs sang and parents to talk to them. Not talking in sentences is well within the expected range (the 5 words was considered bottom of normal range incidentally).

My 20 month old has no words bar 4 or 5 animal sounds and the dogs name. All she says is 'baaah' for everything and mama and dada, but not to call us. We rang the HV last week as we were worried about it. They didnt seem concerned at all. Also, they said in this current climate, it seems they need to basically be mute to get a referral. She also still sint walking independently. However her cognition is amazing. She understands everything, and can indicate dozens of animals and items in books etc to an amazing degree really.

We have been doing lots of looking into this as it looks like our DD will get minimal surrport. My advice would be to just keep talking to him. Use nouns as much as possible, point everything out, ask him lots of questions, give him choices about what he wants to do or eat etc and encourage him to say the words, read books, go to new places and show him lots of stuff, and generally interact.

As a teacher, I know it never ever matters who walked or talked first. It has no impact on their life long term, as long as they eventually get there, and if his understanding is good, and vocabulary is good, the sentences will come.

Try not to worry - we had about 10 noises/sounds at 2 years but six months on we've got regular 3-4 word sentences and new words every day. Still waiting to see the speech & language team though!

As PP have said you just have to keep talking, reading, showing them new things and telling them what they are. We found it was really useful to add on extra words so if they say "car", you can "red car" or "mama's red car" or "fast car" to try and help them learn new ways to describe the thing that they know. Leaving pauses in reading is good too so if they know any words you can get them to fill in the gaps (the acorn wood Julia Donaldson ones are good for that).

It's really normal for a kid to just play all day.. Just don't give up you'll definitely find a way to teach him.

I think it’s not the norm so to say for an almost two year old to be speaking in sentences. Mine would say a few phrases at that age and very rarely put two words together. No one seemed fussed.

The Charity I can has a very useful website which includes a progress checker.

ican.org.uk/i-cans-talking-point/

Ds1 had a speech delay and although he understood very well he needed extra support to help him build sentences.

The speech therapist recommended getting down on his level whilst he was playing and not say anything. Then if he looked up at me I would say one word to label what he was doing/playing with. If he was to say one word then I would add to that word (e.g if he said car I would say blue car or mummy's car or car fast etc). She said to only do this for a short time every day as it feels unnatural. The key was that the communication started with him and at his level. It can be very easy as a parent to 'fill in the gaps' and also to keep asking questions but for some children this does not help.

I wouldn’t worry. I did all the flash cards with ds1, constantly chatting, narrating things etc and at 2 he spoke very little, only a handful of words, no sentences and like yours preferred to play. I was a bit worried but about 3 months after his 2nd birthday he started picking up loads of words and started speaking in sentences. He is 3 now and while his pronunciation isn’t brilliant he has a fantastic vocabulary. They change so much between 2 and 3.

And for what it’s worth my neglected 2nd born who has never had flash cards or the one on one talking i did with ds1 is 19 months and talking non stop in sentences. I was so surprised. They are all so different so don’t feel like it’s something you’ve done or not done some are just quicker with talking but I’m sure he will catch up just like my ds did.