Feel like two year old is behind

[Mylesbehind]

My son is two next month and other children seem miles ahead of him, able to hold a conversation of sorts. Mine does have about fifty words but they are very sporadic and random - there are some ‘useful’ ones in there like hello, bye bye, all gone and so on. But other children his age seem able to say things like ‘feel sick / need poo / want dolly’ and so on.

He can’t say his name or use pronouns yet, have read this is a milestone he should have by now … likewise talking in sentences. He can say things like bye bye mummy, hello baby but nothing else. Definitely no three word sentences.

it’s a bit of a source of worry, anyone able to reassure me?

Have you had his hearing checked? we had awful glue ear and almost deaf.

Yes, no issues

He sounds fine.

Does he understand when you speak to him? Can he follow instructions?

Yes he understands most things which I know is important. I just worry his language seems behind.

My son didn’t speak full sentences until he was nearly four. Kids are massively different that age so I’d focus less on the words he speaks and more on the understanding. When you give him simple instructions, does he understand you? If you say “could you fetch me the ball please?”, does he?
If you said “You need to grab your shoes because we are going for a walk”, can he follow your train of thought?

I spent the first four years of his life worrying sick about teaching milestones only to eventually have him get there and even surpass his friends. I literally wasted all that time worrying, reading on the internet about when kids should do what… it all just caused me anxiety.
Potty training was hell for me because I would literally compare with everyone else’s kid and decide mine was somehow lacking. Until one clever parent smiled at me and said “And how many adults do you meet who aren’t toilet trained? Have you ever asked anyone when they were night trained? Like, who CARES”. Best advice ever.

Mine is 2 next month, he understands everything but can only say one word at a time.. mummy, ball, bye bye.. etc. They all get there, perhaps his motor skills are better. My other children were slightly slow too but it hasn't had any adverse problem as they are slightly ahead with reading etc at school now

How do you feel he compares to other nearly 2 year olds in other areas ? Play ? Understanding? Ability to join in shared activities? You will always get a lot of re assurance on and offline that you shouldn't compare and worry but that's easy for them to say!

His motor skills are pretty good, it’s more language that is a worry. He can follow instructions and knows the actions to songs, you just worry when others seem so far advanced … silly I know.

Brutally honestly most two year olds I know can say a LOT more. But perhaps that’s unfair.

Kids vary massively at that age, they also make massive leaps in development very suddenly so you may find by the time he actually turns two he is doing all those things. He sounds within the normal range of development to me, but contact your HV if you're concerned.

My DS was the same until about 2 months ago (he's 2.5 now) and then it was like full steam ahead! He will literally try saying any new word now. He still doesn't join much together and when he does it's mostly things like 'me see food', 'mama, come play'. As long as the understanding is there then the rest will follow when he's ready.

My DD had 5 words at 2yo. Even then, she was just monitored until 4yo...

Does he generally seem interested in people and what people are doing ? Does he want to show you things all the time ?

Mine spoke less than yours at 2 and is now 2.5 and speaks loads. It really has accelerated since turning 2 and seems to be common amongst friends.

Sounds like my 2yr old- my eldest definitely had more words at her age- but tbh I wouldn’t fret. Language really comes on between 2-2.5.
milestones can feel very competitive at this point, but it really doesn’t matter. My eldest walked at 13 months, my youngest at 9- physically she was more advanced- does it matter? Noo, they both walk!

Shoes me things and can eg choose books, likes chatting, just it is babble mostly.

Try not to worry at this point, your child is still within the range of normal.
Keep up reading and talking to him and he'll mot probably catch up when he is ready.

Generally speaking I find boys are later to talk and first children are later to talk - I assume your son is both?

Honestly my boy was still not saying all that much at nursery and they were starting to talk about might need some intervention classes. But then he suddenly got it. Just had his parents evening and they said he's one of the strongest in the class for reading and writing. I think it's all in their own time :)

My DS is 3.5 but definitely didn't have many words at 2 at all. He basically could shout the name of his nursery key worker and our names and that was it. My niece has just turned 2 and she's very similar, has about 20/30 words but definitely no sentences. I think it's absolutely normal.

Most children tend to accelerate in physical or mental first. If your DC is great with motor skills that’s what he is great at so far. The speech will come and he’s sounds perfectly normal. I bet over the next year there will be moments his speech explodes almost over night.

You should be getting your 2-2.5 year check with the HV soon. You can raise your concerns with them to triple check

My DD had less than 10 words when she turned 2. She made quick progress after turning 2 and was speaking loads by 2.5. I was told that as long as understanding was good there was no need to worry.

Dts had a handful of words before they turned two, then about six weeks after their birthday they just started talking in whole sentences. I think they we re just waiting until they were able to do it properly!

Again being brutally honest, on average a two year old should be able to put together a short sentence in their native language - and some will be far ahead of that - which is what you are hearing around you. By the same token, there will be some typically developing children who are just a little behind with speech but keep an eye on the overall development - shared interests , shared attention, shared games. How would he get your attention to request something he does not yet have words for ?

He sounds completely fine OP. Mine is 2yr4 months and has only just started saying his name. Still no pronouns (I didn't know that was a thing- are you sure it is?) I have zero concerns about him. As others have said there's a huge variation at around 2. My eldest was talking quite a bit more for instance. But there really doesn't sound anything to worry about in anythign you've said, so try not to!