20/25 Words at 18 Months?

Don't go to that website. That is just foolishness to suggest that any 18 month old would have 100 words. They are doing well if they have 10 words at 18 months.

That's got to be wrong. No way they are supposed to know 50-100 words at 18 months. Of my 4, only one was verbally talented. He was talking in 2-3 word sentences at 12 months. Now the other 3 had 5 - 10 words at 18 months. For all 3 of them, the language really took off at 22 months. They could all understand at 18 months, but weren't talking.

He is speaking, so I wouldn't worry. The PED will probably discuss this with you at the next visit.

If you can hold his attention, review colors on objects around the house and name other items as you go along. He will come along when he is ready.

According to the Mayo Clinic - at 18 months the likely expectation is as many as 8-10 words. Sounds like your son is fine.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infant-development/AN01026

And yes - some of them do have that many words at that age. But that doesn't mean they all do.

Of my three kids, the first (boy) had probably around 100 at 18 months, the second (boy) actually had even more, but my third (a girl) had about 10. She was not much of a talker until after 2. But, by 2 1/2 she was caught up.

I was worried because both my boys talked so young, but my pediatrician assured me that she was fine. Now she's 4 and never shuts up :) hehe.

My son didn't really start talking until he was around 21 months -- he knew a few words, but that was all. We took him to speech therapy for almost a year. He's 8 now. He won't shut up. He's in gifted and talented at school and reads two grade levels above. The speech therapy overcorrected a speech problem -- he couldn't say "oo" properly and now his lips form that shape so much he doesn't say "r" properly, as well as a number of other sounds. I think it helped him and he enjoyed it, but I don't know that speech therapy was necessary. Funny that I stressed so much about him not speaking and now I can't get him to stop...

My Daughter is 17 months and only says about 5 words.

My son said sentences at this age..

Every kid is different don't worry.

My middle child had about 2 words until he was 2 yrs old: yes and no (other than mama, dada). After his 2nd birthday the floodgates opened, his words came flowing out, and we haven't been able to keep him quiet for the past year and a half ;-)

These counts & milestones are GUIDELINES.

Not hard and fast rules.

Time was, kids could be entering K with major speech deficits (like only having 6 words) and no one knew anything was wrong until then. Ditto every other milestone set. Each milestone GENERALLY has 12-18mo window after a baby is a year old (and before a year, it's still a huge window, about 3-6 months per each milestone in the 'normal' range).

My grandson has apraxia of speech and so I'm interested in language development. This site is geared towards recognizing a need for intervention and it says that 5-20 words at 18 months is OK. http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/speech.htm

My grandson was saying only 5-10 words at nearly age 3. We waited too long to get an evaluation. I suggest that you have absolutely no reason for concern. My youngest granddaughter is now 18 months old and has less than 5 words that we can understand and no one is concerned. She babbles non stop, too.

My son definitely didn't have 100 words by this age. It was hard to gauge how many he had because his speech was unusually unclear, but I tell him now that when he was one, he wasn't really planning to be human -- well over half his vocabulary was animal sounds.

Now he's 6 and reading at a 5th or 6th-grade reading level. Still tends to mumble and whatnot, but who cares?

One of the most helpful posts I ever saw on this site was from a mom of twins. One of her girls was a "ramp learner" -- she just picked up skills and information at a steady, constant rate. The other was a "stair learner" -- she'd make an amazing leap, then plateau, then amazing leap, then plateau. I have a stairs learner. I suspect you may too.

22 months here and...lemme count real quick...nope - i think we're short of the 25.

You're fine, can't pay attention to other people's kid

I worked for a few years in a toddler group, 20-30 months. Most of those children came in to our room with very little verbal expressive language; most of them also gained a ton of language within that 10 month period, so that by the time they moved up to the preschool rooms, they were able to start to do the 'social work' of being at preschool.

I don''t know very many children who were big talkers at 18 months, personally. And I've taken care of a LOT of kids. A few special words which are important to them--maybe. I don't think my son said "mama" on his own until he was at least 20 months or so. He's a huge talker now with a vibrant vocabulary. As long as you aren't parking your son in front of the tv (which can delay language development) and you are talking to him regularly throughout the day, it's likely he's going to be just fine. (And you know, some kids just aren't 'talky' either!)

He is fine! My son had what seemed to be only a handful of words, and then at 24 months old just began talking and using what seemed like hundred's of different words. Ignore that website.

We were worried when our second son didn't have a huge vocabulary at his 18 mth checkup. Big bro was talking in paragraphs by then! Dr said not to worry. Within 1-2 mths his vocabulary took off! He was talking nonstop by his 2 yo checkup! I wouldn't worry....give him a lil more time. :)

My 3 1/2 year old does have a speech delay. I can't remember how many words he had at 18 months, but I did ask for an evaluation.

This is very common in boys, so chances are he will hit that "language explosion" that many people are mentioning.

I would mention to your ped so that he/she makes a note of it. That way when you talk about it again at 24 months, there will be a note in his record and you'll have something to compare it to.

He's probably fine, thought :-)

No worries! With my pediatrician, the cut off for an early intervention referral was 10 words at 24 months. Sounds like he's doing great!

Children are not machines, they are people. As an adult compare yourself two any 5-10 other adults. Find a skill you are really good at or a topic you are knowledgeable about and see how many others are well versed in the same thing or good at the same skill. Or on the other hand are you as knowledgeable of the same topics or as skilled in the same things as your friends? Probably not. This doesn't make you stupid or backward or slow or anything else.
Kids are the same way. Some kids excel in verbal skills, some in motor skills; usually by 5 they even out. Stop worrying and stop comparing him, he's fine.

Well, at 18 months my daughter was saying maybe 5 to 10 words - her vocabulary really exploded and took off after she turned 2, and continued to expand rapidly after that. She understood more than she actually spoke, and I just continued to talk to her every day, point things out, read to her, etc. She has never required any special services or speech therapy. Now at 5, her kindergarten teacher is amazed at how articulate she is and how well she reads out-loud - even putting in the correct inflections for questions and such. She talks non-stop - so much so that sometimes I have to ask her to give Mommy some "quiet time" because Mommy's head has too many words in it and can't hold any more!

As long as he is understanding you, and is not regressing in any way, I really don't think I would worry about it. You could always call Early Intervention services in your state, they are free for children under 3 years old - it wouldn't hurt and it could just put your mind at ease.

Meh, don't worry about it! I had my daughter a few weeks before my friend had her son. At 18 months my daughter was talking full sentences, but could just walk (no running, jumping, climbing, etc.). My husband and I used to joke that she'd never actually climb out of her crib, but would be able to explain how it should be done. My friend's son? Saying only a handful of words, but running circles around my daughter! They're now both four and a half and you'd have no idea of their earlier differences. She's still more verbal and he's still better at climbing, but they're both totally "normal" four year olds. Don't worry!!

My first son now 5 was like that. My daughter was talking sentences at 18 months and when my son was not the same way, I was worried. He had maybe 15-20 at 18 months and hardly used them. He didn't really start talking until he was 2 1/2. My doctor wasn't concerned. My mom had to remind me that every child is different and he would talk in due time. My baby boy is 15 months and talking more than both my older kids did at his age.

he's fine. is he walking? working on fine motor skills? getting teeth? probably his little body is working on something else right now. don't worry about it!

talk to him and show him things and teach him. he will be absolutely fine. relax mama...i know that's easier said than done!

Every kid's development happens in their own unique way. For example, I don't remember how many words my son was actually saying at 18 months. I do remember he was always very verbal, but it wasn't until he was about 22 months that we could start to understand him. After that it was like an explosion of words. Literally he was learning tons and tons of words daily. I couldn't even keep track. He is now 5 and his teachers and other people tell me all the time that he has a very large vocabulary for his age. I also remember that he didn't crawl until around 10 or 11 months and was full-on walking just days before his first birthday. My daughter was saying words clearly by 4 months, but didn't crawl until her first birthday and didn't start taking her first steps until around 15 months. She is now 3.5 and is talking and moving with the best of them too! These milestones just happen when they happen for each child. I believe my doctor told me he didn't start investigating verbal development until after 2 years old. He said kids verbal skills will develop sometime between 18-24 months. So if your son is babbling a lot and saying some words, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Just focus on immersing your son in a literacy-rich environment with music, books, sign language, conversation and even educational kids shows like Dora or Sesame Street. His language will take off sooner or later. I wouldn't worry too much about these statistics.
HTH,
A.

Sounds good to me. They all develop on their own time frame. I would not worry.

J., there's a lot more leeway for children below 24 months. At 24 months, they are expected to be able to say a lot more, and that's when you should have your son evaluated. I would not worry about it before that.

What you can do is ask at your 18 month well visit to have the name of a speech therapist or group of assessment folks so that you can have him assessed at 24 months. The reason to do that is that sometimes it takes months to get an appointment. Your insurance should pay for an assessment. You want that appointment for shortly after he turns 2.

Sometimes between 18 months and 2 years, they take off in speech and language development. Sometimes they need help. The sooner you get them help, if they need it, the less work you'll have to do with them and the more ready for school they will be.

Hope this helps,
Dawn

Mine, 20 months, says about 10.

Daughter same way and not until 2.5 did we realize she needed intervention and had major speech problems with understanding her. So her case WAS reason to worry. We didn't know. Special ed. has now helped so much.

As for my son, I am not worried. But at least we know what to look for, now, and not ignore it for so long.

Yes, give it more time, he sounds like he's got it together!