Hi all,
This is my second questions here. I was just wondering if anyone experienced the same thing. My little girl just turned two on the 29th of September. She's finally starting to string words together like "Mom eat soup" or "Dad where are you?" It feels like it's taken us a long time to get to this point, but I'm happy she's finally communicating some simple things. But, what concerns me is if she doesn't know what a word is or can't remember the word, she uses the same term for everything. For example, she'll point to a picture of an elephant and because she can't say the word she says "Digo." Or if she doesn't know that a lamp is called a lamp she's says "Digo." I hope you get my drift. Has anyone else experienced this? It is unusual for them to use one generic term for everything until they know what the word is? I tell her what it is and ask her to repeat me and sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't. Thanks for any thoughts!
Thank you for all the wonderful responses! It is comforting to know that others have experienced something similar to what I am talking about. Sometimes it gets a little embarrassing when we're around other people because she uses the word so often. People often look at me with a confused look. If she doesn't know someone's name she even say's "Bye, bye digo!" What's also frustrating is we happen to have some other children in the family who were early talkers so in comparison I feel like she is behind. But, based on your responses I think she's making good progress. Thanks for the reassurance!
My daughter did this when she was 2-3 years old. It takes time for these toddlers to learn what words to use. Just keep repeating the words, she will eventually catch on. Toodlers need routine and repition.
M.
Before even looking at the other responces, I thought she was trying to say,"dont know" also. i dont know what else to say, except to be patient, and help her understand the words...they will come with time.
sounds like she is saying "dont know" but all bunched up together.
shes only 2... I wouldnt worry too much about it. But when she does point and say that, touch it (if you can) and tell her what it is.
I would only really worry if your daughter has the language and regresses back down to nothing. If that happens, then go to the doctor and have her screened.
She's two. Give her time and be patient. Keep telling her words that she doesn't know. It will eventually stick in her mind and then she won't stop talking about it.
I definatley know what you are going through. I have a little boy who about to be 3 in march, and we went through the same thing w/ him. However he didn't really have any type of word structure at all. We ended up inding out that he actually had a speach delay and needed some asistance. He used "dat" for everything, even mommy and daddy. He got envolved in a program called "Alliance for Infants and Toddler." Its a program that helps kids who are more than 25% or behind w/ everything from speach, to physical therapy, and also nutrition. When we had him evaluated for this program, he was about 2 yrs old, and his speach was only at an 8 mnth old level. Like I said, he is about 3 now, and he has come a long way. He is now at 24mnth level w/ speach. Hopefully if you keep working w/ her, she will get it. Good Luck... If you need anything else, feel free to ask.
C.
J.,
Your daughter sounds a bit like my son. He turned 2 in June. His vocabulary was very limited prior to his birthday. He spoke gibberish with an occassional recognizable word thrown in the mix. After his birthday he started adding a few words every week and started forming short sentences as your daughter has. Now he repeats everything he hears - like a little parrot.
When I spoke to my son's pediatrician at 20 months, she felt he may be a little behind in his language developement but instructed me to watch for the following prior to his 2-year check-up for us to review at that time - use of facial expressions, gestures and intonation, speaking words he already knows more clearly, adding even one word a week to his vocabulary, making two-word sentences, evidence that he can hear us (looking at us when we talk, following directions). I felt better when I started noticing that he was making advances - even though they seemed to be coming slowly. She felt that he was doing well and didn't see a reason for any testing.
I, too, think that "digo" is her way of saying "don't know" or "do you know" - something along those lines. My son says "who's this?" when he wants to know the name of something.
I hope this helps.
L.
To my firstborn, when he was a toddler, every adult was "Dah?"
It is very normal. Keep giving her the correct words and it will eventually click. She is still young and at least she is communicating with you. She wants to tell you what the object is so just keep giving her the the right words and encourging the language she should be fine. You will be amazed how fast the words come from here. Have fun with her 2 is an amazing age.
I think most kids do that, just tell her the correct word. As she gets older and learns new words she will stop doing this.
Maybe that is her way of asking what it is. It sounds like when she uses that "word" you label the item and help extend her vocabulary. Maybe she's picked up on that pattern and has found it to be a successful method for reaching her goal of identifying a new object. Your labeling the item and encouraging her (though don't stress her out over it) to repeat is the perfect way of handling it though. You might first state for her "oh, you want to know what that is?" or something to that effect to help her learn how to ask the question in a more "typical" way. You could also offer her simple facts or information about the object in addition to labeling it which will also help her language development. Say "oh, that's an elephant. do you see it's long trunk?" I'm sure you know lots of reading with picture books is super for boosting language too. Spend plenty of time pointing out the pictures in the pages and not just reading straight through. Ask your daughter to point to new objects that you've recently labeled and see if she's remembering them.
You said your daughter is using several sentences and putting words together so it sounds like she's not having any significant delay with her language development. They all just develop their own little strategies that work for them to get answers to their questions. Enjoy the language explosions!
My son will be 4 in Feb and if he can't remember the name of a color he calls it Blue. He will do that with everything and he talks well (you can't always understand him, but he does know most of his words.)
J.,
my oldest son called everything a "dadat". It was really cute at first but got annoying once he was about 2 1/2. He knew what the things were called he just called them "dadats" just to annoy us i think. Don't worry too much lots of kids do that sort of thing. At least she is talking. My youngest is 19 months and barely says a word. Just keep practicing and don't loose your cool.
Good luck and be safe,
C.
J.,
At two, your daughters vocabulary is still going to be pretty limited. It seems like most kids really start taking off speaking between 2-3. When she does, hold on, it's going to go fast. I wouldn't worry about her calling everything digo. I have a nephew who used to call everything "Meow". As he learned new words, the meows got replaced with lamp, picture, food, etc. I wouldn't worry. She'll be talking your ear off in no time.
My son does the same thing if he likes something and can't say the name or doesn't know it it's automatically "kittycat" if he is indifferent or wants to know the name he says "dat?" I found that if he has a particular interest in some thing like if he asks more that once i just repeat the word try to get him to say it if he can't i just correct him whenever he says kittycat eventually he'll pick it up as will your daughter its only a matter of time before her vocabulary and speech is overwhelming and you just want silence :)
she is only two. my son who is now almost 8, talked before two, but was hard to understand. just after two, he really took off! anyway, maybe "digo" is her way of asking what it is. maybe she is saying "there ya go".
i would continue to tell her what anything is that she say "digo" for. also try picture books with simple pictures and one word to tell what the picture is. :)
it sounds a little like "do you know?" to me. do you say that to her. At the same age my son say "hazel" all the time. I figured it put tht he meant "what's that?" I hope that helps.
