My son turns 18 months today and I am wondering about what other moms of boys have experienced with language development. My nephew is 3 and I watched how his language developed more slowly than his baby sister's who, at 2, knows her colors and numbers! My little guy is only saying a few words right now although and does not always gesture when I ask him to point at something. Sometimes I think he is just stubborn and gets sick of mom asking the same old stuff as he will take my hand and lead me to what HE wants instead. His hearing seems to be good but I would certainly not shy away from having him screened just in case. It just feels like I have been waiting FOREVER for his language explosion.
I have spoken to his doc and we have his 18 month check this week so we will talk more then but, more than anything, I am wondering how your little guys have developed.
My daughter is 21 months old and she barely says anything. She KNOWS a lot of what is said to her, but she just doesn't feel like talking in English. We know a boy who was born a day after her and he has been says words for AGES. So I think it's more of a personal thing, and not a boy s girl thing.
My son is also 18 months and I think I could have written your post! :) My son says only a couple of words, and even those are hard to discern. He clearly hears because he understands and can follow simple directions. I completely understand where you're coming from - it's hard not to get a little nervous when they do something later than when we thought they would...and so, I wait...patiently...or not!
I wouldn't worry at all. As long as he can follow your directions, he hears you, and babbles/has a few words, hes FINE. You cannot compare children at all, even within the same family.
My oldest didnt' speak at all until he was 2 1/2, and then he literally woke up one day and started speaking full sentences. I'm not joking, he went from 5 or so words and grunting/pointing to speaking clearly. BUT he was very physical, at 5 months he could sit up, at 7 motnsh he was crawling and cruising furniture ,adn walking at 9months. He picked up a screwdriver at 14 months old and started turning a screw, he was physical, but not a talker.
Now my youngest, he was a talker, by 9 months he had 20 words, and by a year was making sentences. Now at 2 1/2 he speaks fully, we can full conversations with him and total strangers understand him. But he's a big ol klutz, he didn't walk until 11 months, he atually never walked, he went straight from cruising to running! LOL!
ALL kids are different, and I don't think its a boy thing vs. a girl thing (that really bugs me, I know its because I have two boys, but I get REALLY tired of hearing 'oh boys are slower, they learn slower, they develop slower.. blah blah 'because I don't think tis true. I think all kids develop at thier own rate, I've seen girls who babble at 2yrs old, and boys who talk clearly at a year old. Each kid is different, and that stereotype really ticks me off.
If you wnat to have him evaluated, go for it, but honestly I think its an overkill, he sounds like he knows what he wants, he understands you, he just needs to 'get there' verbally, and he will.
My son is 2 1/2 and is not talking like his little cousin Inara who just turned 2, she talks in full sentences. I have been concerned with this language development as well, one this I find that really helps my son is we use sign language with him. I started when he was 6 months old.
He is picking up new words each day. I also learned my Husband did not talk until he was 3 and I didn't either until I was almost 3.
I use a lot of small words with him and when I hear him say a new word I praise him. This morning he asked for pancakes.
I also believe my son is very stubborn. Just like his parnters.
Isn't it funny how we worry so much? I know two boys who are also 18-20 months and neither of them really talks much at all. I think it is well within the normal range for language development.
It's also hard not to compare against other kids your child's age. Some boys talk really early, just like some girls talk really early. Some girls talk late too.
Discuss it with your doctor, and see what they say. I think that the "norm" for the language explosion is between 18 and 24 months.
Good luck!
J.
My son did not start talking until he was 2. Nothing to worry about!!! He is perfectly normal now at 3 years old and caught up real fast. Let's face it boys are slow!
If you are concerned about his speech, it won't hurt to get him evaluated. I have two boys, both with delayed speech. With my oldest son, everyone told me about their sons, nephews, brothers, etc... who talked really late but were just "fine." My pediatrician repeatedly told me not to worry about it. However, by the time I finally did get him thoroughly evaluated, waiting almost a year to get an evaluation from Fraser, he was just shy of 4 before he was diagnosed with autism. If I had gotten an evaluation when I first suspected something might be wrong, we could have got him into programming so much sooner. I regret that every day.
When my younger son didn't start speaking, I contacted the county to do an evaluation right away. We discovered that the muscles in his mouth aren't developed as much as they should be and now he has a speech therapist who works with him once a week and he's doing much better.
I'm not saying that your son has autism or has a developmental delay, but it can't hurt to have someone check him out if you are worried about it.
I have a 15 month old boy (our first child) and have the same concerns. He says two words pretty well and on command but that is it. He went to his 15 month appointment and the NP said he should be saying about 10 words by 18 months. He does a lot of pointing and grunting/groaning at things but as much as we work with him on even 'mommy and daddy' he's not saying them. The Nurse practioner said to look for him to follow commands like pick up your ball and find your jacket. She also said some children focus more on gross motor skills than language and sooner or later the language will come. If you come across any other insights on language development I'd love to hear them
My son is 19 months and he went from a few words at a year, to tons of words at 14 months, to two-word sentences at 17 months, and just now 4-5 word sentences (but all in the wrong order (:). Each development seemed to literally happen "overnight." Two boys the same age in our ECFE say almost nothing. My daughter spoke like a 4-year old at 18 months-complex sentences with big words-knew colors, letter, etc. She spoke very clearly-and my son is clear only to us! I used to do developmental screenings for kids-and what I'm saying is that there's a huge range of normal. I believe the average at this age is something like 10-25 words, but again, there's a range. It never hurts to do a screening, but I'm betting that your little boy is totally fine and he will talk more when he's ready. "Receptive language"-that is, what he understands-is more important than expressive language.
I have two boys who are now very vocal at age 8 and 11. The oldest started talking very suddenly at 19 months. He went from virtually no words to complete sentences almost overnight. The younger one had a similar experience, but not until he was 23 months. He was actually sick the week he began to talk and went from "oh oh" and "mama" to words like "Tylenol." I expect your pediatrician will tell you that it isn't really something to be concerned about unless he isn't talking or communicating well by about 24 months. It certainly doesn't hurt to talk to the doctor about it at the 18 month checkup, but I would guess he is doing fine, unless you have other developmental concerns.
Hello there, I also have a 19 mo daughter with the same sort of thing. She doesn't say much but can comprehend a lot. She definately doesn't know her colors or shapes yet. I am also a speech therapist and I would say that it is completely normal and nothing to worry about at this age. Kids do develop on their own terms. I would wait til his 24 mo appt and if you're still concerned and haven't noticed a change ask your doctor about it.
Boys tend to develop slower. My son didn't start having his language explosion unitl about 26 months. Don't get me wrong, he talked, but we could only understand a few of the words. Around 26 months is when a lot of his other garble started making sense. Now some day's we can't keep him quiet. he's 27 months now and talks a lot more, but we still have to "think" sometimes about what he's saying because he is still learning some of the sounds. He sounds like he's progressing normally.
My son is 3 and is Just starting to chat. He had tubes in his ears and until they fell out it's thought that he may not have been hearing well. The idea of the tubes is to help drain the junk in his ears which it did, but they were often clogged up and so his hearing was muffled if he did hear. As a result he is now starting to communicate and everyday is better and better. I was worried for a while he had hearing issues but he seems to be developing ok now. Give it a little time - boys are slower and he may even simply not be a talker. My husband is shy and so is my son - they are both softspoken when they do speak so maybe he is just timid. Personality can play a role. If the chance arises to get his hearing checked take it just as a guidline for future issues should you have any.Hope this helps.
