When Does a Baby Talk?

My son didn't say his first word until he was exactly one year old. I wouldn't worry! As long as he's babbling away, that's great.
Lynsey

This varies a lot between kids. Many pediatricians use the one word by one year rule of thumb. If a child doesn't have one word by a year, they will keep an eye on him. By ten months, you will typically see a back and forth kind of pattern, where you talk to him, and he makes some noises back, waits for you, and then "responds" again. Raspberry noises, nonsense babbling that uses consonant and vowel sounds are also appropriate at ten months. Some babies do have a word or two by that age, but not all by any means.

If you have concerns, approach your pediatrician with them, ask for a speech evaluation referral.

Good Morning C. ~ Varies ALOT from child to child - I found that with MORE singing and constant 'chatter' <NOT the tv> the children spoke earlier and clearer. SO .... sing, sing, sing!!!

Check the books and with your doctor. Babbling and cooing is important. Also, eye contact and "receptive" language--understanding and responding (even with screeches!)what you're saying to them. They usually have a couple of words between 12 and 18 months. (Except for my kids!!!)
Every state has an "early intervention" program. In NJ someone will come to your home,daycare,school etc and fully evaluate the child. My daughters started speech therapy at age 2. Then at age 3 qualified for a FREE district run pre-k that offered speech therapy. It was a terrific program!
Both of my children had "expressive" language delays. Both born early. They understood everything but talked later then their peers. By kindergarten they were completely caught up. If kids are born early or are premature they often need a little help/therapy.
You've been through so much! Good luck with everything!

There are no rules here! And once your little guy starts making more recognizable sounds, then he'll start walking (or some other cool activity) and probably stop talking for a while anyways. My son is almost a year, and he hasn't said mama or dada purposefully in over a month. That whole walking thing really distracted him! And he still shrieks and moans and does all sorts of weird vocal stuff. (He growls, and says "uh uh" when he doesn't want something. Strange...) But he's very advanced in other ways, so I'm not too worried.

Every baby is different. My friend's son said "uh oh" and "mama" at 8 months, but didn't walk until 15 months. It's all good!

I'm not sure if this applies to all development, but I had read that for premature babies you would use their due date as opposed to their birthdate for some things. You should check with your ped to see if that holds true for babbling and talking...

My daughter is 10 months and thinks she is talking, but no real words other than dada and mama and she does not use them descriminatly yet. She does however have 9+ teeth and walks.

My daughter started to babble VERY young and actually had a vocabulary of about 7 words when she turned one. My friend's son, on the other hand, did not speak until he was almost 3. Every child is different and goes by his / her own schedule. If you are concerned, you can get the child evaluated by Early Intervention (call your local school district to get in touch with them). My friend did that with her son,,, but it turned out at 3 when his vocabulary just exploded one day,, he just didn't have anything to say yet. LoL

C. , I am simply amazed at what you went through! You are incredibly brave and strong. My daughter was a very early preemie but seemed to do everything on the same schedule as a full term baby (except smile:). But my son, 3 weeks early, seemed to hit milestones late. I think 10 months is still too early to worry but I did note that he screeches and ahhs.

As a second child he may be bound to talk late but I would keep tabs on the sounds he makes like you've been doing. My son at 1+ was still only screeching and mimicing sounds - not words. We switched pediatricians and the first thing he asked was how many ear infections did he have. Our answer - too many. No fever, no tugging, no problem sleeping but without fail each time I took him in - ear infections. At 2 we went ahead with the tubes and within 3 days more sounds. Within a week, words. And bless his heart it was like he had been dying to say them all along.

I don't mean that this is the situation with your son. It's just something to watch for and happens to be more common in boys.

Good luck to you and I don't doubt for a second that you wont get to the bottom of it all. That's what good mommys are all about - and you are an exceptional mommy!

H.

Congratulations on your two beautiful children. Baby books are a wonderful source of information but gosh darn our babies just don't read the books. They work on their own time table and for every 'early' talker there's one who is 'late'. Maybe he was busy learning to do something else ahead of the curve! You already know this, of course and you know that boys develop large motor early and fine motor later so many times these guys don't speak up early. You could ask the Dr or consult with a specialist but then everyone would more anxious. I would just trust that the little guy will get to it in his own time. Revisit it at a year old. My first dd the same thing and he was 16 mo. when he said his first recognzable word...I hung-re. I want a sammich. And he is a non-stop talker to this day. He's 32 now!

Hi C.,

I am not an expert, but my son is 1 1/2 years old and just now is when he is starting to pick up on words. So for me I would not worry for now. Did your older son had the issue? Just wonderin, every child is different as you well know. I would just watch him closely, and if you are really worried I would consult a speech theropist. But, like I said my son just starting really talking. Good Luck! :)

a baby usually babbles at first, when nobody is around. Leave a baby monitor on in his room, so you can hear him making sounds when you are not around!!

If you are stimulating him with lots of talking and sound, he should be trying to imitate the sounds. Obviously, someone is saying "AH" to him, and giving him... food?

It is helpful to do self-talk around your baby. As you feed him, tell him what you are doing. as you cook, describe to him the pots, the pans, and the ingredients. Even if you can't talk, leave a radio on, or even better, a children's CD with lively songs about daily living.

Instead of making the "ah" sound, try saying:
"Hey little guy. I have some mashed bananas for you on this spoon. would you like to eat? Yummy! where's the food going? where's mommy putting that food? in your mouth... oops! where did it go?.... etc, etc."

Regarding the screeching noises:
you can have the baby evaluated by an early intervention program. They will have a speech therapist, as well as other types of therapists evaluate his developement. Some won't evaluate speech until 1 year old.

Just a thought:
Is your child being exposed to weird sounds from a modem or a fax machine??? Babies imitate whatever sounds they hear!!!

My daughter is 18 months old. As of a month ago, she only had 3 words. At a year, she didn't even say mama and dada. I was totally freaked out. Well, out of nowhere, in the last two weeks, her vocabulary grew to over 30 words! And she is putting words together like "hi mama".

10 months is way too young to worry. At 15 months was when I really got concerned, but as it turned out, she didn't want to talk at all until she mastered the whole language! I would say by 15-18 months, it's worth asking your pediatrician about it. I did and even had her evaluated, but it turns out there was no need.