My 14-month old DS is pretty on track developmentally. He claps, waves, does Touchdown!, gives high fives, etc. He says Mama/Mommy, Baby, by-bye, etc. and a few other words and is learning more. He however, doesn't say Dada/Daddy! Not only does this drive my DH nuts, but I don't get it. He's learning more and more lately, and is, for these past couple weeks, perfecting walking.
He knows who Daddy is, i.e., bring this to Daddy, where's Daddy's nose, etc., but doesn't make an attempt to say it. Now I should mention his Dad works crazy hours, and during the week, sees him for maybe 1-2 hours and on the weekend. I wonder if this has a connection? In any event, I am worried (as a firsttime Mom).
Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
I don't have any advice for you but maybe I can make you feel better.....my 13 month old ONLY says "mama" - But she calls everything mama. She claps, and babbles, and does all that, but as far as speech - she's taking her time. Don't worry - every baby has their own time frame. :] *hugs* K.
Well girl I have the opposite problem, my (almost) 19 month old does not say mama or mum-mum. He will say dada or daddi, and this is one out of only four words he will say! I have been soo worried about him not saying many words, and everyone tells me that in time they will come! Not to mention, they tell me that once he starts talking he won't shut up! Im sure that may be true but for now I am concerned about him speaking. When I asked the doctor about it she said that by 15 months they should say 3 words (of some sort) and by 18 months they should say 4 words. The thing is, they never say what the words should be! So maybe most babies say dada first, but its not required before they can say other things. I really think it depends on the child. I think your baby is doing great if he can say all those other things, he is doing better than mine! I will just tell you what everyone tells me- don't worry about it, the words will come! Plus I have spoken to other mothers with boys that are older than mine and they said that theirs didn't speak much until 2! The doctors have also told me that boys can be slower to talk. What words they specifically say doesn't matter, as long as you notice an effort to talk from them! I noticed in my son, that if he can get away with out saying words, he will. Also, I have noticed, the more I want him to try saying a word, the more he refuses- it is almost a game to him "watch mommy get frustrated because I'm not talking- ha ha ha. " Encourage him to say it but don't get stress yourself over it!
Hi K. ( :
I wouldn't worry, in fact I'm impressed with your son! I have a 13 month old and she really only says da da, sometimes ma ma ma, she claps and waves and that's about it. Actually she just started cruising the furniture. My other 2 children were walking at 11 months! So I think developmentally unless a child seems severely behind that you shouldn't stress. All children develop differently. However, if you are worried then put your mind to ease and ask your pediatrician what he thinks, it never hurts to voice your concerns. Take care. Hugs. M. B.
I wouldn't worry. Your baby sounds to be on track developmentally, and he'll eventually say DaDa or Daddy. I think that especially with his father working long hours, he doesn't have a lot of opportunity to call for his father. It will come eventually.
Just as a funny note . . . I never learned to say Daddy as a baby, nor did most of the kids I grew up with in my town. We were all children of Italian immigrants, and we all called our fathers "Pop" or "Papa". I think the "p" sound is a harder sound for babies to learn, and our mothers were all very proud of the fact that we said Mama long before learning to say Papa. :)
I wouldn't worry. Babies pick up on some consonant sounds more quickly than others and it seems to vary from kid to kid. They also usually pick a favorite sound and use it to refer to everything. I have a 13 month old son with the exact opposite problem of yours. He knows who da-da is, and calls his father da-da. He knows a few other words too, his favorite being bird, dog and light. But ma-ma is just not a word he likes to say. I'm a SAHM, and he recognizes the word and know it refers to me (He comes to ma-ma,etc.). He's said it a couple times but only when he was quite upset. I just think that the m sound is not one that he's really taken to yet. Da-da came much easier to him, and until about a month ago EVERYTHING was da-da. Since he's been expanding his vocabulary, da-da has started to become something he says mostly just around daddy, but it still occasionally means something else. Various sounds are just something that they experiment with as the mood strikes them and over time he'll pick it up, just like I'm sure my son will eventually get to the m part of the alphabet. Another thing to keep in mind is that parents do get upset when they don't hear ma-ma and da-da because these words have special meaning to them. I'm sure if you think about it, there are plenty of simple words your son hears every day that he hasn't yet attempted to say. My DS picked up the word "bird" after one day outside where I said it about 5 times. I say the word cup every time I offer him one, which would mean he's heard it about that many times a day for the past 6 months, and I still have yet to hear him say that. As long as he's still expanding on his sounds, he'll eventually get to all of them, including da-da.
The only advise I have is IF you feel in your gut that your little on is behind, ask you doctor. Even then, perhaps have your child seen by early intervention just to double check their development.
Don't worry, I am sure all will be fine.
good luck
-N.
my son who is now six never said dada or daddy but for some reason he started call his dad bubba. when they start concetrating on learning something new (like walking) they tend to stop the other stuff (new words).
Hi K.,
My son did the same thing. It broke my husband's heart. Now, Nathan is 17 months old and every time my husband walks in the room he points to him and says Dad. Just give your son time, he'll get there. My husband works shift work, so there are days when we don't see him. My son also waves bye-bye to his dad everytime he leaves the room!
Just keep saying daddy and he'll start saying it soon.
EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT. Keep telling yourself that. They become fixated on different things and therefore say different things. I have a 17 month old who neither says mama or dada with meaning. He plays with the sounds but they are never directed at the person, but like your son, he knows who those people are. Instead he says "go" "cook" "ball" "zoo" "again" etc. My son is a much more physical kid, climbing and scaling EVERYTHING and gets what he needs through sign language and pointing! At a mommy and me class we are in, they talk about development and what to watch for/expect and they say that the first 10 words are slow in coming and they get hung up on them for quite a while then it is like an explosion. This will not happen until around 18-24 months depending on the child. So it sounds like your son has chosen his first 10 words to say. I think as long as he understands you and can take directions, you are in great shape and not to worry!
