2 Year Old's Speech

Hi C.,

Don't want to repeat anything that other moms said before so I will be brief, my daughter had dark circles, just when she was getting tired, nothing serious, would consult with doctor anyway.

Speech...my 2 girls had it (one has it) we speak Spanish at home, we want them to be bilingual so that is how it goes. They both spoke late and not very well, at about 2nd to 3rd grade they do just fine.

Some parents speak a lot to their kids or use more words than others and deppending in what the child listen they will repeat, also if your kids are more like art oriented or may be interested in other things that speaking, like my oldest one, they won't care to speak much unless they needed. You might find that they are more advance in other fields though.

Talk with the doctor but also with a teacher....they let you know if there is a problem there or not.

For now....play with your child and have fun!

Mariana Abadie
www.MyKidsFirst.com

My son also had dark circles under his eyes, but we knew he was getting plenty of sleep. We decided that the dark circles were probably due to seasonal allergies.

As far as the delayed speech, my son also had a speech delay. Fortunately through Parents As Teachers, we were able to get FREE speech therapy services for him. I would suggest calling you local school district and get in touch with Parents As Teachers. I wouldn't wait untl he is 3! Good luck!

C.,
I have noticed through the years that certain speach problems run in families and I do believe it's because of what they are hearing on a regular basis. My oldest girls were close in ages so they had many of the same problems with certain consonents. Two of the girls in particular sounded pretty childish in their speech until they were around 10 years old or so. It was never serious and we didn't seek help.

Because your children have been home with daddy and these other kids, they probably haven't had quite as much time to hear and practice their speech as much. I'm sure your husband is great with those kids. But men in general aren't heavy talkers. It's been my experience that when children come to my daycare their speech improves a lot in the first 6 months. My mother and I are very talkative with the kids and we spend quite a bit of time gently correcting the way the kids say things. We will repeat back to them what they said and then change the grammar and tell them we say it this way or that. We will also require they make an effort of some kind to communicate with us depending on their age. We don't respond to pointing and grunting.

Also, my daughter is in the home (7 year old) with her homeschooling all day. She reads constantly outloud and her programs she does on the computer tend to hold the attention of the little ones often. So language is something they are hearing all day long.

I'm not sure what to say about the circles. My first thought would be to evaluate your sons diet. When we are feeding multiple kids like you and your husband are doing and I am doing, it can be hard to really see what food each child is leaving on their plate. It's possible he is missing some element in his diet. Are you giving him a multi-vitamin? I wouldn't worry too much. I've seen it in some perfectly healthy kids. But if you do get to bring the kids to my house you will see a difference in their eating habits too. All my parents comment on how many types of foods their kids will eat after spending time with my family. We are an easily bored family and always trying new things to eat. My garden is producing so much right now the kids are being inundated with vegatables :) I also love to spend time at the health food stores picking out new snacks and such.

Suzi

C.:

As far as the speech issue, does he understand simple commands (go to your room, go get your shoes)? Also, when you say that he does not speak very much...does that mean he doens't put words together (2-4) to make a sentence, or he doesn't say very many single words? Is he attentive in other ways (does he make good eye contact when your talking, does he respond non-verbally)? There is so much to take into account, so don't freak out at this point. Depending on where you live, there are free speech/developmental evaluations.
A.

My oldest was in Parents As Teachers and on one of his evaluations she noticed that he didn't have the vocabulary that he should. She referred us to Infant & Toddler services. He was in speech therapy for approx. 6 months and that did the trick. Now if I could find a way to make him be quiet again! Hope this helps.