20 Month Old Not Talking

I have a 20 month old son who doesn't talk as much as I expected or the way I always hear other moms talk about how much their toddlers are talking. My son wasn't hearing well and recently had tubes put in. We are hoping this helps his speech development. My son does say words but not that often either. He has no other delays and in fact his motor skills have always been well ahead of his peers. I don't know if I should be concerned either. But at least you know now that you are not alone.

Every child develops at a different rate but make sure that she has no medical issues like hearing I know it sounds crazy but our 2nd son as 80% deaf from ear infections at two and we did not ralize it we just thought he was a normal boy whos sister talked for him. If she has no medical problems then sit back and enjoy the few words becasue when she starts talking she probably wont stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! D.

I've seen a great number of children that just talked later. But some of the time there were other reasons. In some cases the children had a lot of undiagnosed ear infections that interfered with their hearing. Other times it was that they actually had hearing problems. But the biggest problem I see is that parents don't realize they are baby talking to their children. There are many ways that parents do this. Sometimes it's the constant raising of their pitch when they talk to them. Some parents also shorten their own sentences and use bad grammar when they talk to their kids. A lot of parents will literally mirror their children's own 2 sentences and grunts back to them.

In my daycare we use a lot of language. We take the time to correct the children's grammar. We also will take the 2 and 3 word incorrect sentences they say and as we are getting them what they are asking for we will take the time to say that what you should have said is this... I NEVER talk to them like they are babies even when they are babies. It works very well. Most of our kids talk early and talk well.

I'm reminded now how important a check up at the doctor is though. I have a little girl on nights I just started that is 3 and can not communicate at all. She couldn't see or hear most of her little life so far. She is like taking care of a very young toddler. She has hearing aides now but will have to start over from scratch. I don't know why this situation was allowed to go on for so long.

Suzi

One of my friends always says "one too walk, two to talk". Words are great. They are expressing that they know things. Babies develop differently, yours is doing great!

There are many ways for your child to express herself. If she is using body language and hand gestures that you are able to interpret she may not feel the need to say anything. If this is the case she will start talking when she needs to make herself understood to someone who doesn't know her as well as you do. I wouldn't worry about it unless she starts to show signs of being frustrated because she can't communicate with you. Or of course if your Doctor expresses a concern.

My boys all talked very early, even my youngest child. Which from what I have been told is not the norm since the younger children in families don't usually talk until much later because a sibling often "translates" for them! However I suspect that since I talked non-stop to them and am a huge talker, my boys took after me! Now they are almost never quite.

I'm not sure when kids normally begin talking a lot. I was one of those kids who started talking and never shut up. But if it makes you feel any better I read that Mya Angelo didn't really begin speaking a lot until she was 3 or 4. She just listened.

My oldest son was almost 3 before he really started talking. Sure he could say mom, dad, no, yes..anyway, he was my first, the first grandson on my husbands side as well and the first nephew to a group of teenagers so he really didn't have to do anything for himself. When he started wanting more things, he figured out that talking helped. Every child is different. Some just take longer to do things than others.

When my first was about that age, I had heard that most start talking at about 21 months. When she didn't talk as much as I thought she would, I was also a little concerned. She started really opening up with her language at about 26 months. She is now 2 1/2 and doesn't have any problems. She has a very shy personality and I am sure that this was part of her delay. I was told by several people that as long as you are hearing more words on a regular basis, they are fine. Just keep an eye/ear on her and keep working with her and she will probably be fine. Some kids just take longer to get started.