Not "Talking" - Bisbee,AZ

Leave it to pediatricians to make you worry. I am a firm believer that children do not do anything one minute before they are ready. My little girl is a little over two and she is beginning to say words, although she understands everything. But she is garbled when talking. I had a moment of worry and knew that like my first child, children move at their own pace, whether it is with potty training or anything else. I didn't walk until almost two years old and my parents were frantic, but I did it on my own stubborn time. And I think to rush anything or push a child or worry doesn't allow them oftentimes to develop at their own individual pace.

My daughter didn't speak until after two years old as well, and she had an older sister who had an excellent vocabulary! Go figure. She is now in 1st grade and does well. My brother in law's son didn't speak until after two as well. I would only watch to make sure she understands you clearly, can follow your directions, etc. And that she can hear you well. Sometimes garbled speech may indicate hearing disabilities, but I'm sure your doctor can check for that.
By the way, what part of CA are you from? We moved here from Santa Barbara a year ago, welcome to the desert.
-E.

What works for me, and right now, I can say that my children speak more than what I expected, was reading to them, talking to them, teaching them age appropriate pre-school, and letting them watch educational programs like Dora the Explorer. Hope I was of some help.

Hi N.,
I wouldnt worry about it. All children talk at different speeds. The first child usually takes a little longer to speak clearly. I have three children and have also worked at pre schools. It's good that she is saying things even garbled. My middle child will be two in December. He speaks clearly with a lot of words, but others are like his own language that only we understand! :) Don't worry about it. It seems she is developing just fine and before you know it she will be talking ALL the time!
Happy Holidays!

My first son just turned 3 and he did not talk until just before his birthday. He was waiting until he could say the words perfectly. Now he talks up a storm. Don't worry, she will talk when she is ready. I know another boy who did not say a word until he was 4, then came in the kitchen and said clear as day, "mommy, may I have a glass of water please". They all talk when they are ready. As far as making friends, I highly suggest joining the moms club. You can find a chapter in your area by going to momsclub.org. We moved here a year ago from GA and joining this club was the best thing ever for us. My now 3 year old was attached to my hip and now he is mr. independent. If we had not joined, I would never have been able to put him in a preschool. And I have a lot of friends and support. Good luck!

Hi N. - get your child help!! I am a Speech Pathologist. Your child should be saying lots of single words by now and putting 2 words together. Call Early Intervention through Dept. of Dev. Disabilities. Let me know the city you live in and I can get that number for you.

K.

N.,

I think a good way to help assist your child in speech is to expose her to other children around her age. I have two boys who are 3 and 10 years old. When my youngest son was around 1 1/2 I placed him in a daycare program (because I began working again) and was amazed by the gains he made with his speech. In a matter of weeks he was using a variety of words and pronouncing them well. I believe children learn alot by their peers. This was a positive and educational environment for him to get the exposure he needed. You can also join playgroups or maybe look into a preschool program a couple of days a week. I am a fan of preschool and head start programs because of the social and educational advantages children get from them. Also, having an only child it gives them the opportunity to learn group play and activities. I hope this helps. Much success!

Currently, SAHM of two boys 3 and 10. I am married and have been in the area for about 3 months. Also, looking for different ways to meet new friends.

Just to ease your heart and soul as a mom. Just see what the doctor recommends. It is going to be something as simple as a fluid check for your daughters ears, also the check to be sure that she is hearing at the level she should be at this age. I have had to do this often with my oldest. I had the opposite delima my doctor would do nothing to help me with my concerns. My daughter is 11 1/2 and still does not speak as clearly as she should. Kids mainly think she has an accent. She had some fluid in her ears, however the doctor just kept telling me it was nothing to worry about. So I would see if he has a referral for you and that your insurance covers it. Check it out and be relieved when you find out that you have been right all along. The doctor was a bit over protective which is so much better than under protective. This doctor is really looking out for you and your little girl. So yay for you for choosing such a doctor. The test is so short and simple to ease you I would just mention it. Talk to your doctor you may find out that in the appointment he was a little over dramatic about it and does not see any reason to concern you further with sending you to a ear nose and throat specialist. I recently moved here from Ca also. How do you like the area? Mothers intuition is the best source of truth.

Hello,
I have a boy who turned 2 on oct. 15th. He just started talking the last within the last month. He does not speak clearly and he does not talk to people directly, but i catch him talking while playing by himself. His doctor also seemed a little concerned but i am not because he is my second child and you just don't worry as much after the first one. He really has not reason to talk because he gets all of his needs met. Just wait you soon will remember how quiet your house use to be. My 5 year old is only quiet when he is sleep. Take care, V.

Every child is different and developes at their own pace. My son is 2 1/2 and just recently started talking a lot, and clear enough that people outside the home can figure out most of what he's saying. Also if your daughter has fluid on her ear that may be muffeling sounds for her and so she might not say her words as clearly because she isn't hearing them that way. If she does have fluid on her ear just give her some time to see if it goes away, if not it could be a drainage problem and a doctor would put tubes in her ears to help the fluid drain properly. My son had his hearing checked back in June and he couldn't pass his hearing test because he had some fluid in his ears so we recently went in again to have his hearing checked out and he passed, the fluid took care of itself. Hope this helps.

My son is 3 and was at risk for PDD (Pervasive Development Disorder at age 2). Depending on your health insurance, the pediatrician will speak up..that's what I've heard. We have Cigna, and the Pediatrician met with him at 18 months (first ever ear infection), then said at age 2 he'd be meeting with Childhood Development Specialist. She determined that he was deaf. But we didn't believe so. But we did get hearing checked and everything was normal. I don't think Vision is an issue because he can see better than me especially from his bedroom to the hallway to my bedroom in the dark. And then it was speech delay, then 2nd opinion was early intervention and 3rd opinion was STATE Psychologist who said at risk for autism, then 4th opinion was Cigna Pscyhologist and he has autism. But I read and researched and it's a tedious process..too much to write out about.

Anyway, my husband and I are both quiet people and therefore he is too. But, we did baby talk him too much and should have talked like an adult to him early on. It didn't count that he walked at 8 months. Anyway, we're learning more and more everyday.

Be patient. My son didn't really talk until he turned 2 1/2. He just turned 3 and now he says things that blow me away! Maybe your daughter isn't talking to you at home because you do it for her???

I noticed the same problem with my daughter at about 2yrs old, and I am a worry wort and was concinced that something wasn't right. Everyone including the doctors told me that it was probally because she had an older brother or she just wasn't ready. I went through TRESCO TOTS and got her hearing screened, because to me it seemed like the words that she was saying souded muffled. It turned out that she had fluid built up in her ears from when she was a baby and had a constant runny nose. By the time we went through all of the necessary steps, pediatrician, Hearing doctor(hearing screenings)and Ear doctor; she had lost 50% of her hearing from the fluid. Even the doctor that put the tubes in her ear didn't think that it would make that big of a difference. The first day after her surgery, we noticed a huge difference, she was telling us that everything was too loud, and shortly after she started talking alot and more clearly. We are now working with a speech therapists because shhe is a little behind because of the delay. Definitley get her hearing checked!

Hi N.,

When my first born son was around the age of your daughter I began to notice his speaking skills were not average. I talked to my mom and friends who knew us and I eventually asked for a referral to a speech therapist from our Pediatrician. As it turned out, my son went through speech therapy for articulation through the first couple of years of elementary school. Once in therapy he began talking up a storm and was MUCH easier to understand. Most children have difficulty articulating vowels but he couldn't say the consonants.......imagine how fun that was. ("street car" became 'eee ahhhh' and he'd be so frustrated that I couldn't understand him.) "He is almost 16 now and you'd never know he ever needed any help to communicate !!

Good luck with this......I'm sure your precious little one will be fine in time. If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask......

Cherie'

My son did that and come to find out that he has a Primary Language Delay. Go through the county and get him tested. I can get you all the info in needed. But they can put the child in speech theray 3 days a week and that will help greatly. You can hardly tell that my son has a speech problem now.

my boy is turning two in 2 mo and yea thats what he does he just now about 2 mo ago started talkin if your worried though maybe try your ped?