Slow to Talk…. What is normal, and when should you be concerned?
Delayed talking is often a concern of many parents. As you know, all children develop differently—your first child may have been stringing sentences together as a toddler, but your second child is almost two and has hardly said a word! When should you be concerned? There are many variations of “normal” in the area of speech development, and most likely your child is in the “normal” range; however, monitoring your child’s speech is important.
Talking to your baby is one of the more important things parents can do for their child. An infant will begin to understand words long before they can ever speak. Studies have shown that a child who has many interactions with adults and older children who speak clearly will usually talk earlier than other children and will talk more clearly. Most of a baby’s “talking” will be one-syllable sounds like “bah” or “maa.” Babbling is an important part of a child’s language development and will soon turn into defined syllables such as “dada” or “mama.” It is important to pronounce words clearly when talking to your baby and not use “baby talk.” In general, many one-year-olds can say a few words pretty clearly and understand much more. However, there is a wide range of timeframes for early speech among normal infants. If your child’s first birthday comes and goes without his uttering “mama” or “dada,” don’t worry. Some children are closer to eighteen months or even two years before they really utter an intelligible word. Any time you have questions about your child’s speech development, feel free to discuss it with your pediatrician.
In the second year, most toddlers begin speaking more clearly. It would not be unusual for an 18-month or 24-month-old toddler, especially a little boy, to be far more interested in running and climbing than in talking. Genetics, birth order, and interactions with others will influence a toddler’s speech development. Often first-born children and girls speak a little earlier than boys. As a general rule, by the age of two, a child should be able to put two words together and be able to answer simple questions. For example, if you say, “Andrew, where is your sippy cup?” he should be able to say, “Dair!” (“There”).
Most children between the ages of two and three will make a big leap in their communication skills. If by 2 1/2 years of age, your child is not using two-word sentences or is not able to follow simple verbal instructions, consult your pediatrician. Early detection of a problem is key, and your pediatrician should be happy to discuss your concerns and steer you in the right direction if more assistance is needed.
By age three, your youngster should be able to communicate rather well, responding in simple, but not quite perfect, phrases such as, “Me put it dair!” By age three, a child’s speech should be fairly understandable to both family members and the outside world. You may notice periods of stuttering or stammering which happen when your child’s ability to speak cannot keep up with his flow of thoughts. Usually these periods of stuttering will pass. Resist the urge to rush their words, finish their sentences, or correct too many of their mistakes.
You can work on your child’s language skills in a variety of ways.
· Share songs, books, and repetitive rhymes together.
· Talk to your children a lot.
· Point out items in your child’s world using short phrases or sentences such as, “That’s a tall tower!” or “Down the slide!”
· Expand on what your child says. If he says, “See the cow!” You can respond with, “What sound does a cow make?”
· Pay attention when your youngster talks. Be interested in his world.
It is amazing that your baby goes from babbling to saying single words to short phrases and then to full sentences in only a few years. Enjoy this time together as you watch your little one blossom. Some children will naturally talk earlier than others. By the time your youngster is in first grade, it probably will be irrelevant whether he talked clearly at one, two, or three!