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Getting Toddlers to Talk
What Experts Say
Every toddler is different when she begins to speak. Some children (often girls) start using words at around 12 to15 months. For others (more often boys), it might not happen until 18 to 20 months.
What's important is to keep a running monologue going with your child even if he doesn't talk back to you yet. The more he hears language, the more he picks up. That's why reading is essential to getting your child talking. Read to him on a daily basis and together point out colors, animals, and characters, says pediatrician Ari Brown, M.D., co-author of "Toddler 411."
Toddlers understand much more language than what they actually say at this age. The average 1-year-old says at least one word besides "mama"...
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What's with the babble? Is my toddler really trying to tell me something?
Toddlers begin talking before they actually say words. There are using rhythms and cadences that mimic what they hear. It sounds like nonsense, but they are really trying to reach out and be heard.
It can be a lot of fun, and it goes by in an instant ... so make sure to get your video or voice recorder out to capture some of this great stuff. Your kids will love looking at it later, and marvel that there was ever a time before they could talk.
What can I do to help my toddler talk?
You can engage them, and give them the big payoff of being "understood", by responding to their gibberish with a pleasant, real-world response, as if you got what they are saying:
"Yababybbaakubub" "Yes, I agree. The apple sauce is delicious."
"Purnutbbaab" "Oh, you are right! That fire engine is very red."
Also, consider that repetition, repetition, repetition is a good way to help babies learn new words and meaning.
Does using "baby talk" help?
Some parents never speak to their child in baby talk. It just doesn't come naturally to some parents, and many claim that their child picks up language a lot quicker that way.
In "What to Expect: The First Year" they also recommend speaking slowly to your child so they can hear each word clearly and not rambled in long confusing jargon.
Even though my toddler can't talk yet, can he understand me?
Never underestimate what your baby understands. They can't understand what you're saying until suddenly, they DO.
Should my child be talking by now? All of my friends kids did at his age.
Don't try
to "get" your toddler to talk. So many parents freak out with
late-talkers. So much of learning how to be a parent is learning how to let go
and let your kid be a kid and that goes for toddlers learning to speak as well.
Hang in there if you're child is having speech issues. You cannot force a child
to talk! Children like all of us, do things at their own pace no matter how
much you try to "teach" or "train" them.
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April 02, 2008
my 26 month old son
my son whose 26 months old is a late speaker, he started saying a couple of words when he was about 10 months old but then when he was 1yrs old his father wanted to take him with him for a couple of hrs, he reeally didnt want to go with... read moreNot Acceptable?