I have a 2 1/2 year old who can say her numbers and some other words but not simple sentences; all she does is babble. We talk to her all the time, she watches her favorite TV programs, we read to her, we play with her. She is as smart as a whip, but what are we doing wrong and what can we do to help her? - Minx
Answer
The first bit of advice I would give to you is not to listen to what everyone else's 2-1/2 year old is doing. If you are concerned, talk to your child's pediatrician.
I have three boys and all of them experienced the different speaking milestones at different ages. The youngest is 3 1/2 and he wasn't particularly inclined to speak in sentences or much at all until 8 or 9 months ago. Now he never shuts up, but before he had no need to talk. We anticipated his every need and never gave him a reason to speak in sentences. Model the behavior you want her to copy. If she says cup, ask her if she wants milk in her cup then try to get her to ask for it. - Sheila
If you have a concern, go to your pediatrician. Now's a good time to do it because if there is a problem, you can start her in early intervention speech therapy. The words she does say, is she saying them properly? - Marcia
I am a speech pathologist. The biggest myth is "Oh don't worry, she'll grow out of it." Please don't talk to your doctor, your neighbor or your mom. Call a speech language pathologist and ask for an assessment.
By 30 months, children should have about 400-500 words, and should be using 3-4 word phrases consistently. You should understand your child about 90% of the time. Babble should be gone.
Speech and language milestones are just like motor milestones. They need to be met at certain times. No one would look at a 2 1/2 year old and say "Not walking? No problem, she'll walk when she wants to." - Karen
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