Do any Moms have suggestions on getting my 22 month old to say more words?

Question

She only says a few words and then she seems to forget them and then use them out of the blue. Like the other day we were in the car and I said fantastic and she said fantastic and smiled at me... And then the rest of the day she just babbles a mile a minute.. I took her to see a movie and she would get so excited and babble at the screen but I had no idea what shes saying.. She is very sweet and loving and loves to bable, babble, babblebut I just can't get her to say more words. Altough she does understand everything I say and very well, she follows directions well to. I sing to her and read to her and I just know shes looking at me like I know what you want me to do Mama but I'm not gonna and then she smiles.... She watches me when I talk too which I know is suppoused to help.. I called the Dr. and she said shes fine give her time... So, any suggestions or fun games to help her along in the speech catagory.. Thanks Moms...

Answer 1

My daughter is 26mo old, and up until she turned 2 I had similar concerns. Just recently though, her vocabulary started to almost double overnight. Something that I got for her that seemed to help was a toy called FRIDGE PHONICS. It's by Leap Frog and they're only about $20 at Wal-Mart. It goes right on your fridge and she puts her letter of choice in there and it starts to sing about the letter, making the sound that the letter would. It also will sing the alphabet and includes numbers 1-10 in the kit as well. For the most part, don't worry! I was the same way until I realized that I was trying to compare my baby with other children around her age that had a higher vocabulary and you really should stay away from doing anything like that because, as corny as it sounds, children really do learn at different ages and paces. Give her time.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Honestly, it sounds to me like your daughter has a speech delay. I would suggest contacting your local Early Intervention office and requesting an evaluation. You don't need a Pediactrician's ok to do so. The evaluation and services are free. I'd be worried about her "forgetting" the words she's learning. That's not typical, at least not when it happens a lot and with every day words. By 2 years old (your daughter will be there shortly) she should be, at the very least, putting 2 words together; like "go home", "throw ball". I'm not sure how many words exactly should be in her vocabulary, but I know it's definitely more than "just a few". I hate to sound alarming, but that's my gut instinct here. My daughter was born premature and needed Speech Therapy for her delay. She had the therapy from 18 months-25 months. She was discharged saying 2 word combinations with over 100 words in her vocabulary.

In the meantime, keep doing what you are doing. Singing, reading, talking to your daughter and interacting with her are fantastic ways to promote speech. Our ST used bubbles a lot with my daughter. Try putting objects just out of her reach and asking her to make the sound of the first letter of the object. If/when she does it, give her the object. For instance, do it with a ball. Place it away from her, then look at her and say, "Ball, ball, ball" then switch to just the "b" sound a few times. See if she can imitate that. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck!

Answer 4

You are doing the right things! You are talking, reading and singing to your child. You are communicating with your doctor about your concerns. Keep it up!

When you talk to her, be sure to give her the chance to respond. Create a dialogue, even if you're not sure what she's saying. When you read to her, ask her questions about what you're reading. Let her respond, even if what she says doesn't make sense to you. If she doesn't respond, answer the question yourself. Try singing some call and response or echo songs - ones where you sing and she is meant to sing back to you (like "Are you sleeping?").

You might consider using some baby signs or American Sign Language gestures. Research suggests that children who use baby signs ultimately become more proficient speakers.

Children develop at their own pace. You know your daughter better than anyone. Trust your instincts. Keep communicating with your doctor and press the issue if you really feel there is a problem.

Good luck!

Answer 5

A simple activity is to make a photo/picture book with items that are important in your daughters world. Take and use photos of nouns: mom, dad, pets, ball, bear, house, spoon, cup, bowl, bath, bed, shoe, shirt, hat, mommy's car, daddy's car, etc... Include verb photos. Take photos of your daughter, or you or dad, doing action things that are part of her daily routine: eating, reading books, etc... Also, add in attribute photos and concept photos: big ball, small ball, under, on top, in, out. Use a bigger book or album and put only ONE picture per page. KEEP THE PICTURES AND THE BOOK AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE as it does not need to be a "scrapbooking" type of project. You may want to write the names of the items under each picture. Even though it is simple, I guarantee that she will LOVE it. It is a great way to practice words and talking numerous times per day. I am a Speech-Language Pathologist with a 22 month old daughter! Please get your little cutie evaluated by a Speech-Language Pathologist and/or early interventionist. There are free services in all areas, but it may take some researching. Also, bug your pediatrician again. Be sure to tell him or her that your daughter seems to "loose" words that she has used in the past. Moms always have the best intuition, so go with your gut. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Immersion is the best way. Talk all the time to her about what you're doing, what she's doing, tell her the names of things/people you see throughout the day. Use words that have special meaning for her: for example, if she likes animals- talk to her about animals. Even if she doesn't seem to get it at the time. Keep doing it over and over again. Eventually she'll grasp the connection between the word and what it represents- just keep in touch with the Dr to make sure she's still on track.

And read with her every chance you get.

Answer 7

First of all, your daughter is lucky to have a concerned Mom who wants what's best for her. And, one that reads and sings and takes the time to really spend quality time with her. So, keep doing what you are doing! It sounds like you are a great mom!
Also, I think you are right to be unsure of your Dr.'s suggestions. Although all kids develop at different times, it never hurts to get a second opinion. Go with your gut too. But, it does sound like she's very responsive and attentive and a bright, happy little girl. (Of course, none of us can really give you the right answers... we don't know her, or you. Make sure you get the opinions of people who can really make an educated response.)

As for stuff to do, keep talking and reading and singing. It's great for kids and so much fun for them. Encourage her to use words instead of gestures and noises. Talk to her like an adult and let her know that it is so much easier for you to give her what she wants when she tells you. I'm a big proponent for positive reenforcement. I always clap and get excited when my son learns a new word. (But, I'm sure you do too.) But, if she's otherwise healthy and happy and the docs say its o.k., just try to be patient and not get frustrated.

Maybe you could try signing songs with handsigns in them (like the wheels on the bus). It might help her associate words with things she already knows and is comfortable with. Also, some children are much more physical and visual than others. Consider trying sign language with your daughter for starters. There's some good programs out there (the only one I can remember off the top of my head is Baby Signs.) Perhaps is will help her learn that there are words for specific things even if she is signing instead of saying. A lot of people say it really helps minimize a childs frustration b/c they know the words before they can physically coordinate their mouth, teeth and tongue to say them.

Best of luck to you and your little one! Mommy is a tough job, but its the best one out there!

Answer 8

Just talk to her a lot and narrate her day. Stuff like "oh sara you're eating carrots, how do you like carrots, carrots are so pretty and orange"

"Oh sara, it's bath time, the bath water is nice and warm, it's fun to play in the bath. Now mommy is washing your toes, your ankles and your calfs and your knees and your thighs.....etc..."

Walk around the house touch various objects and say "Sara what is this, a wall. That's right Sara, this is a wall" You can do that with everything inside and out. It's fun for my daughter She's only 15 months old and doesn't talk much yet but will say "WHAT???!!"

Answer 9

I'm a dad and my daughter is 19 month. She used to babble a lot and still does. But now she does know more words like car, bus, train, bear, turtle, cookie, moon etc...and know her ABC's and 123 ( though I don't think she grasp the concept of numbers yet). I think your daughter's fine and children do develop at different pace.

Yes, my daughter knows we want her to do , but unfortunately, the word 'No' is something she already learnt and learn it well too. Oh well... at least she now tell us what she wants...

What we usually do is watch with her those educational videos like Sesame Street, Barney, BabybumbleBee series and read to her toodler books. If the TV shows something she has, like a teddy bear, we show it her, try to relate what she saw on TV and what is in her hand. Each time she shows recognition of letters, numbers and things, we clapped together and re-inforce the learning by asking her again, but we dont' force her if she don't want to repeat the word again. We try to make learning fun for her by making it like a game. But we make sure we are involve in the game. One 'toy' I really like is those wooden blocks of letters, numbers and pictures.

Outside, we try to apply what she knows by pointing out things and letters. Don't give up and try not to lose patience.

Answer 10

I would suggest reading her alot of picture books. Walmart has great ones.

My almost 3 year old daughter has been in speech therapy for a year. I would suggest that too, but you can do the speech therapy at home with books, and making sure that you enunciate the words that your saying. ANd make sure that she looks at you when you say the words.

Take her for a walk,a nd point things out in her every day world.

Good luck!