My daughter is 3 years old and she is still not talking very much, just words here and there, is this normaL?

Answer 1

in my experience, mum of three girls soon to be four and a early childhood educator, this is perfectly normal, as long as she understands what you say and can follow basic commands eg, can you put the ball in the bucket. could be she just has nothing to say just yet. my second daughter hardly said boo till she was 4 and know we cant shut her up, good luck and dont worry

Answer 2

I retrieved this out of my Early childhood development text book. By age 2 1/2, the average child has a vocabulary of about 600 words, by age 5 or 6 that number rises to about 15,000 words, an increase of 10 words a day. By 3 years of age, most children have all the basic tools needed to form sentences and make conversation. Most 18 to 20 month olds will use 1 and 2 word sentences. By 24 months, the longest sentences include 4 and 5 words. By 30 months, sentence length will double again. If you are concerned, then you should get her hearing checked or rule out any other problems by seeing a pediatrician.

Answer 3

By now your daughter should have more than just words here and there. I would recommend calling your local school district and requesting an evaluation. They will provide services should your daughter qualify (as she most likely will with such a delay).

I'd also suggest seeing a Developmental Pediatrician. They are more specialized in development and will be able to send you to specialists if deemed necessary.

There are many reasons a child can be delayed in speech. She could have hearing problems; or a condition such as Apraxia or Auditory Processing Disorder.

I know it's extremely upsetting to have a child that is delayed. My daughter received speech therapy for 7 months due to a severe delay in her speech. The therapy helped tremendously. The earlier it's started; the better.

I wish the best for your daughter. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

Before you decide for sure whether your daughter's language skills are lacking I'd try two avenues. I would talk to a pediatrician and I would try like some other people have said...give her as many opportunities to speak as you can. When she points, tell her the word for what she's pointing at and have her repeat it. Read to her, talk to her constantly about what youre doing, what things look like etc. Provide her with as much language stimulation as you can. See if she starts to develop some more speech skills. Also as mentioned by someone else if she's an only child, it's not abnormal for her language and social skills to develop a little slower than you would like. I definately reccomend starting with your pediatrician.

Answer 5

No that's not normal. Have you had her hearing checked? My son would only say a few words, like mama, baba, dada......when he was 1 and 1/2. He kept having serious ear infections. The Dr put tubes in both ears and his vocabulary went crazy. He started talking and jabbering like crazy. He's 3 now and still has to have speech therapy b/c of the mild hearing loss he encountered before the tubes were put in. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

My dad didn't say a single word until he was over 2 years old, and now he is a research chemist with a P.H.D. Also, do you have any older children? If so, it is very common for younger siblings to talk much less and later in life, since their older sibling does all the talking. I would recommend talking to your pediatrician with any concerns. Your child is most likely perfectly fine, but if there is anything else going on with her, a doctor is definitely the best one to ask.

Answer 7

My neice was the same way. She was almost 4 when she actually started speaking in sentences. We were all very worried because she would say one word and very rarely anything at all. My sister took her to have some tests done and they call came out fine. Now she's 9 and you can't shut her up. She's very smart and she's skipped a grade. Some kids just don't talk unless they've got something to say.

Answer 8

I wouldn't say it's abnormal - children rarely follow a strict development schedule. If I were in your shoes, I would make sure her hearing is ok (if you can't afford to get a test, then make sure she turns if you call her, can hear you whisper behind her, etc. Any concerns and you should take her in right away). If she seems to be understanding you and has her own 'language' for communication, then it's probably nothing serious. Many children who are the youngest, or only children tend to communicate in a way that's unique to them. And it works - because the people around them learn their language - not forcing the child to speak 'normally'.

If all health avenues are ok, then focus on encouraging your daughter to ask for what she wants (don't give in to pointing or sounds). Don't be cruel about it, but help her by being consistent.

Good luck!

Answer 9

No I wouldn't say that's normal. At 2 yrs. old they are already speaking in full sentences and at 3 your daughter is only speaking words.

I think you need to sit down with her for a few minutes a day and work on helping her vocabulary skills.

Try reading to her and talking to her about the story. Ask her questions about what happened. Just do as much as possible to get her talking.

Don't let her just point at things either. Make her talk. She gets off easy when you just give her what she points at. If she points at what she wants, make her ask for it instead. Don't let her get by with shaking her head for "no", make her say "no". Do as much as you can to get her speaking words and phrases and pretty soon they will develop into sentences.

Answer 10

It's not completely out of the range of normal. My parents told me that I didn't start talking until I was four and I seem to be doing fine now.
Like the others told you, just be sure she can hear. Also, if she has an older sibling who is talking to you for her this will also impede her onset of talking.

Answer 11

By 3 she should be speaking in at least 3 word sentences. If you are concerned you should speak to her pediatrician about it. They will tell you if her development is "normal" and what to do about it if it's not. In the meantime, reading to your child will help to build her vocabulary. And don't talk "baby talk" to her either.