I have a 16 month old and he is getting frustrated with talking?

Question

The doctors have said that my son is very advanced for his age. He can talk, but he gets frustrated when we cant understand, also I was wondering what all I can do to help him with learning what the words are and mean. Can anyone give me any help on what to tell my husband to insure him that this is normal.

Answer 1

It's perfectly normal. At this age language centers in the brain are growing like crazy. If he's advanced his mind is probably working faster than his mouth can keep up. Don't try to correct him to much. It will work itself out. Just tell him slow down and say it again. The best way to broaden his vocabulary is to read him lots of books. Point to the pictures and have him tell you what they are. Talk to him like you would anyone else no baby talk or cutesy names for things. He's a little old for baby signs if he's already talking. You want him to use his words now not signs. We did baby signs too it's great but he's a little past that .

Answer 2

There are a few different things you can try... sign language, picture cards and "show me". Baby signs are very easy to use, and understand by toddlers. I started using signs with my daughter when she was 9 months old, and by the time she was 11 months, she could sign back. Start with just a few simple ones, like "eat", "milk", and "cracker". You can find a simple list of baby signs at babysigns.com. Picture cards are also very helpful to toddlers. Have digital photos of important things in your child's life, favorite toy, drink, food, pics of diapers, his room, and the car, etc. Take photos of them, print out on the computer, cut out into squares, and laminate for durability. Then, you can either put magnets on the back to keep on the fridge, or put them on a keyring to carry with you. When he is asking for something, teach him to get the picture of the thing that he wants. The last method to try is "show me". Whenever I am having extreme trouble understanding a child, I say, "My ears aren't working right. Can you show me what you are talking about?" This way, the child doesn't feel as if there is something wrong with the way that they are communicating- it is your problem understanding. : ) At this point, they should take pity on you, and lead you to what it is that they want to ease your frustration. ; )

For your hubby: tell him to imagine that he was in a foreign country, and didn't know the language everyone else was speaking. Tell him to imagine how he would find out information, get someone to help him, or tell someone how he felt if he couldn't communicate effectively. That is what it is like being a toddler trying to talk to people in the "big people" world. This stage is perfectly normal, and the more you can do to try to figure out what your toddler is saying, the easier it will become for all of you. Learning to speak is a complicated process, involving not only the mouth, but the brain as it learns to interpret incoming information, the ears, as they try to hear and understand the information, and the mouth as it tries to make the sounds to produce back. It is amazing that kids learn this by the time they are two- effortlessly! Just keep working with your son and try some of the techniques to ease some of the frustration that comes with learning a whole new language.

Answer 3

Just wait a while

Answer 4

there have been many pluses from people that have taught their child a version of a sign language for babies through toddlers. this could be an answer for the young ones frustration and yours... we teach the child the wave of bye-bye, why not something as simple as cup, eat, pottie, mom, dad, i love you. do a little research and you will find some simple ways to address your problems and use words with everything you do with the signing and he will get the "picture" and so will you.

Answer 5

Look into getting the Baby Einstein DVD for baby sign language.. This is a huge thing. My daughter has a form of Autism but her knowing baby sign language really helped her frustration...all children come to talk in time...then you just want them to stop (lol)

Answer 6

This is normal! All the children in my family (I don't have any but there are lots of nieces & nephews) have this problem. It's hard to know what others hear when we talk, it sounds right to the child in their head but what comes out doesn't make sense -- does that make sense????

Get some word games, songs and interactive play, one on one with you, it will help.

Answer 7

try introducing sign language. Its fun to learn and will give him an alternate way of communication. :o)