My son was born a little over a month early...could this have?

Question

have anything to do with him not talking yet? He says just a fews words. He is not in daycare. He isn't around any other children at all. Just his father and myself. What can we do to get him to talk? I have tried not giving him his cup till he says cup or juice or something. But, I have been told that is not a good idea. That the child would rebel. What else can I do? Please help.

Answer 1

every child developes at their own pace. I can't answer your question completely, I'm not a doctor, nor does it say how old you child is in the question... but i can give you a suggestion: just keep talking to him.... even in you're making dinner... give him a play by play of your actions "and now we cut the carrots, add salt, etc" point out what things are when you say the word associated with it. The more he hears words and starts to associate what the sounds mean, the more he's going to want to try to mimic the noises. Have his father do the same. you sound like a very loving and caring parent and i wich you the best.

Answer 2

I don't know how old your son is, but it shouldn't have anything to do with him being born early, as the brain is fully developed by 32 weeks, 36 weeks is almost a full term. Don't worry, some kids start talking later, he can probably express what he wants in other ways, so he doesn't need to be talking just yet. It will come, though, I was a nanny for so many toddlers and infants, and I can say that boys are slower in speaking than girls. Some of them wouldn't talk until 19 months and than it happened withing one week, soo quickly! So, patience. I know you are anxious to hear him, it is the cutest thing, but wait. Also it would be a good idea to let him meet other kids, maybe take him to music class or something, because kids tend to copy other children, so that could make it quicker. Good luck!

Answer 3

Some children's cognative abilities are highly developed and others are not. This isn't anything to worry about. I have three children ages 16, 15 and 13 and my oldest and youngest were terrible when it came to talking. My oldest pointed and got everything because he was the only child and everyone doted on him. My middle son was born a month early and he's 11 months behind his older brother and he spoke relatively fast. My daughter didn't speak her first true words until she was over a year old because she didn't have to, her brothers did everything for her. My niece is almost 2 and is another one who hardly speaks and to make up for this my mother who is her daycare provider has taught her sign language. Young children often get frustrated because of their undeveloped cognative abilities. It is hard to move the words from the brain to the mouth. Even at 35 I still have some trouble. No matter what don't give up and don't punish yourself. Try looking into simple sign language and speak the word as you sign it. You'll begin to unlock doors but most of all don't give up. Good luck!

Answer 4

My daughter was born about a month early. She didn't walk until 14 months, and she didn't start talking in simple sentences until about age 3 or after. There's a possibility that your son may be a little developmentally delayed, but that doesn't mean you need to worry about it. You don't say how old he is, but I wouldn't really worry until he turns 3 1/2. Then you might want to ask the doctor. It could be a couple of different things - - - maybe his hearing isn't 100%. My daughter's hearing was fine, but by the time she was in 2nd or 3rd grade she was tested for a learning disability - - - which her disability was in expressive language. So I suppose one thing to look for a little later on with your child is if he can express himself with words properly. It's not a huge barrier to his learning, but it would be good to catch it early.

Answer 5

Again, a key piece of information you didn't include is your son's age. Developmental stages of preterm babies are often delayed and milestones may not be reached at the same time as with full term children. If you're satisfied that his hearing is intact, don't worry. He will catch up. In the meantime, the stimulation of a daycare setting might be very good for him. Consider it. When at home, both you and your husband can talk to him often and praise him when he does speak. When very young children like the response an action invokes, they tend to repeat the action. He'll be fine.

Answer 6

Well if he was born a four weeks early and say he is 12 months old you have to figure developmentally he is really 11 months old. To help improve his speech talk to him, read to him, let him watch a little bit of tv, and have him around kids his age so they can baby talk to each other. Dont worry to much each child is different and you have to at least give a two month time frame, so if they say a child should walk by one figure they can start as early as two months before that or even two months after that and dont forget you have to subtract once month from his actual age to get his development age.

Answer 7

Just talk to him a lot - try keeping a running commentary of everything you are doing so that he hears words all the time. When he wants something, then say it out loud even if you can't get him to say it. "Do you want your juice? Here is your juice. Thank you Mommy." Say out loud what you want him to say. He might not repeat you straight away, but he is taking it all in and will speak in time. Some kids speak very early and some don't say a word forever and then start spouting off complete sentences. Just hang in there!

Answer 8

My daughter was like that too, she hardly went out and hardly socialized with other kids and she was also speech delayed. She took a hearing test and was fine. I called Early Intervention,( its a free program in NY, check if your state has it) and they diagnosed her as PDD (b/c of speech, lack of social skills like playing with other kids and lack of eye contact around strangers). But it's strange b/c a few days later, she started talking much more and actually said a bunch of words. Even though they have not started the therapy, my husband and I have been doing our own therapy by reading lots books and saying words over and over, pointing out things and saying what it is. She has improved a lot from barely saying mama and dada to 5 words and 6 letters. I know it's a lot of work but it's for your child. I would also just have him tested either by a school or Early Intervention or a doctor b/c he might need speech therapy and it can't hurt!

Answer 9

It is important to integrate him with other children because that will be his environment when he starts kindergarten and if you don't he will have problems in school. He probably needs some speech therapy to develop the number of words he uses (my son is almost 3 and has a great vocabulary but is still speech delayed) and you might consider joining a local playgroup to socialize him. There is also early childhood preschool with your county school district to help delayed children get ready for kindergarten and it's free. The government has a lot of laws in place to help our kids but it's rarely talked about and you have rights and your son should be talking and interacting with his peers. Good luck and email me if you need help with research for your [e-mail].

Answer 10

like the other person said... how old is he?

it probably does. his brain is probably still developing. i was born a month late and was really early in doing everything. i learned to walk at about 7 months. was potty trained really early. i wouldn't really be all that worried if i were you. if it continues to go like this... for a while after you know he's supposed to, i would talk to his pediatrician/doctor. besides, all kids develop and mature at different rates.