Keep her home, or send her to daycare?

Question

My 16 month old daughter is very active and advanced in certain areas, such as motor skills, and overall age development. Her speech, on the other hand, has not progressed well. Right now she is only saying 2-3 words total, and according to her Doctor should be saying around 6. The Doctor has suggested playdates and outings as a way to help advance her speech. I'm a Stay at home mother, so I try working with her often, and I take her to playdates atleast 3 times a week. So far, it has not helped. Has anyone had success with this same problem, by putting their child in daycare? Did you notice a difference? Any suggestions, or insight here would be so helpful. I feel like I'm at the end of my rope!

Answer 1

talk to her on everything. talk through alsteps, count steps. any simple task can involve hundreds of words. praise any attemps of her speeking. repeat her words and show item of word if possible. Daycare isn't the answer. if your doing your job to teach her, she'll learn more from you than anyone else. Play dates are good though. large settings as daycare now and then could be helpful as well with social skills. For now though, she needs to learn to speek before she can learn to verbally socialize.

Answer 2

I think 16 months is still pretty young to expect too much in the way of speech for her. I am not a ped, but a mom of three. I would suggest that you just talk all the time about everything you are doing with her. For example if you are making her breakfast tell her exactly what you are doing. Babies are very much parrot like from 12-36 months and will just copy what you say and what you do. If you are chatting with her about just everyday stuff all the time her speech will naturally come. In my own experience, daycare isn't necessarily the language enhancer. I've heard my child use "stupid-head" and "dummy" which are not words we use in our home, but obviously she heard them somewhere or would not know them. See how you manage with this tip over the next month by writing down the words she knows now and then doing a follow up same time next month with words she uses. Good Luck!

Answer 3

I have 2 kids in daycare. A 2 1/2 year old son and a 1 1/2 year old daughter. I was amazed with what my son learned in daycare. A bunch of my friends had kids around the same time I had my son and he was so much more advanced in his manners, speach, potty training, etc. They are all stay at home moms. However, my daughter attends the same day care. They are in different classes. She does not know half of the things that her brother new at his age. She had just now at 1 1/2 started saying words. So with that said I think it is all in what you teach them and the time that you spend with them. My sons teachers were always reading to them and trying to teach them to talk. My daughters teachers on the other hand seem to be different and let the kids interact with one another more that teach them. Good Luck! My doctor told me the same about my daughter and I am not worried. She will talk when she is ready. I have a feeling that it will just happen one day. She is just going to start talking and shock the crap out of me.

Answer 4

I kept my child with a babysitter as long as I could. When I finally sent him to a small daycare, it really did wonders for his speech development. He's an only child, so he didn't have anyone else to learn from.

Even so, he was well past two before he really started talking. He'll be four in March, and now I can't get him to shut up!

Please don't worry about her. As long as she understands what you are saying, her language is on track. Kids will develop differently. They don't HAVE to go to daycare to learn.

Do what you feel is best for your child. If you're not crazy about a huge daycare, see if you can find someone working from their home who is certified by your state. This is the situation I have DS in, and it's fantastic. He gets the benefits of being at "home," he gets the interaction he needs, but he doesn't come down with every sickness known to man because there's only six other kids there with him.

Answer 5

Each child develops at his or her own pace.

Does it seem like she understands most of what you say? Does she seem to have any kind of speech impediment?

Some children do not talk until a little later. My daughter didn't say more than 3 words verbally before 2 (though she did use sign language). She always seemed to understand others very well though and could follow commands, point things out, etc. Right after she turned 2, she began picking up words at lightening speed. She very quickly progressed to full sentences. Now, at 4.5 years, she has a vocabulary and conversation style that puts most 8 year olds to shame!

My son, on the other hand, uses many words and has been really starting to communicate verbally for the last couple of weeks and he is17 months old.

I'd say, keep your little one w/ you. If you talk to your child, she will speak at her own pace. Exposure to other children may or may not accelerate the process. It could also teach her other undesirabe habits.

Unless you have real reason to suspect speech impediments or delays, relax. Pushing your child will likely give her the message that something is wrong w/ her. Respect her developmental time table and trust that she will progress at her own wonderful pace (again, unless you have real reason to suspect otherwise).

Answer 6

First let me tell you that you are doing the right thing for your child by being a stay at home parent.

After raising four children I can tell you that they are all very different and do things in their own time. Do not worry about someones perception of average behavior. Keep doing what you are doing with maybe one exception. My third child didn't talk "on schedule" because his much older siblings did it for him. When he wanted something he would point and they would give it to him. He did not need to express himself. When I realized what was happening, I made the child ask before he got.

Don't sweat it and DON'T put your child in daycare!

Answer 7

It is hard to find quality child care. Get suggestions from the doctor to help her at home. Take her on playdates and outings, but avoid daycare if at possible.

Answer 8

hey i have had exactly the same prnoble with my now 3 yrold and yes day care helped. i would take her to playdates and out with other childeren but her speach would still not come on mostly because i was always there to help her. to cut a long story sbhort i put her in to daycare for 2.5 hrs a week ad she soonpicked up lots mmore her nursery said its because she didnt have me there to innterprate what she wanted so to keep up with the other childeren taught herself how to communicate properly. it did take several weeks but now she loves it and demands to go everyday she has lernnt alot more since goin twicw a week and now has no hold backs i truly believe that nursery did help. i know each child is a individual so no answer can work for everyone but try it for a couple of hours aweek u may find you both really enjoy it and benifit fromm it.
hope it all works out for you.x

Answer 9

My son has been going to daycare since he was 6 months old he is now 2 he talks a lot, more than I want to hear really. But my niece she didn't go to daycare until she was about 1 and 1/2 because she wasn't talking very well, but after about two weeks in daycare she was talking up a storm. I think being with other kids helps, it helped with potty training too.

Answer 10

If your daughter is having trouble with speech, maybe it could be a hearing problem. Has she been checked for this?
If you've already done all of that, then, yes, I would send her to daycare. She could really benefit from being around other children. Being around little people her age will probably encourage her to talk more and learn new words. She will have fun!!!