My 2 year old doesn't talk should i be worried?

Question

Hi everyone, this is my first post. My 2 yr old son only says mum and dad. he will say other words once or twice then he won't say them again. i talk to him and read to him alot but it doesn't make any difference.should i be concerned?

Answer 1

You reading to him does make a difference - keep it up! I would only be concerned if he doesn't seem to understand. If you ask him to go get a specific toy, can he do it? Play games where you can find out what he knows. Colors are a great place to start. Have him hand you the red block -cheer when he does it. Lots of praise works great. Also, he should be attempting words like drink when he wants one. Don't give him the cup unless he makes some sort of noise - it doesn't have to sound like drink.

That being said, if he doesn't understand directions, you need to get some help. Your doctor can help direct you. If he does understand what you say to him, then relax and the language should come soon. Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

Not unless you just enjoy worrying. Kids develop at different rates, and go slow at one point and then just skyrocket past everyone only moments later. My two kids came along just right about the expected pace, as I can best remember (they're 21 and 22 years old now), but I can tell you that when my son gets started (he's the 22 year old), you'll be damnn lucky to get a word in edgewise for quite some time. Of course, you didn't tell us how far along age 2 your child is (in months), which could be of some more specific help, but, this being your first post, and you just now learning how to "talk" on Answers, I guess it's worth forgiving, lololololololololol. Every new parent worries and worries about their child's development, comparing him or her to Albert Einstein, and all their own relatives based on family gossip, etc., so my thought is, enjoy the peace. You're gonna get non-stop verbage for the next 20-some-odd years once he gets started. God Bless you.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, without an examination, there is no way for us to answer this. Having said that, you might want to check into things that can cause the lack of speech. There are developmental problems, diseases (such as Autism), physical problems (such as hearing problems), and numerous other possible diagnoses. Try to find out if there are any other 'quirks' that accompany the problem. For instance, does he hear you when you are behind him? Does he have any fine and/or gross motor skill problems? Is he prone to ear infections or upper respiratory infections? Does he have much contact with other kids his age? Maybe it's simply a social issue, as in he doesn't know he's SUPPOSED to talk. All of these things would signify a different reason that he's not talking as much as you would like. And, there is one more possibility...he just doesn't want to right now. And if that's the reason, that's ok, and not uncommon.

I think your first step should be to do an assessment of your child to see if you notice any other problems. Next time you visit the pediatrician, talk to him/her about it. Maybe address any other issues you notice, including social times. People tend to forget that children need interaction at their level as well as with parents/siblings.

Maybe I'm way off, but just wanted to throw out a few suggestions.

Answer 4

My son didn't talk much at 2, either, but he is very verbal now. Does he understand when you talk to him? I'd be more concerned if he didn't respond to things such as "do you want juice" or never made any reaction to what you say to him. If he understands what you are saying then he simply has chosen not to talk yet - this is especially true if you do everything for him without his having to say anything or if there is an older child around who makes his needs known.
Talk it over with your pediatrician, but I bet by the time he is three you'll find a totally different situation.

Answer 5

each child has his own pace, don't worry, before you know it you will say remember when he couldn't talk, i am a mother to five and each child learned to talk at a different age, my 12 year old didn't talk til he was almost 3 the doc said his brothers were doing the talking for him, but you cant tell now lol, don't worry and ask him lots of questions, he understands a lot more then you think, don't say do you want a cookie, have him choose between 2 different kinds and don't worry about all those people telling you something is wrong, your doing great and your son will talk when he has something to say

Answer 6

I had the same problem with my son at his 2 year checkup his ped noticed he wasn't using as many words as other children his age, she sent us to meet with a speech therapist to see if there was a problem or he was just being stubborn our insurance covered the visits it took about 2 months of seeing her before we started to notice improvements but after he was in the program for almost a year he now never shuts up and his vocabulary is actually above average for his age. One of the things I liked about him seeing the therapist was she thought us new ways to work with him at home, also I learned that on average boys have a lower vocab then girls mostly because they are more stubborn.

Answer 7

Make sure to take you son to the doctors. My son at his 2yr old checkup could only say 4-5 words. They then checked his hearing to see if he was deaf. After that, they will refer me to a specialist to evaluate him. It was the best thing I could do. A lot of my friends and family told me just to wait, but I'm glad that I pushed the subject. My son was diagnosed with a speech delay and they got him into a program to help with this speech, and that the govt paid. It's the best thing since it can cost up to $65-$100/hr if you do it on your own.

Don't take any chances and make sure to get him evaluated.

Answer 8

My nephew was in a rut when he about 1 1/2 where he would just point and grunt. He had talked before that and talked fine afterwards, it was strange. He's so smart now. He's not yet 3 and he knows all his ABC's and how to speak in different languages.

Answer 9

Age
Language Level

Birth
Cries

2-3 months
Cries differently in different circumstances; coos in response to you

3-4 months
Babbles randomly

5-6 months
Babbles rhythmically

6-11 months
Babbles in imitation of real speech, with expression

12 months
Says 1-2 words; recognizes name; imitates familiar sounds; understands simple instructions

18 months
Uses 5-20 words, including names

Between 1 and 2 years
Says 2-word sentences; vocabulary is growing; waves goodbye; makes “sounds” of familiar animals; uses words (like “more”) to make wants known; understands “no”

Between 2 and 3 years
Identifies body parts; calls self “me” instead of name; combines nouns and verbs; has a 450 word vocabulary; uses short sentences; matches 3-4 colors, knows big and little; likes to hear same story repeated; forms some plurals

Between 3 and 4 years
Can tell a story; sentence length of 4-5 words; vocabulary of about 1000 words; knows last name, name of street, several nursery rhymes

Between 4 and 5 years
Sentence length of 4-5 words; uses past tense; vocabulary of about 1500 words; identifies colors, shapes; asks many questions like “why?” and “who?”

Between 5 and 6 years
Sentence length of 5-6 words; vocabulary of about 2000 words; can tell you what objects are made of; knows spatial relations (like “on top” and “far”); knows address; understands same and different; identifies a penny, nickel and dime; counts ten things; knows right and left hand; uses all types of sentences

Answer 10

Did your baby have a lot of ear infections? My brother did and he didn't talk till he was two. Now, though, he is very smart and is going to college on a scholarship. Talk to your pediatrician if you are concerned, every baby is different