When should my daughter be able to say "real" words???

Question

she is 16 months and all she says is mama and dada. and she doesnt even say those words very often. i am very concerned because all my friends and family who have kids her age are saying real words . Can you let me know what age your kids starting talking. I looked on parenting.com and it said a 16 month old girl should say 50 words!

Answer 1

My daughter is 3 now. I can't remember how many words she said when she was 16 months old, but that was around the time she started saying real words. At 14 months she said apple(of all things!). Every child is different. Just spend some extra time with her. Point out an object and tell her what it is, read books to her. I did sign language with my daughter before she started speaking anything, and she used sign language to communicate with me for a while. Don't worry too much right now. I would say in another 6 months or more, you might want to talk to your pediatrician about it if she hasn't started saying real words. Best wishes!

Answer 2

A 16 month old should have 5-10 words and do what's called jargon. That's where it sounds like they are talking to you, but you can't understand a word. If the baby does not have this many words you should probably think about getting a hearing evaluation and talk to your pediatrician about developmental evaluation. Where we live the health department has an early intervention team which would evaluate and recomend any treament if needed. Oh and about the parenting.com and the 50 word that is a lot of BS. 2 year olds have 50 words. I've been a pediatrician for a long time and I'm pretty sure of my facts.

Answer 3

OKay my daughter at 16 months old was saying maybe 5 words and mumbling a lot. She is now 2 1/2 and saying like 30 words and starting to make sentences. DO NOT COMPARE HER TO OTHER KIDS! every child is different and every child learns at a different rate. Some kids walk at 9 months some don't until 1 or even older. Some can ride a tri-cycle at 2 and some at 3. She will talk in her own time. As long as she shows no signs of other slowness, like staring into space or eyes rolling a lot, things like that that you would notice then she is fine. Try reading her books more that way she hears lots of words, speak to her in a normal voice not that baby talk. I have a cousin that is 7 and talks like a baby because everyone talked to her like that so much. when you go shopping and put something in the cart say the word, like "apple" "soap" "Box" and so on. This may help.

But you know my child didn't really "talk" until after her 2nd b-day. Which was Jan 2007

Answer 4

All kids learn at different rates. You shouldn't compare your child to someone else's of the same age. My daughter is 15 months and just started saying "mommy" and "baby" today. Other than "mama", "dada", and "baba" she doesn't say anything else. She also didn't start walking until last month. As long as my doctor isn't concerned, then I'm not concerned. As long as she is progressing then I am happy. Any day now, you will be surprised by how much your baby talks and doesn't stop! :)

Answer 5

My daughter was talking at 12 months. She could always say more words than the experts said she should. My sisters baby is 18 months old and only says a few words now. They said she may need speech therapy. I don't think so though, everyday she says something new. I think some kids just don't have much to say. I think you should just give her time. Don't use any baby talk around her. Talk to her like she can talk back. Eventually she will. I always talked to my daughter like she could have a conversation with me. She is three now and by listening to her you would never know.

Answer 6

Our pediatrician told us that the guidelines for two year olds was 50 words. Also, look at what you are counting as "real" words. Does she make the same sound with the same intonations every time she sees a dog? then I would say she is saying her version of dog. Does she understand what you are saying? Does she seem to hear you?

If you are concerned, ask your pediatrician.....otherwise I don't know that I would worry about it. Kids develop at their own rate. Our three year old twins had about 50 words at two years of age but weren't stringing thoughts together. Now at 37 months....they never stop talking. In less than a year they went from one or two word sentences to paragraphs!

Answer 7

First of all, never show a major reaction to it. That will just bring it more often. It doesn't sound like you are doing that though. The next time she does it I would gently take her face in your hands, look her in the eye, and tell her that word is not appropriate (in words she'll understand, of course.) She's old enough to understand what consequences are. Tell her the consequence, which obviously would be the spanking, and then follow through if she does it again. She'll begin to associate the consequence with the word and eventually stop doing it. Make sense? It really sounds like you are already doing this. Don't make a big deal of it though. Just simply state the rules and follow through. Make sure that you and your husband are on the same page as well. Oh, and I would make sure to unplugged the TV at night. hehehe!!! God Bless. mom of 5 w/ #6 due Nov 08

Answer 8

Yes, at this age your child should have a vocabulary of 50-75 words. My suggestions are to discuss your concerns with her doctor. Has she had reoccuring ear infections or inner ear fluid, if so she may need to see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor. You may also want to pay close attention to her behavior. How does she communicate her needs, does she use sound, gestures? Does she respond when her name is called? Does she play with toys the way other children do? There can be many causes for her delay, you may look into locating your local Early Childhood Intervention Program. They are trained to work with children from Birth to Three years of age with developmental delays.

Answer 9

I've met some really smart children but have yet to meet one that could actually SAY 50 different words consistantly by 16 months. My 14 month old has maybe a dozen that he says regularly-and by regularly I mean once a week maybe.

Answer 10

She is behind the curve. By 18 months I saw mine trying to express some fairly complex needs in whole sentences. Tell your pediatrician you want a referral to a developmental psychologist and an audiologist to check hearing. Good luck.