how many words should my 18 month old be saying?

Answer 1

Found 2 articles: (as a parent of 3 these seem to be the most sensible ones)

Some 2 year olds don't even speak at all yet.
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/growth/communication/not_talk.html


**From 18 to 24 months
Children should have a vocabulary of about 20 words by 18 months and 50 or more partial words by the time they turn 2. By age 2, kids should be learning to combine two words, such as "baby crying" or "Daddy big." A 2-year-old should also be able to follow two-step commands (such as "Please pick up the toy and bring me your cup").

**At a year and a half, most children speak a dozen words (or more) clearly. Besides "Mama" and "Dada," favorite words include "bye-bye," "milk," "cookie," "car," "oh!," and "my." Many 18-month-old toddlers can also link two words together to form rudimentary sentences — sentences without linking verbs or other connecting words. She may say "All gone," "Want ball," or "Me up."

Your 18-month-old probably still does a lot of babbling in imitation of the adult conversations she hears. With increasing frequency, though, you'll hear clear words in the midst of the chattering. (If your child can't say at least two words by now, be sure to mention it to her caregiver at her next well-child visit; your caregiver may wish to test her hearing or have a speech pathologist do an evaluation.)

Tone speaks volumes and your 18-month-old is rapidly figuring that out. Since her vocabulary is still limited, she uses a combination of simple words, inflection, and body language to get her point across. In fact, you may be surprised by how much she can tell you with a just a few words. When she says "COOKIE," she's not merely ruminating about her favorite treat. You know by her tone that what she's really saying is, "I want a cookie — now!"

Many 18-month-old toddlers also begin to refer to themselves by name. It will be a few months before your child can use pronouns (other than the ubiquitous "my").

Answer 2

Good for you for being a concerned parent. You can consult the percentile tables for words, you can do the same for length and weight. What you need to know, is that whatever the results, they predict nothing, and rates vary and change. So do not worry about this.
Two more pieces of advice, if you will permit. Do provide stimulation with a variety of things. This can have an affect on future development.
This story is told as medical training.
There was a four old who had never said a word. His parents took him to every doctor they could find. Nobody found anything wrong. One day the mother was pouring milk on his cereal. The child said, " I don't want milk, I want cream." The mother said, " You have never said a word, and you can talk! How can this be?" The child said," Everything has been all right up to now."
I hope you understand the message.

Answer 3

I have a daughter who is almost 18 months now and I think she only says a couple of words and we are not even sure that they are words. My older daughter was talking in sentences at this age and both of my boys had a couple dozen words by this age. I have not even one concern over her limited vocab at this point. She gestures and signs a little so we know what she wants. I have had friends with children that had true disabilities so I know that my daughter is just working things out at her own pace and I love the couple of words she does try to use. It is so much like the height and weight percentiles. There is the average and but that doesn't mean if you are in the 5th percentile that there is something wrong with your child. My sister in law was scared to death because her almost 2 year old wasn't talking at all. He just gestured and cried a lot. She spent a ton of money just to find out that he had two older sisters who gave him everything he needed so he didn't have an occasion to talk. He is now a bit older and is by far one of the brightest children in his grade. I'll bet it won't be long and we will both be wishing we could go back to our little ones not having much to say. Good luck to you!

Answer 4

At 18 months a baby should be saying at least 2 words other than "ma-ma" and "da-da". By 21 months 20 words, and 24 months 50 words.

Answer 5

I really think it all depends. Mine was talking very young I babysat two kids and the youngest didn't say much till 3yrs old. Then he just happened to say a whole sentence. But most say common words so that's another factor of what you and others say to him and what he/she picked up and copied. I think between 2 and 3 they copy a lot of words said to them. If you are in doubt though take to a doctor and ask. Hope this helped.

Answer 6

Language Development:
Speaks from 3 to 50 words.
Wants to name everything.
May use a few two-word combinations.
Repeats familiar and unfamiliar sounds and gestures.


dont get discouraged if your child does not do all of that because every child will grow at their own pace. good luck.