my son will be 3 next month how can i get him to talk more?

Question

my son says many words like momma, dadda, toby (the dogs name). his name almost and please. but i don't think hes saying all that he can. i don't think its anything medical so please don't tell me that might be a problem. im just trying to get him to talk more. the more i want him to copy what i want him to say the more both of us get frusterated. it only holds his attention for soo long. then i just walk away. he will say mummm when hes hungry but wont say food. he is very smart he knows what is what. my problem is hes the only child right now. so i can read him and he gets all of our attention. please give me some ideas to help me teach him how to talk.

Answer 1

hi there,

I'd say, let him develop at his own pace, even if it seems like it isn't fast enough for you. He is perfect just the way he is. He's likely a thinker and likes to formulate stuff in his head. One day, he will probably wow you, and come out with all sorts of stuff you didn't expect! :) I believe that if you prompt/encourage/push him with a hidden agenda, that he may feel the pressure underneath and do the opposite of what you'd like him to do. And, you, in turn, will get more frustrated, and it will create a BIG spiral of frustration and agitation, and a stressful situation, when it should be the opposite, natural and easy, and in its own time.

He's probably past the stage of 'puppeting' that one does with younger children. If you just carry on talking to him normally, he will pick up so much more than if you make him parrot you, I think. He probably doesn't need to be taught how to talk; it's just taking him longer than some (don't feel cornered by all the 'development ranges' we feel roped into!) to formulate what he might want to say in his head.

Some kids take longer than others to 'find their voice'. I am sure if you can relax about it (he likely feels your anxiety), he will come around in his own time, and be much more confident and secure, and be just as chatty as the next kid. And, if he ends up being more quiet than you expected, then that's okay, too.

I mean all this in the kindest way, hope it doesn't come across as strong, etc. Good luck, continue to enjoy reading to him (get him to point to pictures, and shapes, etc.) and enjoy it for what it is, and not for what it isn't. Best wishes!

Answer 2

I have 2 twin nieces I recently have gotten guardianship of. Up until 2 months ago, one of them hardly spoke at all, and they'll be 4 in March.

Out of nowhere, she starts talking!

When she felt really comfortable talking, she started talking! I knew she was smart, and I knew she understood, but all you'd get was silence if you asked her to repeat something, and when her wandering eyes found something she'd point and make some unintelligible chatter (maybe twin-talk?)

Anyway, what always got her to talk more was getting completely eye-level with her. Not leaning down or picking her up, but getting on the floor so that no part of my body was towering over her.

He sounds a lot like she was. We actually thought she might have some deafness for a while, but we knew she'd say mama, numnums (food), etc...

Punishment makes things worse, and hugs and rewards work well. Her twin, however, needs time outs and sometimes *gasp* a little spank.

Try encouragement with your little sensitive guy, and DO NOT try the same words repeatedly. Example:

"That's a square, Johnny! Can you say square?" If he's silent, you say, "Can you say square?" If he's still silent, DO NOT KEEP ASKING, move to the next word.

And always do it in the same voice you use when you're playing and that as long as he remains engaged with you, he's being a good boy, whether he repeats it or not.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Have him say the word before you give him an object or food that he wants. Tell him that you do not understand mummm anymore, that you only understand big boy words. Don't let him point to something without saying what it is. Give this a try, and of coarse, I am not saying to deprive him of things, just let him know that he is going to be 3 and 3 year olds talk to people and tell them what they want and need using big boy words. Hopefully I have helped.

Answer 4

I am a speech therapist and work with birth to 5 year olds. typically a child at the age of 3 years is using 3-4 word long sentences and is understood 75% of the time. around age 2 he should have about 40-50 words that he uses consistetnly. at age three, he should begin to be able to imitate full sentences.

there could be a number of reasons that your son is not saying much... and without seeing/ hearing him, its hard to give professional advice. I suggest talking to your pediatrician and getting a referral for a speech language evaluation.

children vary in development, but its always better to rule out a major problem. (hearing loss, speech apraxia- motor speech disorder, etc.) A speech therapist will be able to give you ideas of how to work with your child in the home. thats what our job is- to teach the parents how to teach the kids at that age!!!! he/ she will also be able to tell you exactly what areas need to be worked on the most and rule out any other reasons for the delay.

if you have insurance or medicaid- you can get a referral to a private clinic to assess speech and language delays. your child, if he qualifies, would get private 1:1 therapy in a clinic setting.

if your insurance does not cover or youd rather go through the school district... call your school district and tell them that you have a 3 year old and that you ahve concerns with language development and they will set an appointment for an eval. some school have 1/2 day programs and some will set appointment times- mostly in group sessions. wait list could be longer.

its always better to be safe than sorry- if he doesnt need therapy- then great! at least you can have that weight off your shoulders. if he does- then its your choice if you want to pursue it and helping him at this age is so important for pre-reading skills and social language.

good luck!

Answer 5

I would say whenever you do something (give him a bath, fix his meals, take him outside ect.) Explain what you are doing. Point at objects and tell him what they are and just repeat, repeat and repeat some more. My daughter is 20 months old, and I have done this since the very first day I brought her home. It helps a lot. However, all children learn at different levels. Just because he is behind a little, does not mean that anything is wrong. Just take your time, read him some books. He will be talking your ear off in no time!!

Answer 6

First, please stop worrying. My son (now 8) was a "late" bloomer, never crawled, walked late, talked late and is now one of the student council representatives for his class.

We always encouraged him to talk, but knew he was understanding and getting it. We did sign language (which he really liked) and drew pictures and acted out things. We also did a lot of signing, he enjoyed it then (did not sing then) and now he sings and makes up words for songs.

Our niece and nephew (3 and 4 years older) still kid my son about how he used to "hum" while he ate. Hmmmmm, hmmmm, goood, hmmm. He stopped (around 5) but still will tell me "hmm that's really good tasting" if he likes a particular food. Is my son "classified" as something? No. Is he annoying? No. He's a normal kid who likes to eat and likes to say what is on his mind, when he wants to.


My son was also an only child (and still is). He enjoys playing video games (GameBoy, DS, etc.) and started those at age 5.

so what does this mean? Every child is different. If you are worried (and your child will sense this) take him to your pediatritian and ask what's up. You can always do more, but your anxiety will spill into his

Pretty soon he will be talking your ear off and this question will make you laugh :)

Answer 7

We asked our GP the same question when our son was 3 and his sister was 6. He replied "why should he talk? His sister does it for him." Boys start talking later than girls, and especially if they have an older sibling. Don't worry. Our son is now a successful geologist. But interact, play games and use new words to extend his vocabulary, and keep him supplied with reading material. Our son's geology career started when we gave him some books about dinosaurs when he was 5. And he's now fluent in Swedish and Spanish, as well as English.

Answer 8

My 29 mo old was the same way. I got worried and enrolled him in a program we have here (Birth to three) where the state provides services in your home (where children feel comfortable). While he still doesn't talk much for them (his speech therapists) we've adapted some of thier methods and he's actually started speaking in small sentences at home. We've only been in the program since late August and he was only saying about 15 words at that point. Basically we changed the way we speak to him. We now over emphasize key words in a bubbly cheerful tone. They also play with puzzles a lot and have him name the pieces (he doesn't always do it for them, but will for us). I've also bought different flash cards (one set with different animals and one set with shapes and colors). He responded very well to them. We praise praise praise him for saying new words. They say to ask him to say a new word three times and if he soesn't, just move on. It becomes a battle of wills after that which isn't fun for you or them. My son wouldn't say either milk or juice when wanting a beverage so I had him to say please so that he would have to say something. It worked for us and helped teach him manners. Today she played with a MR Potatoe head and had him name the different body parts. Take him on a walk and just point out and name absolutely everything with way too much excitement. It works. I thought no way, you've got to be kidding me, but he's now saying sentences. The praising really helped with my son a lot. My son has no medical reason for his late talking either, he just didn't feel the need.
BTW one of his speech therapists also works in the school system and said if he'd been 3 or older we could have gotten his doctor to write a note, taken it to our local school and the speech therapist there would've had to work with him free of charge. I'm not sure of your laws where your at or your financial situation, but we'd have to do it that way had he been older. You may want to contact your school board and find out if you could possibly get him jump started that way. Just watching how they work with him and changing minor things made a world of difference with my son. Good luck and feel free to e-mail me if you want.

Answer 9

With all of my children I never spoke "baby talk" to them. When they were of the age that I knew they could talk but wouldn't, I wouldn't give them the item they wanted until they attempted to say the word. I would pretend that I didn't understand until some semblance of what they wanted came out of their mouth! Ju for juice, mik for milk or whatever came close! It was hard to say I just don't understand and walk away, but it worked! Now this was for unneccesary things, and if they were thirsty and wouldn't say juice or milk, I gave them water, or were grunting to get a toy I would give them the wrong one. And my kids had set meal and snack times so inbetween snacking was frowned upon. They could have fruit or veggies if hungry inbetween.
And they had to try to say please! and thank you.

Answer 10

at 3 years old he should be talking up a storm. does other kids hang around him to play? get him involed in stuff at the local libary with the other kids. call his doctor and ask just to make sure.