Vinay is fifteen months old. He’s fifteen months old and he’s actually quite smart! I know, I know – every mother thinks the same about her children.. But he really is. You can read his Report Card here and judge for yourself!
There is, however, one thing that’s worrying me a little…
He’s not talking yet. He can communicate – but he’s not talking.
I didn’t really think anything of it – except one particular person asks me (almost) EVERY single day, ‘Is Vinay saying a few words now?’
Funnily enough, I’ve always reassured Hub, in-laws and parents as to why to he wasn’t crawling or walking yet. I always told them that he would accomplish x, y or z when he was good and ready and not before; and truly believed it.
Until he was six months old, he made lots of cooing sounds. Like… a pigeon. He didn’t do all the usual babbling that my BabyCentre emails said he would *probably* start doing at four months.
After he was seven months old he started making other sounds: ‘inga inga’ ‘eh eh’
He started saying ‘mama’ – but was never referring to me. And just before his first birthday, he said it again – calling me. And now – he only says it when he’s ‘in distress’.
He babbles more now, and his range of speech sounds has definitely expanded. He says things like ‘tikum tikum’, ‘nyen nyen nyen’, ‘brm brm brm’ and other things that make me wonder if he’s speaking Japanese.
However, none of these is associated with an actual object. Yet, he is still very capable of making sure everyone knows what he wants.
I’ve heard the: ‘Boys are a bit slower than girls’, ‘My brother didn’t talk until he was three’, ‘He walked first, so maybe he’ll talk a bit later’, ‘All children are different’, ‘He’ll talk when he’s ready’ and ‘I wouldn’t worry, he’s only fifteen months’.
That’s all very well and good. But what if there *is* a problem? What if he has some kind of speech delay? Surely it would be better to ‘catch’ it sooner, rather than later? And how would I know what to look for? How does one even *do* a speech and language assessment on a toddler that doesn’t talk yet?
We have lots of playtime everyday, we sing nursery rhymes and do action rhymes, we look at books together *all* the time and read them several times over. What else can I do?
Apparently toddlers should be saying about twenty words by the time they’re eighteen months. If he’s fifteen months old and only saying one word (sometimes), shouldn’t I worry?
The Diary of a Lagos Mum 
Don’t sweat it. Seriously, he’ll talk when he’s ready. It’s waaaay to early to worry about it. Our second kid didn’t say a single word until around 18months. He’s now 8 years old and is perfectly normal, and way ahead of the kids in his class. He’s very, very social and a joy to be around.
Really don’t worry! The Boy was only just on the 50 word at 21 months and the health visitor told me not to worry. Now at 30 months he doesn’t shush from the minute he wakes up to the second he falls asleep. He even talks in his sleep. Really don’t worry.
hi Diaplease don’t worry. Up until september this year when he was over 2 years old, Burton only said a handful of words,e.g., mama, no, sara (which was daddy!) but since then he has come on in leaps and bounds and he is talking all the time and says sooooo much now. we took him to a speech therapist and she said each child is different so i really wouldn’t worry yet. make the most of the peace lol xx
Thank you ladies – you’ve made me feel a bit relieved! I think I’ll just relax (or try to) and see what happens!Thanks for commenting. x
I wouldn’t worry. He is still very young. You can always have him checked out (hearing, tongue-tied…) to be on the safe side. If indeed there is a pb (which, don’t get me wrong, is unlikely), it is better to know asap.In my experience, the more languages you speak at home, the longer it takes for them to learn new words. Let us know how it goes !
Thank you for reading and commenting! Hub and I have decided to wait a while and see what happens… Will keep you posted 🙂
Hun, I think he will be just fine. Looking at his report card, anyone can say, he will talk but only when he wants to and you know that. I think he is in his comfort zone and is getting what he wants without having to communicate more, so he is not talking yet. He will be fine. My hub spoke at 2.5 years, my sis at about 2 years and I spoke at 9 months (not so surprising) but Ranveer-god knows when! it’s fine, in a way, once they will start, they won’t stop. So worry not my dear, he will soon be talking and then you will be blogging about ‘he never stops’. :). huggs and see you soon. xx