Heidi

sweetie1528

when do kids start saying full words?  G says things like top it = stop it, ope = hope.

also, when can they pronounce Rs?

Thank you.

Heidisean

When kids talk like that they are called word approximations (saying parts of words).  How old is G?  Basically, there is a developmental chart that tells you how many clear words kids should say at each age.  For instance, at 24 months kids should have at least 50 clear words; at 18 months it is 15-20 clear words, and by 3 it is a big range of 300-1000 clear words.  There are other things to look for such as using plurals (cars, books, etc) is a 25 mo level; using pronouns (me, mine) is a 24 mo skill; putting 2 clear words together is an 18 mo skill to imitate it and 24 mo skill to do it spontaneously.  I don't have my chart in front of me to tell you about the "r" sound but kids usually say it pretty early making a car sound (vroom or room) which is also an 18 mo skill to make environmental sounds of animal sounds and vroom or choo-choo.  I hope this helps.

sweetie1528

He is going to turn 2 on the 18th.  If you ask him his name he will say Gregory and pronounce the Rs well, but in other words they sound more like Ws.  He puts several words together.  He can tell you what he wants and what he doesn't want.  I kissed him tonight when I got home and he said "Mama kiss Gregory cheeck."  I am not worried about him, but I have noticed that he cuts off the first letter on some words.

Also, in some words he pronounces Fs like Phs (fish).

Should I make a list of the words that he pronounces clearly?  We speak Russian to him at home, so I wonder if that is causing him some confusion.

Heidisean

The substitution of ph for f is very common.  The F sound is a later developing sound.  Kids that are bilingual usually do get confused some and tend to have delayed speech.  Spanish is very commonly spoken here and I evaluate lots of kids with speech delays that are bilingual.  I really wouldn't worry about him.  The substitutions that he is using sound to me like the usual ones.  I would just correct him (one time) speaking slowly and clearly and pronunciating your words when he does say something wrong.  But only correct him one time and don't push it and dwell on the words he is saying wrong.  GL

sweetie1528

Thank you so much!  I am not worried, but I love hearing this from a pro.  I am fascinated with this stuff.