About Talking Babies

Ms.Jade

I know someone on here mentioned that some of us with little chatter boxes are probably exaggerating about how much our kid talks and there are people on here who are feeling anxious about how little their kids talk. I'm thinking that while yes, maybe some of us are over exaggerating, but maybe some of us are also understating. For the longest time my SIL insisted that her son (turned 2 in March) wasn't talking. But whenever I saw him he was clearly communicating. Maybe not with perfect annunciation, but he was talking. I wonder if there isn't a little of that going on for some of the babies on this board who seem less talkative??? I don't know. I just don't want anyone to be like my sister and not count what actually are words. 

E has a big mouth like her mama. She can say a sh!t ton of words. But you have to understand that in addition to "more", "please", "read!", "Elmo", "kitty" and the other words she says very clearly there is a bunch of crap only I can understand. I read that at her 15 month appointment the doctor was going to ask me how many words she could say. I started keeping count and came up with 40 at that time. This included the usual mama, daddy, door, and up, but also included animal sounds and unclear words. When you ask E what a cow says, she replies with a very loud, "Moo!". To me, that counts as a word. When she wants water she asks for "Wa!". Or she';; say "a dide" for outside.That counts too. She knows what she's asking for and she uses that word consistently for that item.

Here's another example. I totally count this as E singing Itsy Bitsy Spider. She puts her finger tips together and says the following while moving her hands around,

"Paader, up. Down rain! Wa wa out! Sun sun, paader up." This is followed by cheering and applause for herself. I totally consider that singing the song. My sis caught it on video so I'll post it to FB soon. 

So maybe I shouldn't count partial words and sounds but I think it's ok if we do. 

kagl08

If I know what they mean, and they say it consistently it's a word in my book. Before my DS I would have called BS on anyone who said that their 18-20 month old was talking. Then my DS came and he doesn't shut up. My DD never really talked until 2, she said 5 words consistently before then. 

L say many words that aren't "words" in other people's book. However, just 2 seconds ago he just said to me "where eee boch go?" Which means "where did the school bus go?" Eee boch has meant school bus for weeks now and it's consistent. He beeps when cars go by, he woofs at dogs, he ways wa wa for water. He asks for what he wants, and it's very rare that I don't know what he means. There's no guess with him. It's pretty amazing! At his pedi appt he was talking up a storm about a baby crying and was he hurt or sad. The pedi didn't believe me when I put down how many words he was saying, until she heard him talking. 

Deez10

I think this might apply to our situation.  DS says "da-da", "ma-ma", "ball", "car", & "go". He signs "more", 'please", "thank-you", & "all done".  That's it.  When we last saw his pedi (7 weeks ago) she said that his physical development is taking the lead at the moment and thus why his words are few and far between.  She continued that she has no concerns about this (yet) because he does have a few words, he uses them appropriately, and he also signs properly.  So he's communicating but just not too interested in expanding his vocabulary at the moment - he would rather scale the couch or throw himself around to test his physical limits.  So while this definitely eased my mind, it's still hard to not be a little concerned - especially when there are so many other LOs near his age (or even younger) that have so many more words in their vocab (or even LOs that can carry on conversations right now).  Hard to not compare and then start worrying even though I know I just need to relax a little bit and give him some time.

Fianschneid

kagl08:

If I know what they mean, and they say it consistently it's a word in my book.

Agree with this and with Jade.

Someone outside our home might not know that "trucky truck" means DD wants to read Cars and Trucks and Things that Go or that "Emmy frain" means DD wants to ride on the train to see Aunt Emily, but she is communicating and using her words to get a point across.

pennysuedog

Even though it is tough not to do...comparing children only leads to worry, anxiousness, and hurt feelings.  Right now it is talking, but before that it was walking and crawling.  The next thing is potty training and knowing letters and numbers.  How to read, how many goals they scored, what chair they are in band, their GPA...this will go on the entire time you are a parent.

You need to think of your child as a little train that is running on their own track.  All of our trains are going to end up at the same destination.  Some just have a little steeper hill to climb or a longer route to take.  Right now your LO may be climbing a hill while another is speeding down.

 

Deez10

pennysuedog:

Even though it is tough not to do...comparing children only leads to worry, anxiousness, and hurt feelings.  Right now it is talking, but before that it was walking and crawling.  The next thing is potty training and knowing letters and numbers.  How to read, how many goals they scored, what chair they are in band, their GPA...this will go on the entire time you are a parent.

You need to think of your child as a little train that is running on their own track.  All of our trains are going to end up at the same destination.  Some just have a little steeper hill to climb or a longer route to take.  Right now your LO may be climbing a hill while another is speeding down.

Yep.  I have definitely caused myself some unnecessary anxiety and have realized just how pointless it's been - he'll talk when he's ready.  And he is communicating, just in his own way.  I like your analogy, btw.

Ms.Jade

Deez10:

pennysuedog:

Even though it is tough not to do...comparing children only leads to worry, anxiousness, and hurt feelings.  Right now it is talking, but before that it was walking and crawling.  The next thing is potty training and knowing letters and numbers.  How to read, how many goals they scored, what chair they are in band, their GPA...this will go on the entire time you are a parent.

You need to think of your child as a little train that is running on their own track.  All of our trains are going to end up at the same destination.  Some just have a little steeper hill to climb or a longer route to take.  Right now your LO may be climbing a hill while another is speeding down.

Yep.  I have definitely caused myself some unnecessary anxiety and have realized just how pointless it's been - he'll talk when he's ready.  And he is communicating, just in his own way.  I like your analogy, btw.

I totally agree about comparing for the record. But my point is that some people are like my SIL and not counting words that are actually being said and just an encouragement for those who may find themselves worried. We all know we shouldn't worry, but it's not like a switch we can flip.  

cantalopes24

Fianschneid:

kagl08:

If I know what they mean, and they say it consistently it's a word in my book.

Agree with this and with Jade.

Someone outside our home might not know that "trucky truck" means DD wants to read Cars and Trucks and Things that Go or that "Emmy frain" means DD wants to ride on the train to see Aunt Emily, but she is communicating and using her words to get a point across.

Definitely this. I remember baby sitting for a family and the mom had a list of gestures and "words" that meant specific things for her toddler. Most of which I wouldn't have figured out. Lo can say bear but a teddy bear is a tee boo, totally counts!

Both of my kids were early talkers as was I and as much as I love my son I can assure you it means nothing special.

jwls84

pennysuedog:

Even though it is tough not to do...comparing children only leads to worry, anxiousness, and hurt feelings.nbsp; Right now it is talking, but before that it was walking and crawling.nbsp; The next thing is potty training and knowing letters and numbers.nbsp; How to read, how many goals they scored, what chair they are in band, their GPA...this will go on the entire time you are a parent. You need to think of your child as a little train that is running on their own track.nbsp; All of our trains are going to end up at the same destination.nbsp; Some just have a little steeper hill to climb or a longer route to take.nbsp; Right now your LO may be climbing a hill while another is speeding down.nbsp;

This is nicely worded! Comparing kids is going to cause somebody anxiety or worry! When others were talking about talking B wasn't nearly where they were. But when talking about walking he was one of the first. Each kid is going to do things at different times and I have now learned that is OK and not to stress. B is not even close to singing or talking in sentences, but he will one day and that's all that matters.

morsey2011

Fianschneid:

kagl08:

If I know what they mean, and they say it consistently it's a word in my book.

Agree with this and with Jade.

Someone outside our home might not know that "trucky truck" means DD wants to read Cars and Trucks and Things that Go or that "Emmy frain" means DD wants to ride on the train to see Aunt Emily, but she is communicating and using her words to get a point across.

I agree. DD says a ton of stuff, some things people don't understand, but to me it's plain as day what she's saying. My new favorite is "old your Aba" which translates to "hold your Ava".  

morsey2011

jwls84:

pennysuedog:

Even though it is tough not to do...comparing children only leads to worry, anxiousness, and hurt feelings.nbsp; Right now it is talking, but before that it was walking and crawling.nbsp; The next thing is potty training and knowing letters and numbers.nbsp; How to read, how many goals they scored, what chair they are in band, their GPA...this will go on the entire time you are a parent. You need to think of your child as a little train that is running on their own track.nbsp; All of our trains are going to end up at the same destination.nbsp; Some just have a little steeper hill to climb or a longer route to take.nbsp; Right now your LO may be climbing a hill while another is speeding down.nbsp;

This is nicely worded! Comparing kids is going to cause somebody anxiety or worry! When others were talking about talking B wasn't nearly where they were. But when talking about walking he was one of the first. Each kid is going to do things at different times and I have now learned that is OK and not to stress. B is not even close to singing or talking in sentences, but he will one day and that's all that matters.

I agree. DD was a late walker and I worried a lot because I kept seeing kids her age walking a lot sooner than she did. Now, I see a girl on my FB whose child is being potty trained and she's not even one. My kid likes to take craps in the floor. So I feel like I'm behind even though I know I'm not. It's making your heart believe what you Already know.