Is my 1 year old supposed to be talking?

Sarahbear621 · July 2011

We had DS's 1 year well baby and his peds always make me feel like he is way behind in talking. He only says "da-da" but not always directed towards DH. He does a lot of babbling and he just started to go "maaaammmmeeeeeee" so I think he is close to mama. Regardless his doctor thinks he should be saying more words by now and was sort of snarky when she asked if we read to him or talk to him. I was getting rather irritated. Of course we talk to our son. As far as reading goes we do try but he hates to sit still so we usually only do 3-4 books a week. She wants me to read to him an hour each day.

Is my doctor nuts?

rach10782 · July 2011

If it makes you feel any better our son will be 1 next week and is doing the exact same thing as your son. The only two things he says are dada and yaya but dada is not directed at my husband. He will only sit through 4 books because they are touch and feel. If I try to read him anything that is not interactive he crawls away. I think your pediatrician is being a little ridiculous.

Sarahbear621 · July 2011

Allright thanks for the reply. At his 9 month well baby she was commenting that he should be saying at least 3 words and wanted us to bring him back 6 weeks later to test him. I did bring him back but we saw another doctor (his orignal was on vacation) and the new doctor thought he was just fine with where he aught to be. I think we are going to switch to her as I like her much better.

lriel526 · July 2011

We are also in the same boat. My DD will be 1 on 7/26 and she babbles a lot and says da da and ma ma but not always directed at me or my DH. I asked the pediatrician if we should be worried, and he said not at all.

rosesandpeonies · July 2011

my pedi likes to see 5 words by 15 months. My daughter had a few words at a year but she was not talking...she was doing what yours is doing. She now has hundreds of words.

My dr. says to read once a day but an hour a day....I am a primary ed teacher and that is ridiculous even for a first grader. They don't have that kind of attention span!

jlthompson19 · July 2011

DD is almost 13 months and doesn't say any words yet. She says dada, but not to DH. She's been behind on some other things as well, so it worries me a bit, but I try not to think about it.

first-time-mama · July 2011

I wouldn't worry about it. I think that is normal for a lot of kids. An hour a day is completely insane IMO. I couldn't sit still to read for an hour, I sure dont expect my 20month old to. Thats just crazy. I read to him but I do well to get through a full book, he wants to play.

NiniJ55 · July 2011

DS is not talking either and he is 17months old. I spoke with the pedi this week and she said if there is no improvement by December (22 months) then we can have him evaluated. Is your DC in daycare? Children who are around other children often I find talk faster. DS is home with MIL so does not have this advantage.

abb08 · July 2011

Our DS is almost fourteen months and the only thing he says that we really understand is "uh-oh." He occasionally says "ah-gah" for "all gone." Other than that he just babbles a constant stream. I am not worried, as it is clear that he is picking up on language skills, even if we can't understand what he means just yet. He has other little friends the same age that are pretty much the same. We talk to him, read to him, and sign to him.

I think your doctor sounds nuts. I would seriously question someone who suggested reading to a one year old for an hour, as well as anyone who expected three words by 9 months. It really doesn't seem like they understand child development...not a trait I want in a pediatrician!

rosalyian · July 2011

my little guy is 13 months and doesn't talk. says mama/dada here and there but not often. Dr is not worried.... he goes to day care so he has done everything early (I think as a result of watching other kids) but not the talking part. I read to him once a night... I will wait until 15 months and worry.

soldiersgirl78 · July 2011

abb08:

I think your doctor sounds nuts. I would seriously question someone who suggested reading to a one year old for an hour, as well as anyone who expected three words by 9 months. It really doesn't seem like they understand child development...not a trait I want in a pediatrician!

This!

DS is 14 months and only says mama and dada but most of that is not directed at me or DH. He babbles a whole lot but by no means has audible words. I'm sure he's talking, we just can't understand what he is saying

norcaljuly08 · July 2011

We went to DS 15 month visit yesterday and she said 3-5 words by 15 months and 8-10 by 18 months. DS isn't really to the 3 words yet but I took away from what she was saying the we shouldn't really get concered till 18 months if he still doesn't have many words.

MsShib · July 2011

We have a special situation because we speak two languages at home... so we know that it is likely that her language skills may be a bit delayed. Regardless, I think your pediatrician has some unrealistic expectations...

tyke29 · July 2011

My LO understands alot, but only says clearly dada and momma. He does say them to us correctly sometime and sometime just talks using them. He tries to say puppy for our dogs, but he cannot say Ps, so it is uh-y. His third understandable word which he got this past weekend - ready for this - A & D. He likes to hold his A & D and but paste while being changed. He was trying to repeat what I was saying and he was hold the A & D. So I said A & D a couple of times and he said it back. If he said it any other time I would have had no clue and thought it was babble. However he did it again this morning. He held it up to me and I said A & D and said it back. LOL. So you never know what they will say.

bliss611 · July 2011

seriously? The doc is nuts. I don't know where would I find an hour a day to read to DS! DS says pletny of words but we around that age, he got about 10 mins of reading at bedtime. Now he is more into books and brings them to us to read so it's more.

My friend has a 18 month old who has a vocabulary of 8 words and her doc is not concerned at all. They all develop at their own pace. I wouldn't stress about it yet - esp since the other doctor didn't seem concerned.

robynlesley · July 2011

I only just had my DS evaluated for speech and he has a delay (23 months). But that was based on his age. Personally, I'd worry if your 1 year old isn't saying Dada or Mama to the correct parent by 15 months. And if you don't see a language explosion after 18 months.

I did not and gave it until 21/22 months to call EI. It took almost a month for the eval. and it will be a few more weeks before he can start therapy. But you are a long way from that.

Though reading to your LO is a good idea. But if he won't sit still, just make up stories and talk to your child. As long as you're talking to him and communicating, I think you're on the right track.

Mereou12 · July 2011

An HOUR each day? My kid loves books, and even he won't sit through an hour a day, even broken up into multiple sessions. That's insane. I'd seriously be questioning that doc and asking for research indicating the need for an HOUR of reading to a toddler every day.

DS didn't utter a word until he was about 16 months old. By his 18 month check-up, he had a grand total of 10 words, and our pedi was thrilled. She actually mentioned that many parents have unrealistic expectations of how much a toddler should be talking and that 10 words at 18 months is fantastic. At 19 months, he now has 30+ words and is learning new ones daily.

Fashiongal1973 · July 2011

My son has a huge vocabulary but none of my other friends kids his age are saying much yet. I SAH with him and we read a few books a day but I talk to him constantly. I think speech is just like walking or crawling, all babies are different. People are shocked when DS speaks to them and he is starting to link words together. He also signs a few words. I wouldn't stress about it yet.

Also I doubt that she expects you to read to him an hour at a time. As far as the sitting still I read books to him while he plays,

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