Do animal sounds count as words?

gymnst1013 · July 2012

Because N will not stop meowing! It's so darn cute

I was changing his diaper this morning and he was reading Brown Bear. He kept saying "mow, mow" (like wow, not like mow the lawn) I didn't think anything of it because he babbles so much but when I looked at what page he was on it was the purple cat page. And every time I flip to that page now or ask him what the kitty says, he starts "mow"ing. Love it!

mom6311 · July 2012

I say count it!

You know what he's saying and if he says it to the same thing each time, I say just count it.

I think you're about to be surprised at how fast he'll learn his animal sounds! Ella starting moo'ing one day when I asked her what a cow said, and ever since then she's been saying her animal sounds like crazy. It's amazing how much they comprehend!!! Go N...keep on meowing!

CarlaAndJames · July 2012

I say yes! We taught Lexi to roar when we show her a lion toy, we count it as one of her words

sunshine336 · July 2012

I would count it if it's consistent and she clearly associates the sound with the animal. Would I count it as her first word and write it in the baby book? I'm not sure- depends on what her 2nd word is, lol.

smurf605 · July 2012

We have the same situation. DS knows vroom-vroom, roar, and oo-oo (monkey). However, recently I think he said Ma-ma when he wanted me

Not quite sure what word I will use as his first word, but probably ma-ma since that ones was most special

jellybeanjean · July 2012

Yes. We had DS1 evaluated by Early Intervention and they said that any sound consistently used with the same intent was counted as a word. They counted "vrooom" and "moo" (for a cow) at that point for DS1.