"You just wait. Once he gets going he'll never stop and you'll yearn for the quiet."

Ya know, people told me that and I was like, "Oh, ha ha very funny" but you know what? It is so true. I have two who are close in age, so they are both pretty much in the same stages all the time. They both ask WHY WHY WHY all the time and lemme tell ya, sometimes I do want to scream "SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" but of course would never do so. Anyway, soon enough he won't shut up and you'll long for silence.

Reply

"You just wait. Once he gets going he'll never stop and you'll yearn for the quiet."

This may be true for average talking kids, but when you have a child that has speech delays and social delays, you realize this isn't true and just delays getting the child extra help. When I hear children's chatter that would get tiresome normally, I realize that average is a wonderful thing, and talking is a wonderful gift that before my child with delayed speech, I took for granted. It makes me wonder what else I am taking for granted. Probably a million different things. It's important to watch the milestones. Two word sentences by two years old is a good one to watch out for. Most things will come with time, even for people who need extra help.

Reply

I guess I'm in the minority. I love my talking toddler and all her little observations and questions. It's so wonderful to hear her perspective on the world, and from a practical point of view, so much less effort when she can explain her needs. I can't wait for her 2-month-old sister to get to the talking stage.

Reply

Kristin,

Margot is exactly 18 months tomorrow, and still only says Mama, Dadda, and cat. She babbles quite a bit like Nolan, but no real words. We too, are starting to get a bit antsy for some conversation.

However, as you mentioned with Nolan, Margot communicates just fine. She can sign over thirty words, so we can understand her just fine. I think the key is that they are communicating with their world, no matter what form.

We have her 18 mo well baby check in a few weeks, so if the doctor freaks out and runs from the room screaming about her lack of talking, I'll let you know. :)

Reply

And then there are those of us with healthy children who have substantial speech delays who don't have the luxury of freaking out a little - instead we are dealing with IEPs and speech therapists and driving the child to school 5 days per week and giving the child daily therapy ourselves, etc.

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/

Reply

"You just wait. Once he gets going he'll never stop and you'll yearn for the quiet."

You know what, I have heard that (or at least variations of it) so many times I can`t even begin count. And it isn`t true. Sure, it might apply if you`re impatient for you 14 month old to start talking. But it just makes me want to smack the person who say it now that my son is 2 1/2 and still not talking. (Nope, "not talking" doesn`t mean "Only says 5 or 10 or 20 words!" It means not a *single* word.)

I`m jealous of every word that irritates other mothers. And I also realize how much they take normalcy for granted. Sure, my son communicates quite proficiently in non-verbal ways, but it`s not the same.

It`s just one of those things parents of "normal" children will never understand, I suppose.

Reply

The fact remains that for the most part, the children WILL talk when they are ready. For those of you who have children with speech delays, I feel for you. When a child is 18 mos old and not speaking in sentences, the best way to calm the parents is to tell them to be careful what they wish for. Statistically, the child WILL start talking and there is nothing to worry about.

Reply

Our oldest seems to have come out of the womb talking, and our youngest seems to have her own version of english, out of which comes the odd word. I worried and worried about it, and mentioned it at the 18 month check up. I waited for him to suggest speech therapy, and he didn't. All he said was-if she has a few words, and understands you directions, don't worry about it.

And he was right. Ros can't talk yet, but man she can let us know what she wants without much difficulty. We're so used to our oldest telling us in detail though, so it's hard for us to make that leap between two different "systems" sometimes.

It will come, when he's ready. I understand the frustration though-Ros has this irritating/hilarious way of completely losing her mind and throwing herself flat on her back to the floor when she wants something. It's funny, and I understand her frustration, but I still would prefer her to say "more soy milk please" over this.

Reply

I have an 18 month old, and up til a few days ago she wasn't saying much, just "ma ma" and "da da". Now she says "Puppy", "mommy", "daddy", "nana", "thank you", and her new favorite, "look!". She has two older sisters ages 6 and 7, and i believe they do the talking for her, so she was just quiet.

Reply

My son was only speaking about 3 words at 18 months, and now (at barely 2 years old) will say entire phrases (eg: 'a whale goes swimming in water'...part of his favorite song). I also noticed that although he was an early walker at 10 months old, the children who started later caught up to him very quickly. He had a longer 'wobbly' period it seemed.

It seems some kids want more 'practice' time before they feel compelled to use the skill on their own (either cruising before walking, or absorbing vocabulary before speaking), and then they're more developed in the area (muscle tone or comprehension) so that they move more quickly through the next stage. So, I agree that parents shouldn't worry about this unless a professional decides it's an issue. (Although I know that's easier said than done...) Every child is different.

Reply