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Expert Q&A
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| By Mindy Hudon Speech and Language Pathologist | ||
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I'm the mother of an 18-month-old little girl. I know all babies develop at their own pace and shouldn't be compared to each other, but is there a roundabout time when they should be starting to talk? My pediatrician is a little concerned that my daughter doesn't say any clear words yet -- other than Mama and Dada. I'm not really worried, just a little curious. She mutters her baby chatter quite well and all day long. At what age should I really start to wonder?
In general, children's first words can be heard around 12-18 months of age. The first words can start earlier or later than 12 months but should be seen approximately around this time. Early developing sounds are "b, p, m, t, d, n, h, k, g". Children practice the use of these sounds in nonsense ways that we know as "babbling". This is how your child learns what sounds go where to form a word that has meaning. By 24 months, children can use anywhere from 50-100 words and start using two to three word sentences. If your daughter is able to communicate to you using single words and is not frustrated, that is great. She should be using more words than gestures at this point. It is difficult for me to say if you should be concerned or not when I have never met your daughter. Therefore, you may want to discuss this further with your pediatrician and possibly get a speech and language evaluation completed which will answer all your questions. For now I would suggest modeling speech and language with your child in play, by reading books, or just talking about your day. It's a lot of fun and great interaction with your child.
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