what age should babies speak?

[jacobsmummy]

i no that all children are different but i do worry that my son should at least be saying one word by now. he just turned one last week, he walks everywhere, can throw and kick a ball and i no he can understand certain words like daddy, ball, bye bye etc but doesn't say any of them, he just points if he wants something or cries until we work out what it is! other babies i know of the same age are at least saying a few words even if there not always in the right context but the most my son says is when hes playing and babbling to himself! at what stage should i start to worry?

[redcrx]

If hes babbling then Id certainly not be concerned at 12 months. Does he make a regular babble for a certain item? The words are not always recognisable but eventually you can understand what they mean. My son points to planes and says 'bra' but thats because he cant pronounce the P yet.
It may be that your son just cant say the word right just yet.
Has your son had the infant hearing test? Some hospitals do it at birth. Does he react to sounds around him? If his hearing is fine then it may just be that he is learning different skills before speech, ie playing football. Some may say that there are a few professional footballers who still havnt mastered the english language :)

[suffragette]

Children will usually start to string words together to form phrases at about eighteen months. By this age most children are able to say about fifty words, so you've still got plenty of time.

I wouldn't worry too much because it is between the ages of two and three that things really take off. If you are worried just keep pointing at something and repeating its name until he makes an effort to actually say it rather than merely pointing at it or throwing a wobbly.

[jacobsmummy]

lol yes thats a good point and im sure my fiance wouldnt mind him being a footballer! he doesn't really make the same noise for things, as i said before just pointing really and the babbling literally is just that! i know his hearing is fine as he responds to his name and if i say ball or cat he scans the floor looking for it, i just feel that if he can understand the words, then y isn't he saying them or even attempting them? the closest we'v some is the other day when we arrived at my mothers and he ran open armed towads the cat and said dada! :-)

[jacobsmummy]

in reply to your comment suffragette, we do point at things and repeat the words over and over but i think he thinks of this almost as a game now because well be cuddling and hell just point at things to hear what i say, sometimes he finds it highly amusing, i get the feeling hes playing me! ;-)

[lindapinda]

My niece and my ex boss's son,were born on the same day.We always had loads of comparison chats,and he used to be worried that my niece was already talking,when his son wasn't...His son though,suddenly started to talk ,stringing 2,3 and 4 words together!..My sister also did the same thing when she was a baby.Babies will talk in their own good time I think!

[vicars]

HI, at 7 or 8 months my son started to talk but then stopped and did not really say anything until after 2. After that we could not stop him from talking so I would not worry at all if his hearing is fine. Doctors put it down to learning other skills first.

[jacobsmummy]

well i suppose he has worked really hard at getting walking early, and he does seem to be more physical, maybe hes just destined to be a typical man and never speak! i suppose it doesn't help that the babies i compare him to are girls, is it true that they use different sides of the brain and thats y girls are more likely to talk first? is there anything else i can do to encourage the speaking or should i just let him do things in his own time?

[jacobsmummy]

lindapinda what age was ur boss's son when he started talking?

[redcrx]

if he can call the cat dada then he can speak. My son calls any man daddy in the cutest way which always makes them look a bit wary lol
He still cant say mummy and has named me muma which is fine for me.
He did speak for a while at a young age and when he learnt to walk (early at almost 10 months) he stopped saying words and just babbled for a month or so.
As i said before, hes probably more interested in walking running etc to worry about words, especially as you can understand him and what he wants anyway.
Im sure hes fine but if you are really concerned then speak to your health visitor.
Have you tried the ivillage mums boards? the september board is http://messageboards.ivillage.co.uk/iv-ukpbsep t05 I use these boards and have done since i found out i was pregnant. it may be worth you joining and discussing the matter with mums of babies the same age. You wont find yourself alone and may even be able to help other mums.

[redcrx]

In the meantime just talk to him and repeat words as you are already doing.

[redcrx]

one of my sons first words was ball, try saying it to him when playing football, dont go for complicated words, single sylables are best at first and the letter B is one of the easiest i think

[lindapinda]

I think he was nearly 2 JM.He was certainly older than 1 anyway.As redcrx says,there's no doubt he can speak. He'll just surprise you one day I bet!!

[treacle-tart]

Hi jacobsmummy

I have 6 kids and they all started saying words at different times. I have noriced that the younger ones started making sentences earlier - I guess because of the interaction with the older ones. But the eldest was the quickest to actually attempt saying words.

Good Luck

Bekki

[Oneeyedvic]

If it helps: Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4 years old - he turned out okay!

[jacobsmummy]

wow! well if old albie einstein can turn out like he did then i think i can relax a little! thanku all for your words of encouragment, uv made me feel a lot better about the situation! xxxx

[lady_p_gold]

My son did not say a word until he was three, everyone was worried except me and at three he suddenly started speaking with a very good vocabulary in a short time.