A few children have trouble speaking, and some may not start even after they turn 2! Why does this happen?
1. Does your child respond to other environmental sounds?
2. Does your child have difficulty forming words and sentences?
3. Did your child learn to sit, stand and walk at the appropriate age?
4. Most importantly, are you and your spouse spending enough time interacting with your child?
Try out some tactics to help your child!
1. Speak to your child in simple sentences about whatever is happening around her.
2. When speaking to your child, speak at a slow rate using pauses at appropriate junctures.
3. There should be consistency in the formulation of your sentences.
4. Read to your child often, from a story book.
5. If you feel your child still has difficulty grasping the language, speak to her in one language only, for the time being. Make sure your other family members do the same.
Does your child also have speaking problem? How do you help him? Share with us!
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A few children have trouble speaking, and some may not start even after they turn 2! Why does this happen?
1. Does your child respond to other environmental sounds?
2. Does your child have difficulty forming words and sentences?
3. Did your child learn to sit, stand and walk at the appropriate age?
4. Most importantly, are you and your spouse spending enough time interacting with your child?
Try out some tactics to help your child!
1. Speak to your child in simple sentences about whatever is happening around her.
2. When speaking to your child, speak at a slow rate using pauses at appropriate junctures.
3. There should be consistency in the formulation of your sentences.
4. Read to your child often, from a story book.
5. If you feel your child still has difficulty grasping the language, speak to her in one language only, for the time being. Make sure your other family members do the same.
Does your child also have speaking problem? How do you help him? Share with us!
ramya replied. my son is 2years and 3months old. he started saying amma only after19months. now he says around 18 words. he was born preterm and weighed only 800gms at birth. now he is only 7.3. doctor says he is lacking behind and that i should speak to him a lot. please help
Rashmi replied. my son is 3+ but he does not speak word R properly. how much time will he take to speak it clearly?
Eby replied. My elder son, who is 3 1/2 yrs does not talk very fluently (he does talk a lot but the words are not clear)unlike other kids his age. I put him to playschool two mths back and to my surprise, he learnt all the alphabets and knows what each alpha stands for. He learnt to say the numbers 1 to 30, the days of the week and knows all the colours. He is very interested to exercise what he learns in playschool. We always encourage him. Yet, he hasn't started talking fluently.He says a lot but it's hard to understand what he is trying to say. He does not show interest when we try to correct him or teach him to talk. The teacher says he is very 'hype'and all. Any suggestions!
Rajesh replied. My son started to talk only after he was 3years old. Infact we were worried about his school admissions and interviews. We had joined him in play schools which was a turning point. He started picking up english instead of our mother tongue tamil. We thought english would be bette as it would help him in school interviews. Usually boys are late starters. But there is a saying that late starters always do well. He got thru all the school interviews and we were in a fix which one to select. We were very proud of him. His pronounciation are good. The only problem is that sometimes he stammers which we are confident that he should be alright after sometime. My message is to those parents who are worried about the speech is that not to worry. Things will work out fine. So don't let your anxiety affect the child.
LN replied. My son started talking single words now when he's 2.4 months old. Till then I tried everything, reading books, speaking to him but he would not repeat at all. But now he's grasping words so fast. I cannot believe in a month he can speak many words in my mother tongue as well as English. So wait all kids are different. Do not panic if other kids start talking (especially girls) early. Every visit clearly tell your ped. how much ur child can speak. He/she will sense if ur child needs help.
mita replied. the first thing is talk to your child.Don't bother whether they understand or not...Never let them play alone, you can join them.Read infront of them, it doesn't matter what you r reading, it may be a newspaper, magazine or any kids book. To make them talking you have to talk lot !!! If you talk infront of them they will pick up words from you very soon.
My daughter is 2year old. She is oct,2001 born. She said her first word when she was 8 month old.. like mamma, papa, tata, bye bye, etc.Now she talks like 4 yr old girl.She talks full sentences with correct verb and tense.We live in US ,so she talks in english more fluently, though she can talk few sentences in our mother language also. I have seen lot of kids at her age who can't speak clearly.May be it is normal. But from the very begining I started talking to her. And I remember She used to response us as early as she was 2 month old.
Now a days almost all our frieds tell that because of me she is talking so much.I don't know , may be it's true!!!!
but if u talk to you talk to your child definitely they will response you and very soon they will talk. Kids love to immitate, specially what mamma is doing. So try it !!
fi replied. Hi Folks
Your child will talk .. and respond depending on how much to talk to him.. this need not be big stories.. but basic things.. sometime we only tell our children /correct them.. do we actually sit and talk and more importantly LISTEN.
My now 3 yrs old daughter spoke very early at 9 months she was almost saying 'tar for star, mama, papa, nana, tata... etc.. and now speaks full paragraphs.. with proper tenses.. I speak to her alot..
My son 2 yrs (yeah they were born within a yrs gap), took almost 2 yrs to talk..and its only now that he actually saying 2 word sentences.. He sometimes stammers.. and gets irritated.. becoz he wants to say something.. and he just cant find the words for it.. I tell him to relax and think before he talks (that cured my daughter).. but he still struggles with words.. and once he has it all in his head.. hes very fluent in speaking..
A friend of mine was saying her 3 yr old daughter used to barely say 2 words .. then they put her to playschool .and now they r searching for ways to keep her quiet.
Also, someone said that they child doesnt tell whats done in nursery.. if u ask any good teacher, they will tell u NEVER to ask a child.. coz u always get answers liek 'Nothng' or I dont know.. but in coversation / playing .. the child generally imitates..the teacher (atleast mine does) and i know exactly what is done in school.. without asking / pushing her to tell me.. I just watch her closely.. sometimes she just picks up words from the teacher or a story.. so i know what they hv taughted then and when i repeat it.. shes very happy..
phew. i hv written some long msg
priyanka replied. hi to everyone!!
my son is 10th june,2000 born. now he is 2 yrs 8 months old. he is not speaking full sentence. he can understands n say only words.he is very active n energetic.
pragyagarg replied. hi my daughter is 2yrs 2 months old she doesn't speaks in full sentences only two word at a time i've got hindi (mother tongue) poems from this site but could not get stories in devnagari to download and read them to her.please suggest a site or post some here.
hurry
Ganga replied. Hi! My son is 3 years old and finds it difficult to talk in full sentences. His vocabulary is also quite limited. I've also tried teaching him to recognise alphabets/numbers, but he doesnt seem interested at all. He is also not very communicative about what he does in playschool even though I keep asking him. Is there any way I can help him to relate what happens at school?
kumudini replied. I have seventeen month daughter, who does not speak but understands everything, is this normal.
Shruti replied. My son is 34 month old and does not speak as yet. He speaks only in monosyllables.I am really worried.I had all his tests done and is perfectly normal.He is very active and energetic kid, he is excellent in gross motor skills like bicycle, swimming etc.
If he needs something, he will just hold my hand and point to things. We try a lot to talk to him but he is not interested plus his attention span is also very short. Please advise.
Kavitha replied. Hi, I have a son who is aged 1 year 10 months. he doesn't speak much. the best part is, even if he knows to speak, he will not speak. but he understands everything. He will concentrate and learn whatever we speak and but he will not try to speak. how do we make him to do that? Will he be alright once he starts going to school. Please reply
RAJNI replied. MY DAUGHTER IS 1YEARS AND 5 MONTHS. SHE HARDLY SPEAK ANYTHING. SHE SAYS TATA MEANS BYE IN HINDI AND SAYS MUM, PA AND HA. SHE SAYS HI PULLING HER TONGUE ON ONE SIDE. IS IT OKAY WITH HER
I AM VERY MUCH WORRIED CAN U PLEASE SUGGEST ME AT UR EARLIEST.
RAJNI
Maya replied. My son is 6 years old and still can't speak clearly. Thank you for giving me these great tips! I shall surely try them out!
2013-05-09
#21
Name: 3yr5 Subject: nt constructing a clear sentence at 3 and half
Thanks you can û forward the website
2006-09-01
#22
Name: Jenny Subject: Nice Suggestion!! Need some more.
Hi..
Your suggestion for speaking difficulty is indeed good.
Just wanted to know your thoughts on the eating habits of 1.4 yr old child. My daughter is lovely and active. The following is her eating habit.:
I am still breast feeding her during the nights(to put her to sleep at night and also in between when she gets up)
1. Morning she has half or 3/4th tea- cup milk.(Not everyday only if she gets up early like 8 in the morn).
2. B/F : I have powdered Health Mix (Mix of 12 cereals + pulses)at home. Mix 2 teaspoons of this powder wit 2 cup milk and cook on low flame for 5-7 mins (after boil).
Lunch : Rice_Dal+Veg(preferably beans & carrot, Beat or potato or tomato occasionally). I grind this slightly in the mixer since she does not chew right now. Weekly twice or thrice hard - boiled egg yolk. Weekly once 1 piece Chicken , few days in a week Fish(whiecver is made at home)
Eve snacks: Banana (bigger ones , speciality of Kerala - doesnt get cold as well) cooked , mash this in milk nd make a paste in mixer.
Dinner : White Oats / Rice+Dal+Veg.
Is this sufficient? I want to introduce more variety which is nutritious. Also want to start with Orange/osambi juice or carrot/beat juice. Any suggestions on when to give this to them, since aftre her 4 meals as mentioned above she is not very hungry in between and so not intersted in any other meal in between. but I want to give her juices. when would it be appropriate to try this?
2006-06-05
#23
Name: Murala Subject: speaking problem with my kid
Hi Rita ST,
Greetings.
Please let me know books and other stuff you bought for your kid to overcome speech problem ...
Thanks a lot ...
Best Regards,
Gopinadh.Murala.
2005-10-05
#24
Name: AB Subject: 2.5yr old not talking much
Hi Editor ,
I really need your help & hope you can reply to my e-mail. My son is 2years 7 months old & does not speak full sentences . He speaks 2 word sentences e.g : bye mom , toy kahan hai ? , but really does not try to make any conversation himself .I think he understands all things i say to him , but sometimes when i ask him questions like ''what did you do at school?'' . he just does not respond...like he has not understood . I feel he understnds most things i say ....but not all of them .since i am a working mother , I cannot give him as much time so feel he is lacking behind
When he was 7 moinths old ,the doctors thougth he had a small head and was under constant supervision until he was 1.5yrs old , but ultimately after regular scans & developmental checks , the doctors ruled out the chance of anyabnbormality . his head is growing normally now & physically also he is growing normally . However he does not show any interest in lernining to speak in sentences. He has teh vocabularty of about 100words ( hindi & english combines) . Since we livce in the UK , He always gets confuesed between 2 languages .
to improve the situation , I have now started sending him to a full day nursery in the hope that he will pick up , but in the lst one month i have seen no development / change in him . Iam very worried that there is something not right . Dobnt know if it's just my paranoia or is there really something to worry about . I constantly keep relating it to his history of having a small head .
Can you pls advise me if i need to get him evaluated or noe as docs here in UK , keep ruling it out .
Pls can you give me some honest advise idf this is a mild case of autism , as i am going nuts thinking about this . Hoping someone can give me an honest reply .....
2005-08-29
#25
Name: Durai Subject: Speech Therapist
Hi,
Can anyone advise me on good Speech Therapists with their contact numbers in CHENNAI to treat my son who is diagnosed with mild Autism!!
2005-09-05
#26
Name: shakthi Subject: Pls reply
Dear durai,
can u pls tell me what are the symptoms which u saw in ur child that considers him mildly autistic? my son is 2years & 10 months. he still speaks only a few words & no sentences. iam worried about him. pls tell me what u have observed in ur child
2005-05-10
#27
Name: ap Subject: 4YRS 3MONTHS
My son has speech delay issue. He has been going to Preschool since he was 21/2. But sometime the teacher has hard time understaning him. Also they advice me to take him for speech eveluation done from school systems. He will be going to Pre school in Public shcool. My town start with Pre-K I got him test out for Speech delay. He will be qualifed for speech Program from the school. But i'm little worried b/c I don't want them to classifed him as handey cap. So I have the appount on 5/12 so let see.
2008-07-04
#28
Name: priya Subject: this works
We need to talk to the child endlessly just as how a child talks who has started talking ,with innumerous questions and opinions in her mind.Tell every incident like a story connecting past and present situations.Reading out a story or a story at bedtime everyday without a miss will just work wonders.speak about things happening around the kid and ask her the next time when she sees the same situation.It works.
2008-07-04
#29
Name: priya Subject: speech delay
A Child diagnosed with a speech problem can be treated well more at home rather than at any school with such programs.Be´ coz only parents will have the much needed patience to do it.Parents especially the mother can better understand how to communicate and convey to her kid.Only the mother understands the mood of her child which will help her focus on the child in a better and appropriate way.
2005-03-30
#30
Name: sath Subject: trouble speaking
my son is 25 months old. He does not show any interest to talk. He is able to follow whatever we say. He does most of the things by sign language like if he has to go to the bathroom he pulls me to the bathroom, if he wants water he gets the bottle of water to me to open. I have put him to a play school & he cries the whole time in the school. can anyone advise me
2005-02-02
#31
Name: ramya Subject: speech
my son is 2years and 3months old. he started saying amma only after19months. now he says around 18 words. he was born preterm and weighed only 800gms at birth. now he is only 7.3. doctor says he is lacking behind and that i should speak to him a lot. please help
2004-12-27
#32
Name: Rashmi Subject: speaking problem
my son is 3+ but he does not speak word R properly. how much time will he take to speak it clearly?
2004-07-11
#33
Name: Eby Subject: Talking
My elder son, who is 3 1/2 yrs does not talk very fluently (he does talk a lot but the words are not clear)unlike other kids his age. I put him to playschool two mths back and to my surprise, he learnt all the alphabets and knows what each alpha stands for. He learnt to say the numbers 1 to 30, the days of the week and knows all the colours. He is very interested to exercise what he learns in playschool. We always encourage him. Yet, he hasn't started talking fluently.He says a lot but it's hard to understand what he is trying to say. He does not show interest when we try to correct him or teach him to talk. The teacher says he is very 'hype'and all. Any suggestions!
2004-05-17
#34
Name: Rajesh Subject: Speech
My son started to talk only after he was 3years old. Infact we were worried about his school admissions and interviews. We had joined him in play schools which was a turning point. He started picking up english instead of our mother tongue tamil. We thought english would be bette as it would help him in school interviews. Usually boys are late starters. But there is a saying that late starters always do well. He got thru all the school interviews and we were in a fix which one to select. We were very proud of him. His pronounciation are good. The only problem is that sometimes he stammers which we are confident that he should be alright after sometime. My message is to those parents who are worried about the speech is that not to worry. Things will work out fine. So don't let your anxiety affect the child.
2004-02-03
#35
Name: LN Subject: they will talk
My son started talking single words now when he's 2.4 months old. Till then I tried everything, reading books, speaking to him but he would not repeat at all. But now he's grasping words so fast. I cannot believe in a month he can speak many words in my mother tongue as well as English. So wait all kids are different. Do not panic if other kids start talking (especially girls) early. Every visit clearly tell your ped. how much ur child can speak. He/she will sense if ur child needs help.
2004-07-24
#36
Name: Dimple Subject: Thats a relief.
My son is 1 year & 8 months old, he too speaks only words. And that too when he is in the mood. He doesn't repeat even after I try to get him to say. He speaks certain words for few days. And then he speaks some other words for next few days. He does talk alot of baby-talk, which is ddifficult to understand. I am quite tensed about it. But after reading your message I feel little relief that there's nothing wrong with him. And that he will start talking soon. Also I don't plan to send him to a playschool until he is 2 and half years old. I hope thats alright.
2003-10-20
#37
Name: mita Subject: talk to your child....
the first thing is talk to your child.Don't bother whether they understand or not...Never let them play alone, you can join them.Read infront of them, it doesn't matter what you r reading, it may be a newspaper, magazine or any kids book. To make them talking you have to talk lot !!! If you talk infront of them they will pick up words from you very soon.
My daughter is 2year old. She is oct,2001 born. She said her first word when she was 8 month old.. like mamma, papa, tata, bye bye, etc.Now she talks like 4 yr old girl.She talks full sentences with correct verb and tense.We live in US ,so she talks in english more fluently, though she can talk few sentences in our mother language also. I have seen lot of kids at her age who can't speak clearly.May be it is normal. But from the very begining I started talking to her. And I remember She used to response us as early as she was 2 month old.
Now a days almost all our frieds tell that because of me she is talking so much.I don't know , may be it's true!!!!
but if u talk to you talk to your child definitely they will response you and very soon they will talk. Kids love to immitate, specially what mamma is doing. So try it !!
2003-06-06
#38
Name: fi Subject: Talk to her
Hi Folks
Your child will talk .. and respond depending on how much to talk to him.. this need not be big stories.. but basic things.. sometime we only tell our children /correct them.. do we actually sit and talk and more importantly LISTEN.
My now 3 yrs old daughter spoke very early at 9 months she was almost saying 'tar for star, mama, papa, nana, tata... etc.. and now speaks full paragraphs.. with proper tenses.. I speak to her alot..
My son 2 yrs (yeah they were born within a yrs gap), took almost 2 yrs to talk..and its only now that he actually saying 2 word sentences.. He sometimes stammers.. and gets irritated.. becoz he wants to say something.. and he just cant find the words for it.. I tell him to relax and think before he talks (that cured my daughter).. but he still struggles with words.. and once he has it all in his head.. hes very fluent in speaking..
A friend of mine was saying her 3 yr old daughter used to barely say 2 words .. then they put her to playschool .and now they r searching for ways to keep her quiet.
Also, someone said that they child doesnt tell whats done in nursery.. if u ask any good teacher, they will tell u NEVER to ask a child.. coz u always get answers liek 'Nothng' or I dont know.. but in coversation / playing .. the child generally imitates..the teacher (atleast mine does) and i know exactly what is done in school.. without asking / pushing her to tell me.. I just watch her closely.. sometimes she just picks up words from the teacher or a story.. so i know what they hv taughted then and when i repeat it.. shes very happy..
phew. i hv written some long msg
2003-02-08
#39
Name: priyanka Subject: no full sentence
hi to everyone!!
my son is 10th june,2000 born. now he is 2 yrs 8 months old. he is not speaking full sentence. he can understands n say only words.he is very active n energetic.
2002-08-19
#40
Name: pragyagarg Subject: hindi tales
hi my daughter is 2yrs 2 months old she doesn't speaks in full sentences only two word at a time i've got hindi (mother tongue) poems from this site but could not get stories in devnagari to download and read them to her.please suggest a site or post some here.
hurry
Could you please suggest me what to do.... - abcd [View Message]
RE:Saying NO
Hi yes i have when it comes to talking to strangers and taking things from people whom my son does not know. Nowadays we need to keep our kids save and secured. So NO word has to be taught... - Puja [View Message]
RE:GoldFish
Hi fishes are one of the best pets to have and will keep your atmosphere positive. You need not take care of them much as they have the ability to take care of themselves. You can talk to them to keep them active.... - Kinjal [View Message]
RE:Saying NO
Not only kids but also adults should know when they have to say to certain thinks and they should learn to say it. I know so many people who can not say no and then have to suffer because of that.... - Psy [View Message]
RE:GoldFish
It is much easier to have a gold fish as pet than a dog but then a gold fish is also not easy to pet. Their tank needs proper cleaning in every few days and if you are even a day late the smell gets horrible.... - NA [View Message]