At what age did your toddler start saying proper words and copying words you say?

[Mad Scientist]

Hi everyone,

My little girl is 17 months old. She chatters constantly but I can't make any sense of it. She says mum, dad, broom-broom for car, tickle and uh-oh (they're the only ones that are really obvious) but doesn't say much else, just HEAPS of gibberish, she is rarely quiet. She gestures and has loads of facial expressions. It's like she's having a proper conversation only none of it makes sense to me. She started walking at 12 months on the dot so she's not delayed with her motor skills. Another little girl that we know who is 4 days younger than my DD says heaps of words and copies words that her mum says. Just wondering what's normal ie the range of ages that kids started to speak. I know there must be huge variation like everything. Just looking for some reassurance. Thanks in advance :-)
- Nik

[Lolli]

Posting to subscribe to this one. My ds is 18 months and only just saying a few words- car, mum, dad, door.

[sneakysparkle]

It happened all of a sudden with DD1 - around her 2nd birthday she just started saying everything and speaking in small sentences! She says the funniest things, the other day she walked out on to my sisters balcony and looked out and said "How cool is that!" as clear as day!

[Erin_25]

My DS was 18months before anything made sense, then it was an over night thing & he just started going in leaps & bounds!! I wouldn't be too stressed, if they are communicating that's the main thing, they will all do these things in their own time.

A little girl 3 months younger than DS at about 16months could copy what her Mum told here & say lots of things & I got really worried DS was behind. But she too had an older sister, so that helps. But now just over 2 he has lots of words & still lots I do not at all understand. And it has only been in the past couple weeks I have noticed he will copy me.

Some kids are very advanced, others just take their time...older siblings can make a difference. As long as you can communicate with them on a level that you all understand then that's fine....one day (like today for my DS) you will just want a little peace LOL & they will be flat out chatting non stop.

[thepixie]

Don't know for sure (as my DD is much younger) but was reading some literature on language development that suggests they have a verbal 'explosion' at 2 years of age and suddenly start saying lots of words and even sentences. Maybe someone with an older baby can comment if they noticed this?

[Liz]

Our word explosion was at 19 months with DS.

DD is starting to say more.. only i can understand her tho, so really it's still jibberish LOL.. but she is starting to copy me a lot more.

[Novella]

I took dd to a speech path at 18 months as she was at a similar level as you dd. The speech path said she was slightly delayed with her speech but she thought that she would catch up soon. Within 6 weeks she had tripled her vocabulary and hasn't stopped talking since!! A lot of people have commented how advanced her speech is now, go figure. Like everything some are slwoer than others and some gradually increase their vocab while others seem to explode with words later down the track! Is her hearing okay?

I was glad I saw the speech path as it reassured me but otherwise it was a waste of money lol. I There are some days I wish she would just be quiet for 5mins and stop with the non stop chatter (some of which is still jibberish or mabye its just me tuning her out )

[danniellabella]

I just continue to talk to my daughter and praise her when she says a proper word (she's 15 months). I also repeat with proper annunciation the words that she says so that she learns. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread though.

[~Trish~]

My DS2 started saying heaps more words literally overnight when he hit 18 months. At the 18 month check up I told the MCHN that he can say a few words, and then the next day he started up with heaps more and hasn't slowed down since! He's 19.5 months old now and can put 2-3 words together.

[Ginger]

my ds1 is 20 months and still doesn't make any sense yet! we're hoping it happens soon

[Lisa]

Harrison didn't really start talking until he was 2. He had a few words he would say on a daily basis before then and a few that were one off's.
He is now 2 1/2 and is using 3-4 word sentences clearly. His favourite thing to say is 'go away (insert name here)

[hayles07]

My DS is 21 months and in the past few months has only started copying a lot of what we say. He still talks and talks all day long but I can understand most of it, definately not all. However he does string words together "Where are you' etc...

[minimatron]

Olivia turned 2 when she started to come out with words and copy. She could say about 3 words in succession. Now she is 2 and 2 months and she doesnt stop! And shes such a parrot.

You know I remember talking to the girls at mothers group saying how her tantrums had suddenly died down when she turned to and I realised it was because she was much better at expressing herself.

[kawazuki]

Dd is 21 mon ths and she has occasional word explosions lol where she gets 2 or 3 words together correctly

we can understand some of what she says, and if not we just guess and she tells us if its right or not.

she is becoming a parrot lately to, so when you tell her to do something she repeats it

[Junglemum]

A few weeks ago, my 20 month old had about the same vocab you describe, then it changed literally overnight. She now repeats everything and puts words together. Today she said, look. mum. cow. moooooo. i can't believe how quickly her vocab has grown.

I am pretty sure the average number of words at 18 months is 10. Given that it is an average, there are going to be some kids wioth more and some with less. Your little girl sounds perfectly normal.

[New Dawn]

Golly DD2 has only JUST started doing this and she turned 3 last week, they all get there at different times I wouldnt worry about too much just yet, but if you conserned go she your health nurse...

[organicem]

my DD starting saying words before she was 1 but two of my brother didn't utter hardly a word until they were 2.

often boys take longer to talk than girls. also many parents find that their child's speech slows in prgress when there are big changes such as moving house, new baby etc.

i don't think you need to worry. if you don't see any improvement after she turns two then seeing a speech pathologist should help unlock her vocabulary. you will probably find that she understands much of what she hears and is only having trouble expressing herself.

[LimeSlice]

Charlotte starting saying words at around 11 months, and was saying a lot of different words, and understand sentences by 14 months...
She now speaks constantly lol only puts 2 or 3 words together rarely, but uses single words for almost everything.
We still a lot of gibberish, and she will say all sorts of random things then throw in a real word lol.
She is about 19 months now and in the last week we have noticed a massive increase in her vocab - she has learnt letters and numbers and about 10 new words in that time.
I think all kids are different really