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

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

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

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! :lol:

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.

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?

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.

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 ;))

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.

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.

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

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)

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...

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.

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

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.

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...

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.

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

Around 2 yrs he started to talk a lot more but in the last couple of weeks he's really started with heaps more sentences, copying words and addressing the person he's speaking to - eg: he might say - Me saw big slippery dip daddy. He was 2 at the end of March.

My DD is 20 months, she only has a few words, mum, dad, uh oh, woof woof & dog.

Oh wow. Thank you all so much for your comments. It really has reassured me. Last night, after I posted this thread, she crashed her little car into the wall, I said boom and she copied me! Then this morning I asked her what a cow says and she said clear as day Moooo. Murphy's Law isn't it!? I feel so much more reassured now after reading all these posts. From the sound of it, it happens pretty quickly.
Organicem - that could explain it, having a new baby in the house.......
Thanks again ladies. I love BB!!!

In the last few weeks our DS has had what a friend described as a 'word explosion' which suits it perfectly. All of a suddenly most things have a name even if it's not the right thing (a drink is 'yulke', dummy is a 'nunny') and he is putting words together - the most gorgeous one at the moment is "Love Dad..And Mum".It melts my heart! The one I am a little bit over is "Big truck!" because everything is a truck. Surprisingly he cannot say his own name - which is Tom but can say plenty of harder words very clearly. Up until this stage, he was only say general things like mum and dad, and family names, a few animals and Roary :rolleyes:.

My DD is 32months and is only really in the past couple of months getting words together and not really much at that. Her daycare teacher did suggest a speech pathologist... thinking about it, mum said oh don't worry bout that cos shes talking, but I think I would feel better if I did see someone. I just think mum doesn't wanna think her grandchild has a problem and I know she doesn't, shes just slow! I was a slow talker as well. She sure does understand alot though!
Her fave words are car, lollies, ducks, making a horse sound, puppie which she says "uppie" Its so cute! Shes getting there but!

I've been getting her to sound out her words and trying to do visuals so showing her a picture and getting her to tell me what it is...also want her to learn colours and numbers, so far she goes 2, 6, 7, 8,9,10!

Hi MummyDeb, just wanted to add that if you're thinking about getting DD into a speech pathologist i'd make the appointment now because depending on where you live its usually around a 4-6month waiting list. Our MCHN suggested DS1 see a speech pathologist at his 2 year check as he was only saying mumma, dadda and uuuh (up). We booked him in but because the waiting list was so long he didn't get in until he was 2 1/2. Good news is that in that 6 month wait his language exploded and he now copies everything we say and knows hundreds of words. He's booked into see the speech pathologist for another check at 3 however the waiting list is 4months long so by the time the appointment rolls around i'm sure DS1's language will be even more advanced. I am keen for this next appointment however, I'm very proud of how far my little man has come but i'm still a little concerned that his words aren't overly clear for eg. Some words he'll say great but then other times he'll struggle with a similar word- he'll say 'up Daddy' but then when he wants to get down he'll say 'down pease day' instead of Daddy. Not sure what to make of that. Also he'll use the word door for many things eg hair, bed, square, shirt, chair and are all 'door' to him but he doesn't really think its a door he just uses that word.
Anywho sorry to ramble. I'm sure your DD is perfectly fine and will talk in her own time but if you are a little concerned it wouldn't hurt to pop her on the waiting list for a speech pathologist as they could suggest some excersises to do with her to help her along. Sounds like you're already doing a great job encouraging her though ;)

Hi everyone,

I know this thread is really old but I just wanted to give an update. Wouldn't you know, DD1 had a mega word EXPLOSION at two years of age!?!? She now, at 27 months will copy any word you say to her and is saying five word sentences. She'll tell me full stories now too about what happened during the day. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who replied to my thread. When she still wasn't talking much at 23 months, I kept reminding myself of the replies in this thread and it stopped me from worrying. I really appreciate you sharing your experiences xx

There's a big variation in our Mothers Group (though I haven't been for a while). Some of the kids (all about 30 months old) speak very clearly whereas DD uses lots of words but often doesn't use whole words - necklace is still "nay nay" and window is "no no" for example. She can put a 4 word sentence together though. I like to think she is going for quantity rather than quality at the moment.

I'm sure a kindy teacher told me that the variations even out by about age 3 when they should pretty much all be on the same level for everything including motor skills. She's basically a monkey who has to climb everything she sees so I guess she can't be good at everything.

Ashton talks heaps but he has from before 12 months.

I googled a while ago, because someone commented on how well he was talking, and saw that 3-6 words that mum or dad can understand is average for an 18 months old :)

Sounds like she is fine to me :) I can't remember exactly but I know my first had hardly any words and didn't really talk till after his 2nd birthday. Chase was the same as Ashton. I think they are all just so different :)

I know she's fine NOW! Hahahaha. Just wanted to say thanks for all the supportive comments. BB rules!!!

yeah sorry! I didn't read the date on the original post :) Glad she's chatty to you now :)

Don't be sorry missmoo!!! I really appreciate your comments :D I didn't know whether it was normal at the time so it was a little stressful. And the lovely ladies like you on BB stopped that stress. Thank you!

Well, I took my ds to the clinic this morning and we're booked in for a speech assessment in April. She was concernced, especially with how much he signs to replace words :(

With Gaby she was talking from very early, but I couldn't understand much of it, then all of a sudden, when she was around 19? months, she started talking lots more, and becoming very clear - and all of a sudden I could understand most of what she was saying

:hug: :hug: :hug: Lori!! Hope he's OK.

:hug: Lori, good luck with the appointment, make sure u keep us posted ok.

Hey Lolli, there were a lot of replies to this thread about kids not speaking until a lot later. The speech therapist will work wonders for him if he does need a little help but like a lot of people have said, he'll probably start chatting away just before your appointment and there'll be nothing wrong. Thinking of you though. It can be so stressful xx

Lolli, we are kind of in the same boat, except the speech pathologist I saw yesterday was really encouraging sign language, not concerned about it. I think she is going to teach us more signs, actually. But maybe after a certain age the signs become more concerning than helpful- not sure how old your LO is, my DS is 21 months.