DD has been copying words that we say since about 13 months, quite accurately (all one syllable - red, blue, shoes, socks, bed etc). All a bit of fun because she is quite a chatterbox and loves being read to.
Over the last 2 months though she attempts these words and more all the time but gets no where near the sounds. She's also hasn't said 'mum' or 'mummy' at all in the last 2 months.
Do you think she could have developed a hearing problem? She seems to hear her name, instructions etc but I'm not sure she is now hearing things clearly. She has had her ears checked recently for infection and they were fine. Not hugely worried but I'm a bit confused why things have changed.
At 18m, some children are still to say their first word. (And then it usually isn't Mum, it's something random like "cheese", as was one boy I know.) Some children are in short sentences and have over 100 words. It varies.
Has she just started to be unable to pronounce things? If so, has anything at home changed (emotionally)? Or is she teething or having another jaw/tongue problem? Could also be that she's trying to say lots of different words and that's confusing her with the words she does know.
DS is a bit delayed in the speech dept - he is 22 mths. He's only been saying 'mumma', 'bubba' type words for the last month or so. I noticed since i became pregnant with DD2 he really changed emotionally, but since DD2 was born I've noticed he is starting to attempt words a lot more....
Do you have any other kids? I've asked a few childhood nurses about his speech and the first thing they've all said to me is 'does he need to talk'? And honestly, our eldest does A LOT of talking, and so I can see that no, he is sorta having DD1 do the talking for him, IYKWIM? Like your DD I was concerned about his hearing, but he does selectively listen to instructions eg 'point to the brown bear' and he'll do it etc....
I am not really sure if it is normal or not, but my DD certainly goes through phases of saying things really wrong and also not saying words she had previously mastered. And like your DD she does generally say things quite clearly. These phases have always passed and she has always got back to saying them correctly. Like she used to say something like meow but then went back to just the first sound 'ma' for a few weeks before getting back to the 2 syllable meow. And she started saying dad and then barely uttered it for months, then finally got back to it and now screams daddddddddddy when he comes in the room.
I've heard people say that they reckon their kids kind of 'forget' skills when they are learning other new skills, then they come back again afterwards, and come to think of it some of our weird talking phases may have coincided with learning to walk. Perhaps your DD is brewing some amazing new skill?
So perhaps keep an eye (or ear) on it for a bit longer and see if it is a phase that passes. I think it sounds within the range of normal development but your mummy instinct is a pretty powerful tool, listen to that if you think there is a problem.
speech at 18 months
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