Do you expect a 15 month old child to try and communicate?

sunnyone

I am nan to a 15 month old boy and Im differing with my daughter as to teaching him to speak, any opinions welcome.

My grandson points and grunts at what he wants and I encourage him to make diffrent noises based on what hes asking for but my daughter likes the grunting and pointing, hows that going to help him talk?

he has three words in his volcabulary now, ma, da and nan.

Yesterday it was like he was conducting an orchestra while I gave him breakfast, point at egg, point at toast or juice with each accompanied by a louder grunt if I ignored the pointing.

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

I think the way to go with any baby/toddler is just simply to talk to them as much as possible - whether they want to respond or copy or not. He'll get it when he's ready and start copying and mimicking words/sounds. But deffinately talk talk talk! For example, when giving him the egg he has pointed/grunted for, tell him simply 'egg' and then praise him for taking it from your or something! And do the same with ebverything - i used to tell DD what everything was called when she'd point - it almost became a game but then she started to copy after a while.

Boys tend to be slightly slower than girls in developement at this age - i would say he is fairly on track and don't worry too much just yet!

exup

I suppose any sounds he makes are helping him to use his vocal chords. I wouldnt worry too much about your daughters way of teaching him.
My son (nearly 2 now) used to grunt and point at stuff quite alot, but my daughter was more vocal.
However sometimes I would grunt back, or confirm with a word.
As long as there is some sort of verbal communication going on towards him, he should pick it up.

its only in the last couple of months or so that my sons vocabulary has started to expand from mum-mum dad-dad and deedee (not quite my daughters name but close enough)

jackomdj

How does your Daughter talk to him? Does she hold one sided conversations? Does she do "baby talk" ie birdy, ba lamb etc? Does she not talk much to him?

I have always talked properly to my little ones. Initially it was one sided conversations (I did it from when they were days old) detailing what we were doing etc, then they would make noises in response, then recognisable words & finally hold brilliant conversations. Their ability to converse properly is something that is often commented upon, although my youngest who is just 3 stutters when excited.

I would think by now your Daughter should be encouraging a few extra words, at least things like "Ta" (which was the only word I taught them incorrectly). The more she encourages it the better he will become.

skintchick

As long as he is talked to, I think he will be OK:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1260502/Talk-baby-using-real-words---boosts-brain.html

Rev

I think it varies from baby to baby, they all develop differently, they tend to concentrate on one area of development at a time. My three year old cousin could talk the hind leg of a donkey by the time he was 18 months old, full conversations. Everyone I know has commented on how advanced he is with talking, but the lazy little villain didn't walk till he was almost two lol. My friend has an 18 month old daughter who has been walking since she was 12 months but is just starting to talk now. I'd do as suggested above, talk to him as much as possible. When he points and grunts at something tell him what it is, repeat it a few times, ask him to say it back to you. He'll pick it up.

I used to work in a play group, kids 2-4 and it would astonish me the difference in their abilities. Some would chatter away, others would barely say a word.

onlyroz

I agree that all kids develop differently. My son was pretty chatty from around 1 and he'd have a go at saying all sorts of different words (and often get them not-quite-right). But he was fairly slow at learning to walk, and I don't think he managed it unassisted until around 18 months. My daughter, on the other hand, had cracked walking by 13 months, but now at 15 months she still hasn't shown much interest in speaking, beyond pointing at things and saying "da" (which usually translates to "daddy give me chocolate").

tabskitten

i know a baby who was taught baby signing- he never really has tantrums- unless with someone who doesn't know the 'signs'-i think that proves most problems are due to frustration of no being understood

lindseykim13

To be honest i'd be pretty upset if my mum told me how to teach my kids, i'm sure your daughter is doing things her way and i wouldn't worry at 15mths thats very young i have known 2 boys now who were still worbling (sp?) at the age of 3!

snugglepet20

Your Grandson sounds normal for his age just keep talking to him and eventually he will start talking back. If it makes you feel better my son never said anything except ta and mama until he was 2 years old, now he is 3 you literally cannot shut him up he is the most talkative child in the universe!

tabskitten

lindseykim13 wrote: »

To be honest i'd be pretty upset if my mum told me how to teach my kids, i'm sure your daughter is doing things her way and i wouldn't worry at 15mths thats very young i have known 2 boys now who were still worbling (sp?) at the age of 3!

This I totally agree with.
Right or wrong it is up to your daughter not you!