20 month old - How many words?

tranmereforever

Hiya all,

Our little girl is 20 months and she currently says 16 words clearly

She understands a great deal more than this and you can say to her to go and pick something up or to touch varying body parts and she can do all that but her talking has not really come on too much in the last few weeks

Is 16 words too few?

Any tips people have for getting her to talk more are appreciated. She has no issue in communicating herself in the sense she can get her point across

notanewuser

tranmereforever wrote: »

Hiya all,

Our little girl is 20 months and she currently says 16 words clearly

She understands a great deal more than this and you can say to her to go and pick something up or to touch varying body parts and she can do all that but her talking has not really come on too much in the last few weeks

Is 16 words too few?

Any tips people have for getting her to talk more are appreciated. She has no issue in communicating herself in the sense she can get her point across

At this age it's her understabding that's important. There's nothing to worry about and nothing to encourage. She learns by example. Keep talking to her (not at her) and let her communicate with you. Please don't try and push this. She's still a baby. (I wouldn't even advocate pushing an older child either.)

tranmereforever

Many thanks for the reply

She is our first so I think sometimes we panic a bit unnecessarily, as I say in terms of understanding she is very good and can understand a great deal of what we are saying/ telling her

Will relax a bit now :-)

Thanks again

GwylimT

They're all different, by two our daughter was saying over 100 words and using very small phrases such as I want, our son on the other hand has recently turned two and he currently uses around 20 words.

rach_k

I wouldn't worry either.

The only thing I would do, and I would do this for any age child so it's nothing particularly related to your child or her age, is make sure you're asking open questions some of the time. "Do you want a banana?" will get a yes or a no, but "What would you like to eat?" might get you a new word or an attempt at one.

moomoomama27

It really does vary, if you are concerned the best place for advice is from a healthcare professional.

My nephew was saying very few words at 2, but a few months later started talking more and more, his understanding far outweighed his vocab'.

My three children were all big talkers, but with me as their mother they probably didn't have a chance not to be, however I had different concerns, that while my 2 year old could use sentences including the word xylophone, he didn't walk. Obviously he did eventually, but I think every parent worry about something developmentally.

Just try and remember at this age there us a broad age range for development of speech and language. I would just encourage lots of conversation, reading books etc, and I'm sure you'll steadily notice an increase in vocab' as she develops.

bouicca21

For heavens sake, the time to worry is when they don't have words or understand what is being said to them. As long as you read to your child regularly, and talk to them, they will develop all the necessary language skills. They will also be reading ready by the time they start school.

Stop worrying. Enjoy your child.

millysg1

does she still use a dummy? That can stifle speech development quite a bit.

pinkteapot

Mum has always told me that my brother started speaking quite young and would babble until he happened to manage to say a real word. I kept quiet until I was relatively old (to the point that the health visitor was a bit concerned) then started speaking in real sentences almost straight away (like I hadn't wanted to talk until I could do it properly). We're both turned out alright.

lulu_92

I think I said my first word when I was 1 (at some point) but I didn't talk until I was 3. I think it was a combination of shyness and everyone knowing what I wanted anyway :rotfl:

tranmereforever

Many thanks all,

As I say think its just first time parents nerves thats all and wanting to make sure we do the best for her

Thanks again