Isabel is 14 months this month and only says three words consistently: "mama", "dada", and "dog".
We read books at least twice a day: morning and night. She has said "up", "milk", "goat", and "bird" in the past but only once and never since. People swear she says sentences like "I will." and "Thank you." My dad swears that "umpa" is "Grandpa".
But, I'm not convinced. I'm only convinced on "mama", "dada", and "dog."
I'm getting frustrated trying to increase her vocabulary.
I try using key words every day -cup, up, down, bath, baby, and milk mainly. We have been using this book in addition to her story books:
And The Leap Frog Fridge Phonics so she hears phonically correct syllables:
What else should I do to increase vocabulary? When should you start worrying about vocabulary or lack there of?
Comments (14)
Just can't rush it. A pediatrician should be able to tell you when it's getting worrisome if baby's not talking. It sounds like you're doing everything, just takes some patience.
I wouldn't worry, each child is different and will speak when they are good and ready. My son just started talking at 2 years, he only had 2 words before that, and now it's all half words but its a pretty vast vocab.
I wouldn't be worried. Children talk at all different ages! My 16 month old daughter talks almost as much as my nephew who is almost 3. I've heard that they should have at least 20 words by age 2 (which really isn't as much as it sounds). She'll start talking more sometime, and then you'll probably wish she wouldn't talk so much :o)
My daughter was talking in full sentences by 15 months (just a few sentences though like what is that? who is that? what are you doing?). And now, she's 18 months and says a lot of 2 word sentences. We taught her sign langauge and I think it actually helped her speak sooner. Cause she had motions to relate with words. Maybe it made it more fun or something? And now even though she can say the words clearly she still signs them and speaks them at the same time.
I wouldn't worry that much. My little brother only had 3 words in his vocabulary at that age: mama, eat, and woof! He is now a healthy 21 year old adult with a normal vocabulary.
Every baby is different--your daughter will learn at her own pace. Don't try to force it on her at that age.
My daughter was the same way at 14 months. Now, at 25 months, she's speaking in complete sentences and even knows some letters of the alphabet! I didn't do anything crazy, it just happens when it happens. Don't stress out about it!
Just take it easy and give it time. She's only 14 months. She sounds right on track to me. Over the next few months she will transform from a baby into a small child. It will amaze you how quickly this will happen and you will find yourself wishing for a little peace and quiet once that kid gets chattering!
I have a friend with a 17 month old daughter that I see quite frequently and even if I don't see her for like a week, she will have learned new words or grown up in some way since the last time I saw her. She now only says a few words herself like "no" or "hi!" or "more please" or "buh bye" but she will repeat any word you tell her to say and understands what you are telling her. It won't be long before she's talking in full sentences! I babysat for a little boy who I didn't see for about three months during this age. I literally left and he was a baby and came back and he was a little boy! Crazy how fast they grow! 
Um, your kiddo's only 14mo. It's okay. As long as she's happy, healthy, and developing normally, it's okay. There's a *huge* range of normal. Some kids are early talkers (my youngest is surprising us this way), some kids are late talkers like my boys. My 3.5yo took for.ever. to talk, and just in the last few months started stringing words together in sentence-like order. Nothing wrong with him that we or the family doc could figure, he's just later on the spectrum of this particular ability. Then before you know it they're 6yo and won't. be. quiet. ever. There's a drawback to that, trust me. Oy.
I would suggest not forcing anything. Your child will learn at it's own pace. Don't force kiddo to do something she's just not ready to do. Otherwise it's just not fun and they may detest it for a bit (potty-training also seems to end up in this category as well, at least in my household).
I wouldn't worry about it. Every child is different and develops at their own pace. At that age they only look for them to know and say between 2 and 5 words. My son is 13 months and only says up, uh-oh, and dada. I try to get him to say mama but he just thinks that is funny and laughs. I would just continue to read to her and her vocabulary will increase when she is ready. Remember that even if though she is not using very many words by reading to her, she is storing those words in her memory for use later.
All of my son's friends were talking up a storm before he said more than five words. We read many books and he loves them. Your daughter is storing up all those words and she's just going to explode with them. The things you can do to help her learn words is talk to her, use a giant vocabulary. She understands more than you think. Now, my three year old says, "Perhaps" and "I'd love to" and all sorts of random stuff I never tried to teach him. He just heard me. And when he started talking, it was clear his vocabulary was just fine.
I agree with everyone else - I wouldn't worry. I'm sure you can tell that she understands what you're saying, so she does have some vocabulary - she just doesn't feel like using it! A couple of my nieces have surprised us out of nowhere by saying really complex things when we thought they could hardly say anything! It's so funny when that happens.
When one of my nieces was little though, she wasn't talking for a long time. My SIL asked her doc about it, and he said as long as she seemed to be hearing ok and wasn't making any un-human type noises, everything was fine and they could just wait longer.
"Walk by 1, talk by 2."
Thank you for this. My 14 month old says mama, dada and dog. She just started saying "googie" which may mean cookie or cat...lol. But I thought she should be picking up on more, too. I am not going to obssess, but I am going to get out her fridge-phonics!
I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Is she walking a lot? If she is still in that "almost" phase, that is probably what she is putting her energy into. My son was 16 months when he first started walking, and I found that once he was up and running, he had time and energy to increase his vocabulary. He's 2 1/2 now, and people always comment on how well he speaks (not just clear, but also full sentences that are usually grammatically correct). Kids usually focus on one development at a time. 14 months is very young!
Just keep reading to her, and don't put too much pressure on it. If you keep it fun for her, and if you encourage her, she will get there when she's ready. Believe me, by the time she hits that phase, you won't be able to count all the new words she learns in just one short week!
The little girl I watched this summer only said about 2 words until she hit 16 months. Then her vocabulary just exploded!