My two year old wont talk!?

Question

my little boy turned 2 in July and doesnt speak at all. he will say mama and dada but apart from that he points to things he wants, and thats all! is this normal for a two year old? im starting to get a little worried.

Answer 1

It's true that some children don't talk until they are a little older, mostly because they are just listening. However you don't want to turn it into an issue by constantly trying to make him talk. There are things you can do to encourage him to talk. Firstly make sure you talk to him, all the time, ask him questions without expecting answers, and tell him about everything you are doing. Try not to let him watch too much TV as this can actually delay speech development - children don't understand talking out of context as well as they do everyday talking. Next try to get him interested in things and ask questions that can't answered with pointing. 'Do you want juice or milk?' for example, without the choices there to point at.

Moat of all, don't worry - all children talk eventually, and when they do, you just can't stop them!

Answer 2

Some kids are just late to talk, however, just to make sure you should have him checked out. He may have a hearing problem. An average two year old can say a 100 words and use two-three word phrases.

Answer 3

My little girl will be 2 in October and so far she only says minimal number of words. However she does communicate very well in other forms, she'll point, make sounds and makes it clear she understands what we're saying to her. I think children just do things in their own time, if your toddler understands and lets you know things in his own way then i'm sure its just a matter of time before he's chatting away.

x*x

Answer 4

Do you give him what he wants when he points for it?

But a lot of 2 year olds don't say much, however if you're really worried about it, make an appointment to see your doctor or have a chat with your health visitor.

Answer 5

well i have a godson who did the same....

until he stop getting what he wanted when he pointed...he soon started talking >?>!

Answer 6

i wouldnt worry cause all babies and children develop at their own pace and in their own time! there is no such thing as "normal" so try not to worry. he is taking it all in and one day he will just talk and you wont be able to get a word in. all i can suggest is talk to him more and what ever he points to, tell him what he is pointing to and see if he copies! he will talk when he's ready! you'll see  : )

all the best xx

Answer 7

have you got older children too? the reason i ask, is because my youngest two children were alot slower with their speach than my eldest. there was a time for about a year, when no one used to be able to understand what my daughter was saying or wanted. we had to get my son to translate everything to us!! he understood straight away!! our youngest is now almost 2 yrs old, and he is slowly talking - but again, he tends to lead us to what he wants rather than telling us. our daughters speech didnt really improve until she was in creche - she is now 6 and we cant stop her from talking! they all develop at their own pace so i wouldnt worry to much at the moment. what we tend to do now with our son though, is when he drags us to the biscuit cupboard etc we give him a biscuit and make him say "biscuit" before leaving him have it, we then hope that one day he will actually tell us he wants a biscuit before we have to go get one!!!!

Answer 8

My daughter is 4yrs old, she will be 5 in march, and she still doesnt talk very well, i think its normal, every child takes there own time when it comes to developing!

Answer 9

Maybe you should take him along to your health visitor or doctor.

Some children do develope later than others, but my daughter was 2 in March and can hold full conversations with me, others and herself!

I would speak to someone about it  

Answer 10

i knew this FIVE year old and he couldnt talk

but he talks fine now

i think he was just listening to everybody around him and then one day he just started talking

he will probably start talking more

maybe speech therapy

good luck (:

Answer 11

My 2nd child will be 2 in 6 days and until recently she only said 'daddy' the last week or so she has started saying a bit more but children develop at different rate.

Try not to worry about it, he'll do it when he's ready.

Answer 12

I have someone in my family who is having the same problem.  I have a book about speech and language problems and there is a language development chart in it that says that by between the ages of two and 2.5 a toddler should be able to say 200 words, start asking 'what' and 'where' questions, eg. 'where did Daddy go?'  If your child isn't doing any of these things it is crucial to get help as early as possible to sort the problem out.

Answer 13

I feel a child should be saying more at 2 yrs old, but you have to constantly be interacting with them. When your son points to an object, pick it up & say"cup" you want your cup. (or whatever the thing is he wants) You don't have to have them repeat the word, but its all about word association. When I did daycare, this is what I did with some of the kids. The biggest thing I noticed is that the more fun you make something, the better. Another good thing to do is to read many books to him & point to things as your reading it.By the time both of my kids were 3, they were reading simple words & writing their names.

If your son doesn't start talking more, I would check with your doctor & make sure everything is ok.  

Answer 14

Don't stress he will talk when he thinks he needs to. Make sure you encourage him and talk to him about things you know he likes.We have three sons and our middle one wouldn't talk either ,we found Wiggles DVD's really helpful because he started to dance and sing along and answer questions that the Wiggles asked him.At about 2 3/4 he just came out of his shell and now at three and a bit we can't get him to shut up.Talking is like walking and toilet training ,children are all different and they will do it when they are ready.

Answer 15

Personally i disagree with most of these answers so far, You say he wont talk but he says 'mama and dada'

First off people tend to jump to autism, late developer and various other disorders, he may simply know that he has to point and Mum will know and get it for me, all children go through the pointing stage, my advice to you is do not give up its YOU as his mum he will learn from get some basic flash cards play games with him .Place these cards on the floor ask him to get them as try and say them, try reward charts and anything to get him to interact with you, nursery rhymes are great like round and round the garden and  head shoulders knees and toes and get him to join in the actions, persevere with him he will get there

Best of luck

Answer 16

It would not worry me too much at this stage but I would contact the relevant health authorities and do some tests on him, just for peace of mind. I feel he is ok though. Some children are late starters.

Answer 17

YUP! You really need to get more attention for your boy, he needs communicative therapy. Maybe you are too little busy over it to actually teach him talk and by the right way.