No words? When did your kid say first word

My girl is 15 months and started saying mama and dada around 9 months. At this point she knows and uses about 150-200 words and 10-15 gestures. At our 15 month pediatrician appointment the doctor said “normal” range is anywhere from 5 to a couple dozen words. I would suggest talking to your pediatrician at your check up this month and hopefully they can provide you with some direction or reassurance! xx

Have you mentioned to pediatrician? My girl is 14 months and she says lots of words that started at 9 months such as animal names, brothers name, mama dada, bye bye, all done, just some for example… I don’t think it’s a big concern, but if he does have a slight speech delay early intervention makes a huge difference!❤️

Babbling is the first step! So that’s fantastic! Pointing milestone is around 15 months, so it’s okay if that’s not happening yet. One thing I’ve noticed is that our little guy is saying things that we’re not fully recognizing as words. For example, he says dada all the time, but also daaaa for all done. And bababa babbling but then also like only the slightest l for ball. His first non-mama/dada word was uh-oh and I feel like that’s an awesome one to teach because it’s paired with an action (dropping something) and it’s fun to say. Also, it’s VERY normal to only be saying a couple of words right now. I think we maybe have 6? But honestly 3 that actually for sure have correct pronunciation.

My son will be 15 months on the 16th. He started saying mama and dada around 9 months and now has a lot of words probably 40-60. He has about 30 gestures as well. I would absolutely be concerned.

@Saka yep! She’s learning and retaining about 1-2 new words every single day and uses combinations of words like “yellow fish” and “more yogurt.” I have narrated everything we do to her since she was born and we have labels on everything in our home. Like you said, they are absolute sponges. I explicitly said that’s not “normal” but to say it’s impossible is just a lie. The truth is that the spectrum of what is normal for this age is so vast. Kids learn at different paces and that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with or untruthful about either side of the spectrum.

@Saka that’s simply not true and a google search will show you that… my pediatrician told me she’s had a few kids in her time that excel with early language development and that it will likely taper out over the next year. I’m sorry you’re feeling defensive.

@Saka ok so after you gaslit me about my daughter I was paranoid that I was delusional 😂 after dinner I had my husband help me make a list. We only counted what she could identify/say/do completely unprompted when asked and things she says/does regularly. This is what we compiled before she was completely over it and wanted to play. She knows 33 animals, 18 foods, 14 body parts, 19 actions, 2 colors, 8 names, 4 weather related objects, 6 feelings, 12 phrases, and 65 objects for a total of 181 words. She also knows 10 gestures, 5 ASL signs, and can make 18 sounds. Truly, thank you so much for pointing out to me how exceptional she is. We really had no clue. If you want any tips on promoting cognitive development, let me know! 🥰

@Kate I know you posted this comment in response to another person but just wanted to say I have tried anything and everything to get my daughter talking more and she only has a handful of definitive words. Sounds like your daughter is advanced which is wonderful, but sometimes it's not always a matter of effort. Some people do everyhing right and their kids still end up perfectly average or even delayed. This comment just came off a bit holier-than-thou.

@Ashley completely agree with your whole comment.

@Ashley my comment was in response to someone telling me I was lying and that they knew my daughter better than I did. It was meant to be sarcastic. If you read through the entirety of the comments I said multiple times that the spectrum of normal at this age is huge and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being anywhere on that spectrum. Toddlers learn at completely different paces and for the vast majority it all evens out by school age. All we can do as caregivers is encourage their development to the best of our ability and support them at their own pace. If we’re doing that we are doing everything that we can. I’m sorry that my comment offended you.