Imitating noises but not talking

[shnitzel]

14 month old DD is obsessed with imitating sounds that she hears. She hums along to the fan and airconditioner. If a fire engine goes by she screams like a siren. It can get a bit akward because she will follow aroung a crying child a pretend to cry the same way the child is crying and it comes off a bit odd. She also imitates peoples laughs, if we are eating out at a restaurant and someone at the next table laughs she will laugh just like them. She only says a few words and will often say a word once and then never again. How can she be so good and enthralled with imitating every noise but seems to have no desire to talk? I am not worrying about her verbal skills, she's only a baby and will talk when she is ready but I wanted to know if other toddlers also love imitating sounds or if the funny looks we get are really because she is so unique.

[teachma]

My third child, now 16 months old, was exactly like this between 10-14 mos. Lawn mower, blender, wind blowing through trees, sirens, electric toothbrush, and yes, even crying babies...he would imitate them all amazingly well, along with his own made-up hand "signs" or facial gestures. In my experience, the extent to which he (and probably your little one as well) did this is atypical (my older two never did copy noises/sounds to the extreme, nor do I recall their friends doing so) though I have no idea what it signifies. While he still loves imitating noises, he has also developed quite a large vocabulary of 50-75 words in the past 8 or so weeks. His articulation is poorer than that of my older two as new speakers, and he really only says the first syllable of each word...but his messages are clear to those who can interpret him, and he consistently uses the same words. And, he's only 16 mos old. My guess is that physically forming the words is harder for him than it was for his siblings, but since he has had excellent comprehension for a long time, he's had a strong desire to communicate. I can't guess as to whether the same applies in the case of your baby. Language development is amazing!

[tri31]

My third born did that, too. I am so endeared to that memory. My LO seems to have developed his lauguage on his own unique time frame. That particular phase helped us to be sure he could hear well. I wasted so much energy worrying about, what I should worry about. Follow your insticts, and talk to your childs doctor if you feel you need to. Best wishes.