Repeating words over and over and over and over and over again

[JessieBird]

Hi everyone - Is this normal speech development? DS is 21 months and has a lot of words (I'd guess at least 100 and picking up new ones very quickly these days) and is stringing together simple 2-3 word phrases on his own. When he speaks, he very often repeats words/phrases A LOT of times. Like up to 20 times, usually rapidly. It's not out of desperation, excitement or a need to get my attention, it just seems to be his speech pattern. It's not a stutter - it's definitely deliberate repetition. It is absolutely adorable but it makes me wonder too... He seems developmentally normal in every way, this is the only time I've ever had to pause and question. It seems that the more words he acquires and more clearly he can speak, so the more effective he is at communicating and being understood, the more he does it. I would have expected the opposite.

Is this anything to be concerned about or is it normal to practice talking like this? Thanks for your insights!

[em123]

My 20 month old does this, but it is absolutely to get our attention. If I repeat the word or phrase back to him ("yes, that is an apple" "yes, your brother is crying") he stops immediately. Sometimes I'll ask him something about it ("yes, and what color is the apple?") and he'll move on. If we ignore him he just gets louder and louder.

Have you tried repeating back what he is saying?

[Novus]

Originally Posted by em123

If we ignore him he just gets louder and louder.

Have you tried repeating back what he is saying?

My 16mo does it too. If he's saying a word I don't understand (or if I'm not paying a lot of attention ), I say "Uh-huh" and he'll keep repeating it more loudly until I echo the actual word.

[NewMoonMum]

lol, SO ditto on the responses.
If I don't respond, he says the word(well with him, it's always a sentence) until I acknowledge it somehow. Then it almost always stops.
Unless he's excited......can I tell you how many 30-minute car trips are narrated with "We're going to the Science Museum!!" every 10 seconds??

[Tjej]

Another DITTO. Have you tried just parroting back and seeing if it stops? Even my 4yo still does this sometimes. My 2yo - man! And if there is a story he wants to tell he'll tell it over and over to us even when we DO make note of it - if he thinks it is sooo cool he just HAS to talk about it.

Tjej