Speech & Talking in 14 mo old.

[AnnaR]

Wondering if what I'm seeing with my 14 mo old DS is normal for age and/or if someone could suggest what I can do to encourage more language.  He doesn't seem to have a lot of complex babbling like switching syllables too often i.e. jargon, but he does say Mommy, Daddy on a regular basis.  I don't know if he means it as he does not call for me by saying "Mommy".  If my DH asks him, "where's mommy" he will point to me, and if I do the same for daddy he will also point to my DH.  He also knows where a lot of things are and will point to them when asked.  He can turn on the stereo when asked, and follows some simple directions, comb hair, etc when he wants to.

Around 13 months old he started saying what we thought were a couple of words, but now I'm realizing he is saying "Baa" for a lot of stuff that start with the letter "B" like "bath", "bread", "bye", and nothing more than just "ba" for those - he just doesn't vary his sounds with them.  I say "Brrrrread" and he will just say "Ba".  I say "Byee" and he will say "Ba".  Is this normal or do these simply not count as words?  He does say "Deedee" for TV when I ask "what's that" but then he will say "deedee" for other things too that don't sound like "tv"...

He started crawling around 9 months, he is not walking yet, though cruising a lot.  Started standing about a month ago on his own for about 30 seconds, now he does it for longer, but still seems a bit unsure about doing it, and/or just doesn't want to.

Thoughts?  TIA!

[AnnaR]

bumping.. hoping someone could provide some insight?

[Silverring]

That all sounds normal.  Lots of praise and encouragement for what he's doing and lots of chatting to him is all you need to do - he's getting the start of lots of words right - I would praise that.  And use questions.  Also talking about what you're doing together, leaving room for him to think and answer is something I did a lot.  

eg he says 'ba' for bread - I'd say, 'That's right! Bread!  Are you hungry?  Do you want your bread?'  and give him space to answer - any babbling is conversation to him.  I always agree and join in.  'I think so too!  I think bread is yummy!'  Or 'We're running the bath.  You know that word, don't you?  Bath!'  Then whatever he attempts, you can praise with big smiles and hugs and the conversation just carries on - sooner or later you'll realise you understand more and more of it and aren't guessing as much.  

[sassyfirechick]

DD is 14 mos and from the start I would narrate everything we did together.  She studies mouths when you talk to her, especially for new words, so while I always make sure to annunciate things properly, I don't want to overdo it.  I tend to break longer words down, ie Dakota (one of our dogs) I showed her how to sound out the 'Duh' then 'ko' and 'ta' - she now calls her 'dohda' which I follow with "yes dakota wants to come up on the bed" (or whatever she's doing).  Just keep talking with him, not to him.
 

[luckiest]

I think that sounds totally normal.  Speech acquisition has a very, very wide range of normal.  I was concerned about my DS when he was about 20 months and only using maybe a dozen words, and infrequently at that, but our pediatrician just shrugged and said he doesn't even really think about speech delays until after age 2.  Very generally speaking, boys tend to talk later than girls, children without siblings and not in daycare tend to talk a bit later as well.  Lots of exceptions to that, obviously, but something to keep in mind.

Keeping in mind that my DS is on the later side of the spectrum in regards to language, his first "real" word was at 18 months, he didn't use "mama" and "dada" regularly until about 20 months, and now at 25 months we're entering the language explosion phase where he is parroting everything back to us and picking things up faster than I ever thought would be possible.  From parents I've talked to, that explosive language development just happens at different times for different kids.  He has a cousin who is 6 months younger than him and is far more advanced in terms of language.  But he was far more advanced in motor skills at her age, they're just different.

[AnnaR]

Thanks for your responses, that makes me feel better and is encouraging.  I tend to be a bit of worry wart and given that he's been on the later side with several milestones I look at them even closer :/.  He hasn't started walking yet, though there's been definite progression, went from crawling to pulling up to cruising.  He is cruising and letting go of things to stand, just hasn't taken that first step.  I'm hoping when he finally does his language will improve too. 

When would you say I should start worrying even if he says "Mama" but doesn't mean it in terms of for me to come over, or making more syllables than just single ones to indicate nouns?   

He understands when I say "no" and knows not to do something when I say it, but on the flip side is where I worry again.  He doesn't seem to grasp the concept of "yes" and "no", in terms of using it for himself.  He will shake his head "no" when I ask him to, or show him, but he doesn't understand that he can do that to communicate with me that he doesn't want something.  When do babies/toddlers generally pick up the meaning for using "yes" and "no" on their own?  

[Flor]

This sounds really normal. There is receptive and expressive language. Sounds like yours has great receptive language and is developing expressive language. My 14 month old signs a lot, and uses some words but her favorite sound is "Ba

[Flor]

(oops) her favorite sound is "Ba!" and she seems to call a lot of this this. The words she says the most also have those sounds (ball, bug, baby-- I think they master the B sound early). She just started shaking her head no in the last week or so. She doesn't say yes yet but yells "That!" ( Want water? Shakes head no. Want milk? That!)

[sageowl]

So far, you're still well within the normal range.  Chances are, a lot will change over the next couple of months.

[Parker'smommy]

He sounds like he is doing great! To get perspective, Pediatricians want kids to have at least five to ten words by 18 months and it sounds like he is already there!