https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:36:41 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1040064 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:44:27 +0000 PointeShoesTutus 1040064@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: I'd be inclined to say that is pretty normal. The /r/ and/sh/ sounds are complex to produce and children don't typically master them until age 6-8. While they may be able to imitate those sounds or say a couple of words with those sounds, they've learned the words as a whole sound rather than breaking them down sound by sound...if that makes sense.</p> <p>Since your little guy has a history of ear infections and had tubes but it, it is normal to expect he may say things a little differently since he wasn't hearing them correctly before the tubes were put in. But, you caught it pretty young so it's likely that his speech will catch up and quickly. </p> <p>That is the age too where language just explodes in kids. Seemingly overnight they go from a few words to little chatterboxes. If you have any doubts, talk to your pedi or ENT. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039959 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:20:58 +0000 looch 1039959@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lamariniere: yes, mine too...he's busted out his numbers and colors in Spanish recently. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039934 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:17:05 +0000 rachiecakes 1039934@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>yikes, DS only has a few words - clearly understands everything, no sentences. he's 20 months. he has elaborate gestures, like a little mime, and is pretty gifted when it comes to physical tasks - hits a baseball, uses a fork, passes with a hockey stick, puts on his clothes and shoes, etc. </p> <p>for words he's got: mama, dada, kitty, shoes, keys, up, banana, hot, no/nope, yeah, yum-yum, doggy, car.. I'm waiting for the word explosion. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039902 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:11:09 +0000 lamariniere 1039902@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: I agree with the bilingualness. My son is also bilingual (working on tri thanks to daycare!) and he was speaking very much in advance at the 18-month age with regard to his monolingual cousin who is just 4 weeks younger. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039836 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 12:54:47 +0000 Mrs. Twine 1039836@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Freckles: I would just say in my experience it says a LOT more about what they are interested in and their personality type, and a LOT less about intelligence, etc. I would put Ellie up against Lorelei any day when it comes to smarts, but they are just such different kids. Ellie didn't ever want to do anything until it could be perfect. She's still that way now. So while some of her peers were starting to sound out words, she wasn't even 100% with her letter sounds. But as soon as she started feeling confident to try, they moved her to the "advanced" reading group within weeks and she was reading as confidently as the class' "best" reader. Lorelei just could care less. She will try whatever and just likes to repeat anything she hears. She's more adventurous and naturally confident, so she tends to try to do things way before she's ready. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039499 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 11:28:42 +0000 Freckles 1039499@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Good to know! I don't reaaaally have any worries because she's quite engaging as well, but there's that teeny tiny part of me that wonders. :)</p> <p>@irene: That is just too cute! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039414 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 10:58:30 +0000 T-Mom 1039414@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@locavore_mama: @irene: I speak Mandarin but as ABC not so great. But my DH speaks another language entirely so we speak English at home. DD will be going to mandarin school.. It's pretty much our last ditch effort to get any Chinese into her... If this doesn't work she'll be on her own through language classes in school, etc! I'm pretty sad about it. Oh and I love that cartoon! See how many words he knows if you multiply all those sounds times like ..4? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039312 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 10:30:13 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1039312@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Freckles: I've seen both sides, though. M is amazingly engaging and clever, and hardly says anything. I don't have any worries about her cognitive abilities :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039286 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 10:24:14 +0000 irene 1039286@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: I forgot - you (or your husband?) speak Chinese, right? I am thinking we'll have to do Chinese school at some point.... as much as I don't want to do it. I am just *trying* to raise a bilingual child, no proof of success yet! Besides, I heard from my friend that at some point he may drop Chinese completely on his own because it is not "cool" as that's not what his friends speak.</p> <p>Thought I'd post it here too - I drew this a couple days ago<br /> (Ma = mother, horse (in Chinese), cat (in Chinese); Da = daddy, egg (in Chinese), dog (English), lamp (in Chinese)) :<br /> [attach=79/13/mrzpgf.600x382.comic.jpg] </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039213 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:57:25 +0000 Freckles 1039213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: @Mrs. Twine: Ahh, i'm so jealous (but in awe of your babes). Mine is 16 months and only says a few words consistently. Her receptive language is great, but she isn't saying too much. She can climb and move around better than most kids, but i'm impatiently waiting the talking stage! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039197 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:50:23 +0000 regberadaisy 1039197@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: Cantonese or Mandarin?? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039191 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:47:40 +0000 T-Mom 1039191@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: I'm jealous that you will have a bilingual kid.. My DD is starting Chinese school tomorrow and I'm predicting a meltdown and probably having to quit since she doesn't speak at all! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039122 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:21:51 +0000 BoogieBea 1039122@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO had even less words at that age. He didnt really start speaking until he was well over 2. He wasn't really bilingual at the time either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1039081 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:07:42 +0000 Mrs. Bee 1039081@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Olive had about 40 words by 20 months (not bilingual). By 21 months it was 100. Now at 22 months she started speaking in 3-4 word sentences. A huge explosion just over two months so I wouldn't worry yet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038975 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 08:38:42 +0000 MamaBehr 1038975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have heard that kids who are bilingual speak later, but I would assume they understand more. </p> <p>DS just turned 18 months old, he is a second kid, and only speaks one language (I feel like all these things have added to his speech). He talks a lot. He is pretty clear, many people can understand him, he speaks in two to three word phrases very frequently, he probably has 50 to 100 words, and can sing parts of his favorite songs. He is super good at copying me, he says almost anything if I say "can you say. ...." but that doesn't mean he understands it. </p> <p>I wouldn't be worried. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038974 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 08:38:30 +0000 looch 1038974@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There are a few things you can do to help strengthen the mouth/jaw in order to make the pronunciation better:</p> <p>chewing, a lot of parents recommended gum, but I am not quite on board with it yet<br /> balancing cheerios or puffs on the tip of their tongue</p> <p>eta: the whole thing with bilingual kids and speech delays is like boys reaching milestones later...for every kid that is delayed, there are 5 that are not. I don't put much stock in it, this coming from the mom of a 2.5 year old bilingual boy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038966 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 08:35:27 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 1038966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD is 19 months, says about 30 words, and is just starting to put 2-3 words together, but she prefers to just say one word and let us figure out what she means. Getting the tubes was a big help, I think. And I think your son sounds completely normal. :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038892 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 08:11:30 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 1038892@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd say my LO had 20-30 words around that age, no sentences. He had a mini language explosion around 20 months and now he's having a big one at 2 -- multiple words a day, full sentences. I was told receptive language is the bigger concern. As long as he seems to understand what he's told, he's probably good to go. Oh, and pronunciation is still hit or miss here :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038817 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 07:39:51 +0000 irene 1038817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: And yes the tubes operation went great and he is doing great! Thanks :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038805 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 07:33:54 +0000 regberadaisy 1038805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: LO is only 16m so I won't comment on that part. But I will say that with my nieces and nephews who were spoken to in not only English and Cantonese. But also Wenchau, Mandarin, Fujianese and taosanese. Their speech was definitely a little more delayed than others. My niece even had to go to speech therapy class for about a year. But they are 9 now and doing great. My niece seamlessly goes back and forth in English and Cantonese. She can understand Taosanese and Fujianese. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038803 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 07:32:56 +0000 irene 1038803@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone! :)</p> <p>@PointeShoesTutus: What you said made me feel happy (I don't want to say relieved because I am no longer worried. Just bummed when everyone is conversing with their kids and mine is still doing ma, da, car! :) ) Yes he has about 20 spoken words, some are really the same pronunciation meaning different things (eg. Ma means mother, horse in Chinese, and Cat in Chinese - he'd point to these different things and say "Ma").. and yes, he understands Cantonese pretty well. His teachers at school says he understands English with no problem as well!</p> <p>I do wonder about one thing - he seems to have "difficulty" in pronouncing some words even if he tried. While other kids are saying things like "Truck", "Raining", I have yet to hear him say something that starts with R, Tr,...etc. or even Moo (My cat's name is Mooshi, he can't quite say "moo" but he'd go "wooo", and he can't say "shi". So to him my cat is "woo"). I've seen same aged kids mimicking their mom pronouncing some words (eg. mommy says "duck", and the kid says "duck"). It hasn't happen to us successfully yet (LO would mimick, but is usually off if not far off, unless it was something easy to pronounce). Is that a problem? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038525 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 00:48:18 +0000 PointeShoesTutus 1038525@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: just to put your mind at ease, it is very common to have a child who is being brought up in a bilingual household to *appear* to lag behind age-matched peers but in most cases, there is no true delay. Your LO is sorting out so much info about both languages and learning the process of code-switching, etc. There's a ton more going on that appears,but it sounds like you know that :happy: </p> <p>I'm assuming when you say he has 20 words, you mean 20 words he says. His receptive vocabulary (understanding/comprehension) is likely much, much greater. This is totally normal. Just think about how many words you know the meanings of, but never use or rarely use them.</p> <p>That's so awesome you're teaching him Cantonese from birth. I want to raise bilingual kids but I don't know another language well enough to be proficient. I'll just settle for baby sign. </p> <p>(I'm a speech language pathologist by the way. The wee babes are my favorites to work with...such little sponges for any information) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038512 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 00:26:50 +0000 sandy 1038512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO had a large vocabulary as well...and was starting to form simple sentences by her 18 month appointment (I share goat...meaning she gave the goat food at the petting zoo)...her pediatrician said that was a 2 year old level. We know so many babies at 18-19 months who are only saying a few words...it is normal!</p> <p>My best friend has a son and I remember she told me the following story when he was around 24 months: "S's friend Clementine walked up to him and said "Hi, S, how are you doing today" and my son said "two gock" while holding up two rocks...not only could he not respond but he can't even pronounce rock. Her son is now almost 7 and is a school for gifted children, he can do multiplication and division, he's at a summer camp learning computer programming and has already built several games...</p> <p>All this to say, i don't think it matters that how many words they know at such a young age </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038488 Thu, 22 Aug 2013 23:56:00 +0000 erwoo 1038488@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm terrible... and haven't kept count with my youngest. Oops... Now I'm wondering how much can he speak? He does catch on really quick as most younger siblings do. Hmm... I'm going to start counting tomorrow only b/c I'm curious. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038469 Thu, 22 Aug 2013 23:28:57 +0000 autumnlove 1038469@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't keep track but she has really exploded lately...we only speak English. Mostly single words and a few short phrases.</p> <p>@irene: I know a little Cantonese! :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038458 Thu, 22 Aug 2013 23:12:27 +0000 sarac 1038458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My daughter was saying 3 word sentences (bebe need water, for example) and had about 200 words at that point. She is the crazy far end of not normal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038269 Thu, 22 Aug 2013 21:42:43 +0000 Mrs. Twine 1038269@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ellie: English only. Had around 20 signs and maybe three words other than mama at 18 months. Had a very large receptive (understood) vocabulary. No sentences.</p> <p>Lorelei: English only. Just made 17 months. Has who knows how many words. Hundreds. Does speak in sentences, mostly two-word. No signs. Can count to about eight (sometimes higher, but that high reliably). Identifies some colors and shapes, but is still pretty inconsistent. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038266 Thu, 22 Aug 2013 21:42:21 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1038266@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lala was a sentence kid at this age (maybe 5-6 words together). She knew the alphabet and the phonics sounds for each letter. She could count to ten and knew shapes, colors and sounds that most animals make. People told me it was weird but I thought it was normal.</p> <p>M has maybe 30-40 words and some signs. SHE is normal. She just started putting two words together. I wouldn't call them sentences. But man, this girl can climb anything and dances better than I do ;) She just turned 18 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038257 Thu, 22 Aug 2013 21:38:36 +0000 T-Mom 1038257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think my DS had maybe 100 words at that age but not sentences? It sounds like your tubes operation went ok? And we are and English only home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-your-18-19-month-old-speaking#post-1038157 Thu, 22 Aug 2013 21:06:21 +0000 irene 1038157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am that mom. I compare milestones and we are lacking behind.... I try not to compare and feel bad, but I want to know, what is your 1.5 year old (18-19 month) toddler saying/speaking now? Can he/she form sentences? are you guys conversing / communicating?</p> <p>We are bilingual (Cantonese + English) and LO had some ear infection problems which we just had tubes done in at 17 months. He is slower but I have been telling myself not to feel bad, not to worry, not to compare. He is fine. </p> <p>He is 19 months next week and has about 20 words (there are more according to his daycare teachers but I have never heard of them). They are a mix of Cantonese and English. And of course he can't form sentences.</p> <p>There are two other talented toddlers (same age) I know they are already saying shapes and colors and identifying them. They are forming simple sentences! Sometimes I wonder why can't people around us be more "average" ? hehe</p> <p>What is your toddler speaking/ doing at this age? Feel free to make me feel better or worse - I am fine, seriously :) </p>