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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.

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.

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.

I don't keep track but she has really exploded lately...we only speak English. Mostly single words and a few short phrases.

@irene: I know a little Cantonese!

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!

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...

All this to say, i don't think it matters that how many words they know at such a young age

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.

I have heard that kids who are bilingual speak later, but I would assume they understand more.

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.

I wouldn't be worried.

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.

@T-Mom: Cantonese or Mandarin??

@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?

@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.

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.

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.

@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.

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.

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.