2 years old and not talking much

[twoforthismother]

My toddler turns 2 this september and is still not talking. she has a large vocab, but only says one word at a time and only when asked or on occassions. she does not seem to want to talk. she can do most colors and all body parts, and many other things, but does not offer to say them and only does sometimes when asked. should i be worried? how do i encourage her to talk more. she is very active and people think she is much older than she is with her physical skills and her maners and eating habits are great. her friends all seem to be more advanced in the talking. when do i worry?

[Aegis]

My son didn't talk much AT ALL at 2, yet he knew a lot of words. He's almost 2 and a half now and talks a lot! His sentences are becoming more descriptive every day and his annunciation is also improving.

One thing that happened between now and then was that I made sure that I interacted with more people when he was with me (I hadn't been doing that). We spent more time at my parents' house and he would hear us engaged in long conversations where we'd try to include him or at least look at him while speaking, and I really believe that had a large impact on him.

I was also concerned and considered contacting Early Intervention to make sure he was "okay", but then I read that as long as he was still communicating somehow, that was a good sign.

Also, I was told that if a child has more developed gross motor skills, their speech might be slightly delayed, and vice versa. In my son's case, he had demonstrated really good gross and fine motor skills for his age (even my MIL would comment about it because she couldn't believe it lol), so when I heard this, I felt much better. I feel like the two things have caught up with each other, or are at least on their way to catching up with each other.

Early Intervention doesn't cost anything, so if you're very concerned, maybe go ahead and talk with them and ask them your questions. Otherwise, I wouldn't really worry unless she's not communicating at all.

Hope this helps!

[Lynnette68]

My second child was the same. He went around naming everything, but conversations weren't happening. Whenever I expressed concern around parents of older children, however, I heard countless stories of children who didn't start really talking until they were three, and turned out just fine. My own late talker has turned out to be a "special needs" student, but a very bright one whose main problems center around behavior, not speech. His reading is above grade level, and his spelling is ahead as well. In other words, I wouldn't worry if I were you. Your child is most likely just fine, and if any problems do seem evident later on, there is plenty of help out there. Just relax and enjoy watching your amazing child learn and grow at her own pace! (If you send her to preschool at age 3, the teachers there will let you know if there seems to be a problem and where you can get help.)