Speaking in sentences?

[angelsnight]

I am curious where everyone's M14 kids are with vocab.  E started talking pretty early and she has a huge vocabulary.  She does still do some babble that I can't understand, but for the most part she speaks very well, most of her words are pretty clear, and of the ones that aren't, I have no problem figuring out what she is saying (like trawburries).

But aside from maybe linking 2 words, she isn't speaking in sentences at all.  Like if she wants milk, she'll just say milk, or night-night, or ath (bath).  Or she'll point and say just the one word.  Should 26ish month old kids be speaking in fuller sentences by now?  Is there something I can do to encourage her?

I try to at least get her to say what she wants, like today she came to me when I was eating cereal and just had her mouth open and said ahhh.  So I made her say bite please before I would give her one.  

[younglove316]

DD1 is speaking in sentences but they aren't grammatically correct. If she closes a door it's mama you (that's how she refers to herself) shut door or of DD2 is crying, mama DD2 sad.

I think our pedi said it was normal at this age not to be and sometimes kids don't until closer to 2.5-3? It's been 3 months since her apt so I can't remember now sorry.

[Deleted]

DD started making 2 word sentences at 12 months so she has been extremely verbal. Her words are also very clear however she does have some words that are still babble. There are also times when I have no clue what she is saying.

She says full sentences now (5-6 words). She has even started singing songs which she wasn't doing before.

I would just start making sentences when your DD asks for things using one or two words. Speak the words that you want her to say. She should pick up on it and start doing it herself.

You never know though, she may be on the cusp of figuring it out and may start putting loads of sentences together tomorrow. That's how it happens with my DD. She just has a vocab explosion out of the blue.

Edit: spelling

[katka512]

DD has been speaking in several word sentences for awhile now. She sings songs too. But she's always had advanced verbal skills.
I agree with speaking to her in sentences you want her to say. She'll pick up on it.
Most of DDs same age friends are not nearly as verbal as she is, so I wouldn't worry about your DD being behind at all.

[Deleted]

Levi has just begun to say two and three word sentences and also referring to himself, like I like it! or I want that (usually sweets). He is a very vocal guy.

[pearlvirus]

Agree with @babylentilbean there doesn't seem to be much transition, they don't until one day, they do... At 12 months my DD maybe said mama and that's it, but around 18 months something just clicked and she's just kept getting better. Now she is incredibly articulate and enunciates long sentences very clearly.

She's really into asking, "how was mamas day?" I tell her then ask her how hers was, she usually replies somethings like, "go to school, played with my friends, then come home"

[fish8412]

DD1 started speaking in sentences right at 25 months. I remember our pediatrician saying that linking at least 2 words constitutes a sentence. At 27 months, DD1s sentences range from 2-5 words.

[fish8412]

angelsnight 2 or more words = a sentence

Here are my suggestions:
1. Speak to her in 2 or 3 word sentences. You want to model speaking (how you want her to speak). If you talk in 8 word sentences, it will be very difficult for her to copy you. For example instead of saying "push the car down the slide", say "car down slide". Once she masters 2-3 word sentences, then speak in 3-4 word sentences.

2. Try to limit "yes" "no" questions. Ask her open-ended questions. After going somewhere, ask her what you/she did, saw, etc.

3. Read lots of books

Don't panic. It will click one day.

[bsouls]

T recently just started using 2-3 word sentences. She mostly uses one word to convey what she wants. She has always been very interested in learning the names of people, places and things - so, she knows a lot of words.

Sunday she woke up from her nap and said, "what's that noise?" So, out of the blue they make a sentence you've never heard them say.

[zandeela]

DD has never been very vocal, not even as an infant. I had her checked out by early childhood development about a month ago. They said she was right on track. has a massive single word vocabulary (they had me write down every word she said prior to the appointment) but was just not speaking sentences more then " no dada, go away" and a few other short two word sentences. They said she was right where she should be for a 26 month old. For me this evaluation was free through my insurance so I figured why not, if there is an issue I would rather find it sooner rather than later. They also test for cognitive function and physical ability, she was scoring around 48 months for those two. This is why her speech seems so far behind, because she is putting all her energy into other learning areas and not speech. They said she should catch up by 3, if not reevaluate her then.

[RandomName]

DD isn't very verbal either. She has a huge receptive vocabulary in English and French but she still doesn't say much on her own. Def not sentences.

We are encouraging her to speak more and she does when encouraged but won't on her own. We started encouraging yes and no and once they were consistent (instead of grunts) we stopped with yes or no questions and that was a huge help. We are constantly giving her choices (plate color, game choice, park or walk etc) and she has to respond with the word of her choice. We've been doing this about a month and just now does she mimic a word or two I say.

At 2.5 years we have a follow up with her Dr to investigate a production problem but with the progress we made I think with her it's a desire thing - she doesn't want to bc she got what she needed from grunts and baby brother gets what he wants with grunts.

It's a lot of work which is a downer comparing to other kids who seem to just 'get' it one day. But every kid is different. I understand the stress that is language development. Allll too well.

[RandomName]

Also, seeing how verbal DS (10 months) is makes me really see just how behind DD was and is. DS mimics sounds which DD never really did. He also has a few words much earlier than DD ever did.

[ellabee]

E has always been pretty advance with her verbal skills. She does some 5-6 word sentences and sings a lot of songs all the way through (i.e., baa baa black sheep).

We encourage language by expanding on what she says. Example: E says "I want milk", I say, "Can you say Mama, may I have some milk please"

E is much better at parroting sentences than coming up with her own, so I say start there.

[angelsnight]

Jun 7, 2016 14:14:16 GMT -5 pearlvirus said:

Agree with @babylentilbean there doesn't seem to be much transition, they don't until one day, they do... At 12 months my DD maybe said mama and that's it, but around 18 months something just clicked and she's just kept getting better. Now she is incredibly articulate and enunciates long sentences very clearly.

She's really into asking, "how was mamas day?" I tell her then ask her how hers was, she usually replies somethings like, "go to school, played with my friends, then come home"

That's so cute!

[angelsnight]

Jun 7, 2016 15:55:27 GMT -5 fish8412 said:

angelsnight 2 or more words = a sentence

Here are my suggestions:
1. Speak to her in 2 or 3 word sentences. You want to model speaking (how you want her to speak). If you talk in 8 word sentences, it will be very difficult for her to copy you. For example instead of saying "push the car down the slide", say "car down slide". Once she masters 2-3 word sentences, then speak in 3-4 word sentences.

2. Try to limit "yes" "no" questions. Ask her open-ended questions. After going somewhere, ask her what you/she did, saw, etc.

3. Read lots of books

Don't panic. It will click one day.

This makes a lot of sense.  I guess I thought if I spoke shortened 2 to 3 word sentences, she would think that's how it should be.  But it makes sense to start smaller, and work her way up to bigger.  

She definitely loves books, I generally have to read 3 at bedtime, but sometimes more like 5 or 6.

[fishbulb]

I have a friend who is a linguist who said that right now they are learning the rules of language, so don't worry about if the grammar is right and don't correct them or you can undermine their confidence. They'll figure it out eventually.

For example, J knows "do" and gets that there are past, present, and future verb tenses. He also knows that you make a past tense verb by adding "-ed" to the end. He's not to the point of understanding irregular verbs, so instead of saying "I did it!" he says "I dood it!"

He's also just this week starting asking me the names of things. His vocabulary is exploding right now.

[Deleted]

When Elena says things grammatically incorrect I just repeat back what she said but do it in the correct way. I don't verbally say she is wrong but I let her hear it spoken correctly.

She doesn't say "are" so her sentence sounds like, "what doing mommy?" And I will answer her and then say, "what are you doing Elena?"

[RandomName]

Can I revive this thread. Two days ago DD hit her word explosion and is talking non stop now. I didn't see how we could get from her being pretty much non-verbal unless prompted to this. She's repeating everything we say (she never did this before), speaking French and English. I can't believe how much a week can change.

Tonight, she said "I love you" for the first time after I said it. I'm a puddle of mush right now.

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2016 18:35:24 GMT -5 RandomName said:

Can I revive this thread. Two days ago DD hit her word explosion and is talking non stop now. I didn't see how we could get from her being pretty much non-verbal unless prompted to this. She's repeating everything we say (she never did this before), speaking French and English. I can't believe how much a week can change.

Tonight, she said "I love you" for the first time after I said it. I'm a puddle of mush right now.

I have always heard that when a child is learning 2 languages at once it takes longer for them to speak it bc they are trying to organize it all.

[RandomName]

@babylentilbean I kept telling myself she was delayed bc of two languages but in the back of my mind I was worried I was in denial and she really was struggling. I still don't understand everything she says but that's age appropriate so I'll take it!

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2016 20:35:06 GMT -5 RandomName said:

@babylentilbean I kept telling myself she was delayed bc of two languages but in the back of my mind I was worried I was in denial and she really was struggling. I still don't understand everything she says but that's age appropriate so I'll take it!

Usually when E has a language explosion I can't understand anything she is trying to say for a week. Then, bam! In one day I understand everything.

I have noticed she is talking more gibberish lately so there should be another explosion soon.

[younglove316]

Jun 15, 2016 21:31:24 GMT -5 @babylentilbean said:

Jun 15, 2016 20:35:06 GMT -5 RandomName said:

@babylentilbean I kept telling myself she was delayed bc of two languages but in the back of my mind I was worried I was in denial and she really was struggling. I still don't understand everything she says but that's age appropriate so I'll take it!

Usually when E has a language explosion I can't understand anything she is trying to say for a week. Then, bam! In one day I understand everything.

I have noticed she is talking more gibberish lately so there should be another explosion soon.

That makes sense, I just never thought of it! I have also been getting more gibberish again so perhaps we are about to hit another explosion too .

[Deleted]

Do any of y'all M14s fixate on a sentence and repeat it often? Dad heard me say, " I like that blue." And now she says it all. the. time!

[younglove316]

Jun 16, 2016 7:49:31 GMT -5 @babylentilbean said:

Do any of y'all M14s fixate on a sentence and repeat it often? Dad heard me say, " I like that blue." And now she says it all. the. time!

Yes DD1 does that. As soon as she learns something new it goes on repeat for awhile. I think of it as her practicing it.

[ellabee]

Jun 16, 2016 7:49:31 GMT -5 @babylentilbean said:

Do any of y'all M14s fixate on a sentence and repeat it often? Dad heard me say, " I like that blue." And now she says it all. the. time!

Yes. E does this too. Sometimes it's like she repeats the sentence I say as a question. Kinda like she's asking for clarification on what I said, or if she asks it again she'll get another/different explanation of what I was trying to say. 

[RandomName]

Jun 16, 2016 7:49:31 GMT -5 @babylentilbean said:

Do any of y'all M14s fixate on a sentence and repeat it often? Dad heard me say, " I like that blue." And now she says it all. the. time!

DD did this for the first time yesterday and is still at it today. She walks around saying, "ready, set, go!" or "blue for Papa" over and over again.

[younglove316]

Jun 20, 2016 14:11:53 GMT -5 RandomName said:

Jun 16, 2016 7:49:31 GMT -5 @babylentilbean said:

Do any of y'all M14s fixate on a sentence and repeat it often? Dad heard me say, " I like that blue." And now she says it all. the. time!

DD did this for the first time yesterday and is still at it today. She walks around saying, "ready, set, go!" or "blue for Papa" over and over again.

Ready, set, go is a favorite here too.

[babycaps]

Miles is using a lot of 4-5 words, not with great grammar but coherent. He is ahead in language skills but lacks in other areas.

[Deleted]

DD has always been super verbal. She babbling early on which I'm sure contributed to the 2 word sentences by 12 months. L is totally different. He is babbling mama or dada with the frequency that DD did. I have only heard it a few times. I don't think he will develop his language skills as fast as DD did.