2 Year Old Won't Talk

My son just turned 2 and he has a vocabulary of only 30 words or so. He doesn't talk very much because he doesn't have to. He is very good with gestures and is stubborn enough to get what he wants without talking. We are not worried about his speech because he understands everything we say. Our pediatrician said that if by 2 1/2 he isn't talking more, then we should have him evaluated. I'm not sure if your pediatrician would give you the same advice, but it doesn't hurt to ask if you are concerned.

In the meantime, we are trying to give him more reasons to talk. We do not just give him what he wants because he pointed. We want him to verbalize his wants and needs. Hopefully you can explain this to your older daughters and they can help you with it. For my son, I feel that he will talk more when he has something to say.

1 mom found this helpful

Our son has the same issue. I highly recommend contacting the local Birth To Three Program. If you make under a certain amount, the program is free (as well as the evaluations). It's a matter of speaking to your pediatrician, though, to see what he/she thinks about your little one's progress. Good luck!

I'd say just wait it out and one day she will begin to talk. I have a smart and healthy 5 yr old that did not talk until she was 2 1/2. Her brother is 4 yrs older than her and I believe that he always attended to her needs, so she did not need to talk. She was very good at "miming" what she wanted-if she wanted a drink, she would point to the fridge. We had Christmas vacation at home that year and my husband was home for 2 weeks. She went back to preschool in Jan. and the teacher wanted to know what we did to her-she was talking! Now we can't get her to be quiet! It will come.

K. L.

Hello,
I would check with your pediatriction about having a speech and hearing test done. My son wasn't saying much his sisters talked for him and got what he wanted. Being the big sisters.
He started speech back in Ohio when he was three. Then had speech at preschool and therapy we took him to. Now he just turned six in kindergaten and still in speech at school and we take him to therapy. He has improved but it still has a ways to go. He can write his letters, words, and name and do math. He can't pronounce all the sounds and others have a hard time understanding him. He loves to talk and tell stories. You have to pick out the words you can understand and ask him question to see if you are understanding him right. Ohio mentioned Apraxia but out here they did not think so (I wonder because you can see him sreaching for the right word/sound).
My daughters have speech problems. My oldest at the age of 10 had therapy at school for her r's and was done in one year.
My middle girl has had two years at school therapy for sh, ch, th, and r. Is doing well should be done next year if she keeps it up. I rarely notice anything with here speech now. She also had to have eye therapy last year. That improved here reading so much.
Other than having the test done. Repeat words if she wants milk say oh you want a glass of milk, milk. Say milk when you hand her the glass. If she tries to say the word smile and say yes milk.
Take care

Make play time about magnet letters. Be it with you or the older daughters.. The excitement from her to create a word and speak it will be joyous.. She will love to talk and read later in life.. This will be hers!! Her creation!! I was the younger sister... No joy in talking or reading.. For that reason I played the letter / number magnet game with my son often. In fact it was OUR play time.. I am very proud of the out come. He is now 21. Has a wonderful way with words and reading!! Sometimes we bring forward what we missed out on... :-) C

Just keep doing what you're doing. It will be fine. Maybe more reading could help but I'll bet you already read a lot together anyway. Her speech is not delayed, in my opinion. Some kids just don't feel rushed and it takes them a little longer than others to decide what to say. I bet she is a very secure child though. That is good, and possibly the reason she isn't speaking yet. But I don't think 2 is a late time to not be talking. I think it's still very young to expect speech. Perhaps she is just like my girls who never hardly ever even tried to speak a word--just grunts and points and crying--until they were almost 3 and suddenly there were wonderful sentences spewing from their little baby mouths and to this day they continue to discuss just about everything all the time with me and each other!!

I think you already have good answers, just wanted to add that when you ask the older girls to help by not helping so much, try to make sure they understand they are still her sisters, not her bosses ;).

Oh, and to keep her from getting too frustrated when you want her to ask for something, make it funny - look a little off from where she's pointing and be all astonished - "You want to SIT in the FRIDGE?!?" when you know she wants a drink of milk, etc.

Kids develop at different rates and with your children helping her all the time, that may be it, although I have 4 children my youngest is 2 and she talks pretty fluently and is very spoiled by her older siblings.

If she is not talking by age 3 please have her checked for Autism.

Conservative estimates indicate that two out of every 10,000 children have Asperger's, but boys are three to four times as likely as girls to have the disorder. Children with aspergers are usually EXTREMELY smart.

Hi M.,
I am a 29 and a mother of a girl, 4 and a boy 3 and I definitely know about whining! We realized about your daughters age that if our kids could get what they wanted without having to use their "words", they would just choose not to talk! In an effort to stop the whining and crying and increase their conversational skills, we started telling them to use their "big girl/boy words" when they wanted things. We would then wait until they had at least tried to verbalize their desire before helping them. We didn't ignore them, we just made it worth using their words!
I stay at home with my kiddos, but I also sell Watkins out of my home for extra income! Just a few tips as you look for a home-based business.
1. Make sure the product is consumable (this way you get repeat customers)
2. Make sure it is the type of product you would use all the time! Its hard to sell something that people don't need on a regular basis and you wouldn't use regularly either.
3. Make sure it is a company that you feel comfortable with their sales requirements or a company that is flexible and doesn't penalize you when you don't sell (no sales requirements)
It was in light of these things that I chose to sell Watkins-a 140 year old company that offers a money back guarantee on everything so if somebody doesn't like the product they bought the company (not me!) refunds or replaces it. Watkins offers Pantry products, body care, home remedies, and an All Natural Cleaning line with NO sales requirements. Its nice that if I have a busy month and only sell a little I'm never penalized. Right now it is $40 to join and my group is offering a $50 gift certificate to anyone new who joins! If you want more info call me at ###-###-####! Good luck with your girls! M.

my 2 year old grandson wouldn't talk also and when he did you couldn't understand him. It turned out that he had speech dysplaisis and his brain wouldn't tell his jaw how to form words. Otherwise he is a healthy intelligent boy. He has been having therapy and it is slow but sure getting better. In your case it might just be because she doesn't have to talk she knows her sisters will do i t for you. Mention it to her DR the next time you take her in. Good luck!

Hi April --

I'd go have your daughter's hearing checked. Often times that is what deters speech growth, and just the fact that she is trying so hard but it isn't coming out right.. sounds to me like hearing. It doesn't hurt to have it checked. Good luck!

It could be as simple as making her ask for what she wants to get it. Not giving in to her whining and crying (and making her sisters not give in) might help. But it could be hearing problems. You may want to get to your doctor and check her hearing just to make sure it's not that first. Good luck.

The age to start finding out if she has a speech disorder is three+ years. Many two year olds cannot ennunciate words... many three and four year olds can't.

As the baby of the family, since she is getting what she wants with whining, she has no reason to talk. She is developing her relationships based on her needs rather than interaction.

To end this, stop asking her any leading questions, like, "Is it THE BALL you want?" Take out the word "ball" and simply say, "I don't understand what it is that you want/need."

Babies love the guessing game, it gives them lots of attention. You and your children will do her a huge favor by not putting the words in her mouth by guessing at what it is she wants and then telling her what it is that she wanted. You don't have to hand it to her and say, "this is a BALL..." she knows this... she is playing the game you started a long time ago:

The guessing game. She's having a blast :o)

Start talking to her the way you talk to the other girls. Tell the girls to stop the baby talk. It's tiime to treat her like a little person rather than a little fun baby ~ at least where this is concerned ~ and she will have an incentive to talk with the rest of you. Don't make squeeky sounds, don't have everything you say end with a question mark..."Are you happy?"

Good luck M. ~

Hi M.!
My 2 1/2 yr old little boy is just starting to string words together. We also have a 6 yr old who talks non-stop, so he doesn't need to talk as much just like your little girl. I really think you don't have to worry, but if you are concerned about her speech and that it might be delayed, you can have her screened right at home through the State program--just call your County office.

On the home business front, I work from home for a health benefits company. Every legitimate home-based business will have a "start up" cost. This is because it is a business that you own, not a job from home. Every single dollar you invest into your business is tax deductible, not to mention all of your supplies, phone bills, internet, etc...owning a home business is so wonderful, I would encourage you to do some solid research on what interests you. Look at how long the company has been around, what kind of team support you will get, and definitely the compensation plan. You don't want to get involved with any company that promises a "get rich quick" plan~that simply is just not true and would be a scam. You have to work hard to build a business from the ground up, but is it SO worth it!!! If you want to chat about what to look for, please send me a message back and I'd be happy to share what I know.

She probably isn't talking because the other 2 do things for her when she crys so she dosent need to talk to get what she wants, I would try telling your other 2 to start waiting fer her to use words to ask, it might be hard at first because she will resit because she is used to getting what she wants without talking but i think that it will work. If you think her speech being delayed might be something other than that, I would talk to your Dr. good luck

Hi, M.--my best advice is just to NOT WORRY. She'll talk when she's ready. :-) My nephew wasn't talking at nearly 4, and his parents carted him to every doctor available (which, IMO, made the situation worse). Like your daughter, he had several older siblings who did the talking for him (and would fetch, etc., based on the whine).

When he did start talking, it was in full, complete sentences.

If you're determined to get her speaking more, instruct your older kids to NOT respond to her whining, and ask her to 'use your words'. On the other hand, since you're not seeing any other developmental delays, you could just relax and let her be.

Good luck!!! :-)

Hi M.,
I was happy to see this posting because my 27 month old only has only a few clear words but understands everything. I have a 12 year old and 9 year old also. I was getting concerned but did talk to a pediatrician and she said to just work with him for a few months (have him ask for things versus grunting or pointing). I loved some of the other postings here too. I don't believe we have anything to worry about :)
Blessings,
L. O

I can totally sympathize. I have 3 kids 10, 5 and my youngest daughter just turned 2 on March 7th. She was only saying a few things like mama and bye that were understandable. My oldest daughter was speaking in complete sentences at 18 months old and it seems my son was talking a way by age 2. So when my youngest turned 2 and still wasn't talking like the other two were at her age I was concerned, however everyone kept telling me that it was ok, she had two older siblings to do the talking for her. She is so smart and knows what things are and exactly what she wants. She was almost potty trained before she was talking. I have noticed in the past couple of weeks that she has been saying words clearer and more of them. Lot's of things she didn't say before. So I say give her some more time and the words will come. Before you know it you will be asking her to please be quiet for a minute so you can think.

It could be a number of things. Has your daughter had a lot of ear infections? With the ear infections comes fluid in the ears and I was told by my pediatrician when they have fluid in their ears, it is equivolent to having a conversation with your fingers plugging your ears. The stuff they hear sounds like mumbles.
My son was not talking at 2 either and would just point or whine for what he wanted. I talked with his pediatrician and we did have him evaluated (there were slight concerns for autism which turned out negative) however, it was determined that he could benefit from Speech therapy. We had him in that for 6 months and he is doing great now at 3 1/2. Once he had that extra push he really started picking up on things fast.
I would first start with your pediatrician and get any recommendations from him/her and go from there.
Good luck!

Hi M.,

THere are free screenings for children who are delayed in some area of development through you local school district. They actually have toddler classes for children two years of age that last about two hours a week for the school year and they work on any delays with you in additional home visits. If you are really worried, call your elementary school and ask for the early childhood program closest to your home school.

L.

It could be that the older kids do everything for her or it could be heavy metal toxicity. That was the case for my youngest. Her little body couldn't chelate heavy metals and they accumulate and cause lots of delays. There are several ways to chelate the heavy metals. We chose to do it the natural way having her only eat organic fruits, veggies and organic chicken and beef. We eliminated all dairy and wheat. Had her adjusted by a chiropractor every two weeks for the first 2 months. After two months she sang the complete alphabet and could count to 10 clearly, withOUT speech therapy.

M.,
Since you are sooooooooooo busy, maybe take up a class on sign language and when they learn the word, they dropped the sign. :) And the girls should've already learned that in school. And then maybe your daughter also needs speech.

My doughter did the same thing -when my doughter was going INTO Kinder gardan she failed a hearing test. NO ONE segested hearing problems befor that. When we got her hearing tested thay said that was the problem. She could not hear the words, so she never lerned the WORDS! Have her ears tested, and talk to your pedatrition.

Have you talked with your pediatrician? You can also request an assessment from your local school district's ECFE program.

SAHM of seven, some w/special needs

I think your 2 year old needs to learn to communicate other than by whining or crying and her older sisters with your guidance need to help her learn to do that. You first have to sit down and explain to her sisters that by doing stuff for her or getting stuff for her that it isn't helping her learn to speak and do for herself. Allow them to see that it's not helpful....kind, but not helpful (in having her learn to speak and communicate). It takes a lot of patience and just the fact that they 'do' for her shows that they care and want to help her. So when she wants something, they (and you) will have to take the time and verbalize it and then help her to verbalize it. Hope this helps. Good luck! :)

We had the same issue because of older siblings they didn't need to talk. Don't worry until they are 3-31/2year. I would work one on one with her and sound it out with her. make the sounds of the Alphbet into a song. a-a-a is for apple, b b b... Ask her to use her words. It wasn't until the others were in school that she really started to talk though and she is 6 now and has no problems she never did, she just had sister talking for her.

Hi M., sounds like you have a house full. I know what that is like. I have 2 boys 7 and 4 and 1 girl 19 months. My little girl can get her brothers to do anything just by grunting or whining. I have to constantly tell them that they need to help her use her words. I tell them that when they give her something or ask her about something to call it by its name when they do this so she can learn what it sounds like. Then I have them tell her to say please or thank you even if she doesn't she is learning when things need to be said. So I would try that with your older two, just ask them to help you teach her how to talk because it could just be that with them doing and giving her everything she hasn't had to use words yet. Hope this helps. :-)