Does Your Toddler Sing?

My 2 1/2 year old sings but babbles between words she doesn't know. I think they all do it :)

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We have the same type of household. My 2 year old loves playing her drums and keyboard, but wouldn't sing, and then all of a sudden a month ago she started singing entire verses of songs. He may know it all and just surprise you one day, like my daughter did to me.

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I would work on short sing songy nursery rhymes and finger plays.
Give him time...I would not stress over it.

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My 3.5 year old just started singing a few months ago. He'd been making a high-pitched open-mouthed "piping" sound for a while, too, which I just recently realized was his version of whistling. Your little guy might be focusing on other things right now - song will come along soon.

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Ditto.

My mum did opera, my husband is a professional muscian (guitar), we have more instruments in the house than you can swing a cat at (and kiddo plays or plays on all of them)... but until a few months ago, wouldn't sing a note.

He sang himself to sleep as a baby, but quite at about a year old.

What changed a few months ago? We got an inhaler for his mystery breathing problems that had been misdiagnosed since he was a toddler. He's SUPER physically active, but apparently, just didn't have the breath control to be *able* to sing until we got his lungs opened up.

Not saying this is your child (ALL my posts are just my experiences), because there can be dozens of reasons (my son CAN, but just chooses NOT to paint or draw, for example... because he wants it to be perfect and it's not)... but it was really mindblowing to me that a week after having an inhaler he could use several times a day, my little singer returned. He now sings himself to sleep and sings songs all the time. He quit this past month though. I'm going to start using it as a 'tell' for when he has breathing issues. Because sure enough after a week of no singing, 2 partially collapsed lungs, fluid in his pleural spaces, and pneumonia greeted us on his xrays when we went into the hospital.

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He IS singing.
Toddlers do that.
It is in stages, that they then will sing like an adult.

Kids this age, do not enunciate perfectly yet, either. It is in stages, per the age juncture of the child.
I know, my son had Speech Therapy.
For delay in speech.
Nothing else.
He was advanced developmentally in mostly all other areas.

In kids, even 'babbling' is a precursor for 'talking.'
It is all in stages.

Einstein didn't talk until he was 3 years old, and I'm sure he didn't 'sing' either. And he was a Genius.

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My 19year old NEVER sang. He joined choir in elementary only because they had a bowling party and gave out candy. He lip synched the songs.
Would NOT sing in preschool. He might move his mouth, but never sing.
He can play the guitar like nobody's business. Great rhythm, good on drums. Pretty much can play by ear any song you give him. Plays the piano. So he definitely has a musical bent-just doesn't sing.
He's smart. Higher than average vocabulary, although math has always been a struggle.
I think it means absolutely nothing that your child doesn't sing. Maybe he just doesn't want to.
My middle girl sang some. My youngest sang the alphabet song all the time starting about one year old. I think that was more showing off for her older siblings than the desire to sing.
I am totally not musical-cannot carry a tune in a bucket-although that does not stop me from singing in the car out LOUD! But my son is just like my brother who can play any instrument. So I think the musical talent does run in families, but not necessarily everyone gets it.

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My toddlers sing all the time, and so does my eldest daughter, but my son, who is now 8 years old, never did and he still won't. I guess it's just not his "thing". :)

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My 3 y/o is trying to sing along to the Big Time Rush CD that his older brother listens to 24/7!!!

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It could be that he just isn't a singer.

My daughter loves having me sing to her and only just recently has she begun to sing back, she's turning 5 in August. She's a dancer. She loves to dance to anything remotely "musical". She loves the radio on and has her favorite songs and CDs. It could be that your boy is a dancer too. Encourage him to move as he wants. You sing, he'll dance. It's a perfect match.

Good luck!

My son just turned three and he sings ALL THE TIME!! My husband plays music all day and sings as well. He has an excellent memory. On the other hand, we are about to get him tested as well because he has some annuciation issues as well. He's intelligent and loves to "read" but he could use a little help with his speech. So no worries, every kid is different :)

My daughter turns 3 next month and she just started singing. She now sings ALL the time. I mean all the time lol. I bet he starts singing soon.

Could he be intimidated and thinking he cannot sing as well as Mom and Dad?

My grandson is nearly 8 and does not sing. He dances. He has delayed speech issues. I don't know if the two are related but you mentioned that your son may have speech issues and so it may be.

Maybe he doesnt want to sing. Maybe he enjoys listening to it instead. At 2 1/2 I dont think its a big deal to not be pronouncing things real perfect either. Some kids just dont do it till later. Maybe his talents lie elsewhere.

My granddaughter will be 3 next month and I have vids of her singing since she was able to talk... about 1.5... so cute.
Both of my boys sang at a very young age... talking age pretty much. they loved music.

just keep it up. our son was very shy to sing and did not on his own till he was three. sings the abc's all the time also itsy bitsy spider and old mc donald. try simple songs. i actually did not listen to the lyrics in adult music till i was about fifth grade. teach him some children songs .... one at a time and let him grow at his own pace. sounds like he is doing well.

DS 'sings' all the time - has since he started talking. That is, what passes for singing in our family. But he loves it and until someone crushes him with actual criticism I hope he continues to sing (although perhaps not always at full volume). I did just attend the kindergarten graduation at his Montessori and was surprised to find he is right in the middle of the pack musically (and they have music lessons every week LOL).

My 2.5 year old sings all the time, but she was an early talker too, their is such a variety in children, who knows what is normal. Sometimes she sings real songs, sometimes she makes up her own. I have to say she has pretty good rhythm herself and her made up songs rhyme...lol
If he is having a little bit of speech delay then it would make sense that he isn't ready to sing yet either. Or maybe he feels put on the spot?

My six year old only had two very short songs she sang as a toddler. She has trouble memorizing words to songs it seems so she just doesn't sing! My three year old knows every single sing and never stops singing it seems! I've known other kids who don't like to sing for various reasons..shy, don't know the words, just don't want to, etc.

I don't think you should stress over this. To me this does not sound like a big deal. My DS did not sing very much. We are a very musical family, my dad is a professional musician and my now 10 year old DS is a drummer and sings a lot (not all that well lol). I wouldn't push the issue, just keep doing what you are doing. Maybe he will sing and maybe he won't until he gets older.

Yes, I remember our daughter sang the songs from Little Mermaid when she was 2.. She loved that CD and wanted us to play it each night as she fell asleep.

She also was an extremely early talker. She could speak in sentences at 1 and even develop her own quips.

But I feel like your son is still in the "Normal Average range". It is good that you are going to see a specialist, But I bet at any moment he is going to burst out into his own songs..

My son sings all the time. He's almost 4. But, he did the "la la la" thing until last summer. Now he sings everything. I do it too, like when it's nap time, clean up time, lunch time, time to go outside, ect...

My son is not a singer, never really was. My daughters however are another story and will belt it out. I sometimes try to think of him ever singing a song and can never come up with anything. Yes he will sing when it is a group or school thing but never on his own--in the car or at home. I would not worry too much about it, especially if he gets involved in things otherwise. Some kids just are not "put it out there" personalities.