2 Year Old Refuses to Say Daddy

Updated on April 28, 2009
L.A. asks from Pittston, PA
4 answers

Hello,
My 2 year old daughter refuses to say daddy. Her first word was mama. She has said words with the d sound. Actually dog was her second word. My husband jokes about this....
She is up to 35 words, but they are not really used consistently. She is eligible for E/I for her expressive language only.We are in the process of scheduling a speech therapist. Now her favorite word is nana, which makes my mom very happy. But poor daddy:( I have tried pictures, a talking pink elephant with daddy's recorded voice (not kidding) and try to have him on speaker phone each day when he is working.I even made up a daddy jingle. No Go.... She will smile when he gets home and greet him with the arm wiggles but refuses to say it. It reminds me of that cereal commercial that was on tv. Any thoughts? Thank you....

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L.T.

answers from Pittsburgh on

When my kids were that age they often refusd to perform when they knew we really wanted them to. Perhaps she knows that her not saying "daddy" bugs you and it is now a game for her? Since she recognizes her daddy and smiles when she sees him she realizes the connection to him and shows her excitement. My guess is that if you back off trying to get her to say "daddy" she eventually will. You can always discuss it with he EI therapist when you get that scheduled.

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C.H.

answers from Allentown on

if you say go to daddy does she? as long as she knows he is daddy then she could be either

not doing it cause you pressuring her, as a game,

she has speech delay which makes it too hard for her


Get speech asap, she is entitled to medical access card which will help pay for the speech.

Evaluated by? local county office that helps 0-3? should be at home speech, but also get outside the home, call rehab places, many have speech as well. I go to Good Shepherd.

Make an appointment with a pediatric neurologist asap as well to make sure nothing else wrong.

frequent ear infections? congestion? some causes of speech delay.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I totally agree with Lisa T! I think you are worrying too much about this O. word. As long as her speech is developing along the norm for her age, why would you consider E/I or speech therapy? She'll say it when she's ready. She might think this is a game of some sort since you are trying to get her to do it.....forget the speaker phone, the pictures and the elephant AND jingle! LOL When you're husband comes home from work just say "There's Daddy." or "Here comes Daddy." Kids hate to perform!

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S.P.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hey L.

My daughter will be 2 in a few weeks. She calls her Daddy "Joe" because she hears me call him that and laughs when we tell her no, that is Daddy. She says what she wants, when she wants. Last night we took her to her first Phillies game and another dear fan dropped the F BOMB- my daughter did also- she makes an impression. My point is, she is still developing as is your daughter and I wouldn't worry about it. She will probably one day come up with her word for her Daddy and you will be thrilled!

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