Granddaughter doesn't talk yet

Maybe she's a thinker and speaks when necessary. As you know each child progresses differently , you haven't said if her parents are concerned. I'd give it time before the ' expert's get involved.

20-odd years ago a young family moved next door, they had a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old. The older child was a really good talker but the younger one didn't talk until nearly 3 - then came out with fully formed sentences, proper talk not baby talk (and hasn't stopped since ....)

So as long as everything else is ok, I wouldn't worry.

One of our grandsons who has just turned 2 hardly said anything until his 2nd birthday. He seemed to make himself understood without the need to talk! He chatters away now - though we can't always understand what he says. He clearly understands everything that is said to him - which I think is more important. Some children just take a bit longer than others. One of my great-nieces had her own language until she was 4, when her parents decided she needed speech therapy. She is now in her final year at Oxford University!

Einstein didn't talk until he was 3.
It didn't seem to hold him back!

Nemosmum is the expert and has given good guidance. As she says no harm on going on a waiting list. I think we offered a referred at the 2 year check if speech wasn't developing. Unfortunately most of the routine checks and drop in clinics have gone in the cuts.

Your grandchild should have had a hearing test by 6 weeks but there could be reasons why she is not hearing now.

The doctor in the 50's did have a point. Many parents anticipate what a child wants rather than waiting for them to try to say the word. E.g they are pointing at the drink cupboard, you get the drink down, offer them a drink. No need for them to say anything.

I respect what NemosMum says - though as many have said, its not necessarily a cause for concern. Just one thought - from the perspective of a psychologist - does she have a reason or need to talk? Is everyone anticipating her needs?If so, why should she bother to talk? And is she being given, for example, choices which give her a reason to communicate? (Would you like fish fingers or spaghetti?)
However, as has already been mentioned, I strongly suspect that one day, out of the blue, she will suddenly come out with ready formed phrases or sentences! The worst thing you can do is let her feel your anxiety.

Definitely no need to worry. My first DD worried me as she seemed to understand everything but only spoke in isolated words. Soon after she turned 2 she began speaking in perfect sentences, almost completely skipping baby talk. My youngest with 'autistic tendencies' didn't put words together until she was four and talks for England now. She still has minor difficulties with relationships by the way but is a happy wife and mother of three gorgeous girls.

My DD 1 started to talk-words not sentences- at 9 months and three weeks .Not a stealth boast ,I honestly thought this was normal and was a bit worried when DD2 was about a year . ....It was the same with walking .
I used to write down at the end of each day every new word I'd heard but stopped when she was 18m as I couldn't keep up .I did same for DD2 It's interesting how different the word lists are
So I think if I had GC who wasn't talking at 2 yes I would be concerned .But if she does understand simple instructions etc then I would imagine she is fine She'll probably speak in whole sentences from the beginning

I can see both sides to this story .We don't worry too much about late walkers or those who are toilet trained late so why worry about late talkers ?

However if there is a problem ,early intervention is very helpful so try to get an assessment. The babbling that you mention is a good sign.

As long as you are not worried about any other aspects of development I don't think you should worry. If however you think there is more to it then I think you should get her checked out.

At about 2 1/2 we had speech therapy for one of ours because he was very frustrated about his lack of communication. The therapists thought his issue was that he had mumps and chicken pox back to back at a critical point. They then said the problem was that he knew far too many words for his age! He used to find ways to explain what he had said to us. When he started school at just 4 his teacher queried why he had speech therapy because she couldn't believe it. At 8 he went off the scale in an IQ test and has been very successful in his chosen career. So worry if you feel you need to but don't hang a label on her just yet.

Children develop at different rates I think she is still very young for it to cause concern my youngest ended up going to speech therapy he has two older sisters who tended to speak for him he is now the noisiest chatter box you could meet?

At 2...3 months my dgd wouldn't speak to the paediatrition. He suggested speech therapy. Parents thought dr was a bit premature (not in UK) as dgd did chatter of a sorts at home. Now at 2 years and 8 months she talks all the time.

Whilst I agree that your little granddaughter will probably be fine, I have to declare that I was a Speech and Language Therapist specialising in early language development, and we would definitely be interested in a child who was not using several two word combinations by the second birthday, e.g. Daddy bye; my teddy; big doggy etc. In all probability, she is just a bit slow in developing spoken language, and as previous people have commented, will grow up to be entirely competent in language. If she can understand words spoken without visual cues (e.g. "show me your FOOT; where's the DOOR" etc., then her receptive language is coming on, and it is probably a delay in her expressive language only. However, it is worth getting her on a waiting list for assessment. There is no waiting list so long as the one you're not on yet, and if you wait several months and you're still worried, you'll have to start from scratch. Don't ask the Health Visitor, tell her (or him) that you want a referral, or ring your local speech and language therapy department. Sorry, but waiting lists are long, although some areas have a rapid initial assessment policy.
About 7% of children have language difficulties. People are naturally keen to tell you reassuring stories about language development, but just imagine if she had difficulty in motor development, would you hold back and wait to see if everything was OK? IF there's a problem, it's best dealt with early. If there's not a problem, what have you lost?
Meanwhile, you can look on-line at ICAN children's communication charity which has ideas for parents to encourage language development. I hope it goes well.

A few months ago I had similar worries. GS got to almost 3 and was hardly speaking. (Though there is a family history of late speakers). We knew that he understood what we were saying, though. Now, at 3y 3m he talks to us incessantly, & often amazes us with what he comes out with.

my middle one didn't speak until he was 3 & then he said "can I have drink ?" obviously practicing in secret

Definitely agree with the hearing check. Here in the U.S. I know parents can also have a child evaluated for speech and so forth - and as early as age 2, I THINK. So if they're worried, maybe that's what they should do.

But all this is up to the parents, of course. Are they worried? What does their pediatrician say, do you know?

Personally, I agree with others that a lot of kids don't say a lot of words till later than the milestone charts suggest. I'm sure GD is ok.

Regardless, please don't let this stop you from enjoying your GD. Please don't let your concerns take too much attention away from all the adorable things about her.

I was reading about this on-line last week as our DGD has very few words at 2 years 4 months. General consensus seems to be that if they understand most of what's being said to them there probably isn't a problem. If not it's worth asking for a hearing check. Most kids will be talking well by 3.

Our wee one should have been referred to speech therapy last year after her preemie check up but nothing has come of it. DD plans to wait a couple of months till she is 2.5yrs and ask the GP to be referred.

In saying that, I was a late speaker as was DD! In fact, once DD started to talk her mouth opened with her eyes in the morning and she didn't stop talking until she slept at night ... I'm thinking we should enjoy the relative quiet while we can!

The problem about looking at baby milestones on the internet is that they only represent average achievement. Most come with the rider that children do things in their own time.

The 'baby talk' is actually called protolanguage and is the preparation for talking. If your DGD is responsive and understands basic communication I wouldn't worry. She is still not much more than a baby and busy learning so many things about the world.

Lots of play and talking to her will encourage her language development.

Two of my DGC only started to string two words together once they were well over two.. Both now chat non-stop with impressive vocabularies. The youngest one, now 23 months, can only say the very odd word. I'm sure your little granddaughter will chat when she's ready. Don't worry.

Probably nothing to worry about. My DS - middle child between 2 sisters, was slow to talk but his big sister talked for him "David wants this" "David doesn't like that" etc. When he was alone with me he talked. Now he is a web developer and the peacemaker in the family and always thinks before he says anything. On the news this week regarding nurseries having a qualified early years teacher, they showed a graph saying children of 26 months (I think) should be able to say 2 words together but up to age 5 there is a huge variation.
Conversely DGS at 2 chatters non stop - comes out with hilarious things but he has been chattering to himself/comforter in baby talk for ages as we can hear on the baby monitor when he is in his cot. I think the baby talk is the precursor of speaking words and them talking to themselves about what has happened during the day. Don't worry as I'm sure she will soon be chattering.

They all do it in their own time. My friend's child didn't speak until he was 5 yrs but then it was whole sentences.

Yes I agree, check she can hear all right. She doesn't have a dummy during the day does she? They definitely impede speech. As long as she understands things I shouldn't worry just yet. . .

It is important to check she is hearing OK.

Thank you, lovely ladies. Trouble is, if you believe everything you hear, babies are supposed to have 50+ words at her age, and should be starting to put words together....
I honestly can't remember when my own boys (the elder of whom is her dad) started to talk, although I do remember a great deal about their early years!

My DS did not talk much until he was about 2y 3mnths. When I spoke to our health visitor about this she said he clearly understood most of what was said and not to worry at this stage.
Then he started talking in sentences. (This was all due to the excitement of seeing a drain lorry outside out house.)

If your DGD appears to hear OK and can follow simple instructions I would not worry yet but maybe mum can talk to the HV?

My DGS1 was making big efforts at using languages when he was just a year.