what is your 26 monthish toddler saying/doing these days?

[hellokitty1]

Just curious as to what your toddler is saying these days and how large a "sentence" can they say? Last week, DH had a softball game so I picked Sydney up from school and we were going to go watch him play. So in three seprate conversations, i told her 1) we're going to the park, 2) daddy is playing baseball, 3) we're going to go watch.

And the next thing i hear is my child blurting, "We go to the park to watch daddy playing baseball?"

I was shocked that she put such a long thought together at once.

Also, does your toddler like to "read?" Sydney now goes to her bookshelf and gets books out and sits there and reads. Of course, she is just reciting by memory but I am amazed at what she memorized, including Goodnight Moon which we have not read to her in ages bc it seemed lame and we got no reaction from her. Now, she gets a hoot out of saying, "the old lady whispering 'haa-shoo' (hush).


Vivian
Mom to Sydney (4/24/03)
www.thelins.znot.net (FINALLY updated 6/15/05!)

[missym]

That's pretty impressive!

Gwen's language skills seem to have made a leap forward lately, too. We were camping and a motor boat on the lake frightened her. She later told me "I scared of loud boat, but I safe with Grandpa."

Also the connections she makes are surprising sometimes. We drove past a junk yard yesterday and she asked, "Mommy, cars crash?" Where in the world has she seen a crashed car before?

Gwen's not a big fan of books at the moment; she rarely sits through more than a few pages before saying "Done!" and running off to do something else. I'm hoping this will change as she gets older; both DH and I are book lovers.

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03... and #2 due Sept 05!

[jk3]

Wow! That's impressive.

My DS can string together 4-5 words but the strings are not grammatically correct. I'm really pleased with his language development. He repeats everything so we have to be very careful!

My Ds also likes to "read." He sits on a little bench by his bookshelf and talks about the pictures. So cute!

Jenn
DS 6/3/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[Mom2Miri]

DD is very talkative and we're amazed at the sentences she strings together also. A few months ago we counted a 19 word sentence! She loves long words like conversation, delectable, and actually. She's really good at word play too. If I tease her, she'll turn the phrase around to tease me.

I think in part it's because she went through a phase several months ago where she wanted to sit and have me read 35-40 books a sitting. We're "down" to maybe 15-20 books a sitting now but they are longer books with several paragraphs per page. And yes, she reads by herself...that's how I get a shower most days. I put her and a stack of books on the bed and she'll happily read until I'm done.

ETA: Lately she's really gotten into singing songs. Her favorite is Fifty-Nifty United States. I was amazed the other day when she taught DH the states in alphabetical order and only missed a few of New ___ states like NH, NJ. Wish I had a memory like that still!!

Helen & Mirielle 2/25/03

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif[/img][/url] 28 months and counting

[hellokitty1]

Holy cow Helen! 35-40 books??? I could get my whole house cleaned if Sydney were willing to read those many books at one time. That is awesome!


Vivian
Mom to Sydney (4/24/03)

[Mom2Miri]

Vivian,

35-40 books was ME reading to her! :) I have to admit to falling asleep halfway through the stack sometimes now.

But she does sit happily "reading" on the bed for 30 minutes while I shower, etc several days a week.

Let's just say I was probably bookcloseouts.com's best customer for awhile. :P For some odd reason library books don't hold as much appeal for her.

Helen & DD 2/03

[slknight]

Wow, everyone's kids sound so impressive and mine doesn't. :( Alex has an extensive vocabulary, but doesn't string more than 3 words together. He says things like:

Eat the waffles
Read the books
Big white truck

If I say things back to him like, "Oh, you want to eat some waffles?" He'll say "yeah" or "Alex." But he won't say "I want to eat some waffles."

Now you guys are worrying me. We've always read to him and like a PP would read 30-40 books at a time, so he's definitely been exposed to it. Anyone else with slower talkers?

[zuzu]

Sarah is stringing more and more words together every day - it really amazes us! When I ask her what she did that day she'll respond with two or three long sentences and it's so wonderful to be having a conversation with her. She may not know all her letters (she can recite the alphabet, but can't identify all the letters consistently) but loves to talk up a storm. She's quite the parrot too, so we really need to watch ourselves. ;)

She pretends to read too, but instead of reciting all the words will look at the pictures and create her own version of the story.

Songs are another favorite these days, especially "Doe Deer" ("Do Re Mi") and and "You My Sunshine" - I just melt when I hear her sing.

This is such a fun age. It helps make up for some of the other more challenging toddler behavior we've been experiencing.



Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[zuzu]

Sorry - I didn't see this before I posted that Sarah is stringing lots of words together. :(

Alex sounds just fine. Please don't worry (though I know it's hard not to sometimes - I remember feeling this way when Sarah didn't crawl and walk as early as most of the other babies around here.)

Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[missym]

Susan, I don't think you have anything to worry about. The bulk of Gwen's speech is still short phrases like Alex uses. It gets the job done, KWIM?

Here's a link to some info on preschool language milestones:
http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,4840,00.html

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03... and #2 due Sept 05!

[Mom2Miri]

I re-read my post and felt badly that it sounded boastful. I hate that and really didn't mean for it to come off that way. We actually find her talking funny.

I really wouldn't worry about your son's development! They all develop different abilities at different rates. I would bet that Alex is more socially well-developed than my daughter. We know another girl about the same age who is physically at least a year ahead of my daughter but only says 3 word sentences. Actually I worry all the time that DD is behind socially.

ETA: My dad just reminded me the other day that I fretted when she was ~17-18 months old that she wasn't talking much.

Helen & DD 2/03

[houseof3boys]

We are very into songs around here too. The current faves that he tries to sing and pleads me to sing constantly are:

Baa Baa black sheep
Old MacDonald had a farm
Hokey Pokey
Do Re Mi
Happy Birthday
Jack and Jill went up a hill (okay not technically a song)
Humpty Dumpty (yeah, yeah, not a song)

I will have to add "You are my sunshine" to our repertoire. :)

Another fun one is to whistle the songs and he has to guess them. This is our stuck in traffic game when he gets fidgety in the car.

[JElaineB]

Thanks for the link. I'm shocked DS is actually meeting all of the 3 year milestones listed. He was very slow to put words together, but I guess he is on track now. Thanks.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[pixelprincess]

It seems like DS suddenly started talking a lot more around 18 months. Now he does put together some sentences like "This is Kathy's house" i.e. our neighbor's house or "I like it" :-)

Rowan isn't much of a solo reader (for that matter doesn't play by himself too). But he loves being read to and has preferences in reading material. We have a good collection of books and I also bought stuff on Ebay, but his taste seems to be broadening considerably. Fortunately, our public library has wonderful books and we have been bringing back all kinds including non-fiction like Frog, Snails and Bug books.

Susan, I wouldn't worry. DS is exposed to older kids in preschool and that has helped his speech development considerably in the last two months. Most of the kids his age in our playgroup aren't talking as much. My bf's DS is a month younger and not saying as much as Alex.

[darby24]

Resident late talker coming in here.

Don't worry!!!!! :-)

My nephew (who just turned 3) is now beginning to say simple words such as; more, hi and bye! Honestly.

In general, we are a relaxed family and have never thought this was doing any harm. He had a simple hearing test, but no further intervention. Between signing and his few words we've made it through just fine. His dad didn't talk until three, so there really is no worries here.

Alex will talk in sentences. Just give him time! He's already ahead of other kids his age.

Chin up, you're doing a great job!! :-)



Edit to change my avatar

[zuzu]

I like the whistling game. We may have a long car trip coming up next month, so I'll keep that in mind - thanks!

We haven't tried "Hokey Pokey" or "Jack and Jill," but Sarah loves the others you mentioned. Just last night she was singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" in the tub, though it was mixed in a bit with "Twinkle, Twinkle," so it sounded more like a medley. ;)

Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[jk3]

that the research indicates that children, except those with serious issues, are basically at the same verbal level by age 5. Talking early or late doesn't impact this. One's receptive language is the most important indicator for a young child.

Jenn
DS 6/3/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[ppshah]

DS has a speech delay - so were very proud a few weeks ago when he started speaking in sentences "Want train, please". We're still at the 2-3 word phase. We also discovered he can sight read a few words. Now if only we could teach him how to jump - he bends his knees- but doesn't leave the ground. LOL!

[darby24]

ITA.

My cousin didn't talk clearly until age 6 (his sibling translated to all the adults - including the mom and dad!)

[mharling]

Susan -
Lane sounds similar to Alex. His vocabulary is quite large and he strings 3 *maybe* 4 words together. Like a PP, his 'sentences' aren't necessarily grammatically correct.

Mary - Some days work. Some days don't.
Lane - April 2003
Faye - March 2005