A 2 Year Old not Talking Yet

My son turned two last May and until now he does not speak clear words except for “Daddy.” He actually has a language of his own. When he wants something he usually pulls me and points to the thing that he wants and I ask him if he wants that, then he’d give me a smile which means yes. When he turned one I got bothered because he’s not saying real words yet, except for some babbling and cooing, basically baby talk. We don’t baby talk him, I read books to him a lot, we let him play with other kids at Sunday school because they say that helps. I also bought him educational toys in which he is doing a very good job on, sometimes we watch videos about the alphabet, animals, etc on YouTube He does not have trouble following instructions, actually he is very obedient. A relative of ours said that I should be bothered because she said my son will have a hard time learning when he goes to school because he is not talking yet.

Is she saying that my son is retarded? Is speech really the basis of a child’s intelligence? As a mom I will have a hard time accepting that there is something wrong with my son. Mothers have a strong instinct if there is something wrong with their child. I know other mothers would agree with me on that. I know there is nothing wrong or am I just in denial?

My son loves books, sometimes he even tries to read them even if he does not really know how to read. I can rule out autism because he can look straight in to my eyes. I say that because one sign of autism is when a child can’t look straight into your eyes. My little boy is very active, he play a lot, he love to play with his tiny dinosaurs that he like to line up perfectly. Another thing I find remarkable in him is his concentration. He is able to focus in something for minutes which is something I know it’s unusual for other kids his age.

I have asked other moms about my son’s condition they said it’s perfectly normal, that I should not stress my self. Ate Julie said that my son is an early walker so his speech will be delayed. Ate Gryll, whose a mom of three said that it’s ok, his nephew before did not talk straight until he was three. I also checked Google for some answers to enlighten me and also to check if other moms are experiencing my situation. And voila! I am not the only one and there is this one person who said this:

“I am a preschool teacher and it is a fact that the NORMAL age of speech is 3-4 years old. Anything sooner does not mean you are raising a little Einstein! As long as they follow directions and can answer basic questions they are fine! Yes I agree to ask your dr when in doubt. But please realize it is the average age of 3 that children will start talking! Especially only children! And boys are later at most everything! By:trevorbug” (Source)

I felt so relieved! All the other moms are saying that children just don’t talk because there is no need to. They said it’s unhealthy to force children to do something they are not ready for. Development in children varies, someone said that we shouldn’t be worried if a child is not following every milestone that are in the books. Every child is different so I just need to relax.

For the moms out there who have a 2-year old or who’ve had 2-year olds, is speech really the measure of a child’s development?