Normal (language) o...
 

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[Closed] Normal (language) or behaviour for a 3.5yr old?

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 hora
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Ok most of the time I don't have a clue what hes saying but last night I heard him in the kitchen say 'be careful Mummy you are going to break something'. One evening last week we were driving around a roundabout (woodland/huge roundabout) that I refer to as bunny island and I said all the rabbits are asleep to him (as we drove round it) 'its winter etc'.

He said 'hibernating'.

Thats it.

Then reverts back to constant babbling on -nothing makes sense.

Hes very alert, very intense (if he kisses you its a 2minute long crush until you scream enough!).

My question is why the incomprehensible babble 95% of the time with one word answer/replies/demands then the whole clear sentences?

Normal?! Any other parents of toddlers had this?

(Trying to get a speech therapist slot)


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:26 am
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Have you at any point, whether intentionally or unintentionally, ever left him alone for a sufficient length of time that he may have been abducted by aliens and then returned?


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:29 am
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the next Russel Brand/Stephen Fry?


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:29 am
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[i]My question is why the incomprehensible babble 95% of the time with one word answer/replies/demands then the whole clear sentences? [/i]

I've read your posts for years.

It's clearly genetic.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:30 am
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hes definantly hora jnr at least thats confirmed.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:30 am
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Then reverts back to constant babbling on -nothing makes sense.

Like father like son? 😉

He's probably fine but I understand your concern.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:30 am
 hora
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😆 I think hes more likely to be the next Jonathan Ross - he can't say 'finished' its binished (and some similar words).


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:31 am
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My first words wore "lawn mower". I don't even like gardening...


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:32 am
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^ Not just me that spotted it then!


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:32 am
 hora
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His first ever word was [b]MANDY[/b]! (one of the nursery Nurses is called Mandy. Not Dad or Mummy).


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:32 am
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[i]His first ever word was MANDY! [/i]

Mine was "helicopter" (according to my Mum).

She pointed at the sky and said "Look, a plane."

and I corrected her.

Pedant from the off. 😳


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:38 am
 DrP
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I can see your concerns, given the recent diagnosis of his close friend...
TBH, seeing the child development team at your local drop in/sure start/child centre and discussing your concerns is going to be a more fruitful venture than airing your worries with 'this lot'.... 😉

DrP


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:43 am
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His first ever word was [b]MANDY![/b] (one of the nursery Nurses is called Mandy. Not Dad or Mummy).

I'm more impressed that he knew what the bbcode for bold was.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:43 am
 hora
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DrP I was speaking to mrsH about him and she said they were always some concerns (slightly listless, quiet, never engaged with others etc). I never saw these bits.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:45 am
 DezB
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[i]the child development team at your local drop in/sure start/child centre and discussing your concerns is going to be a more fruitful venture than airing your worries with 'this lot'.[/i]

BOOOOO!

😆


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:48 am
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It's normal. My kids were both just like this, maybe a few months earlier.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:54 am
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Mine was "helicopter" (according to my Mum).

She pointed at the sky and said "Look, a plane."

and I corrected her.

Pedant from the off.

Smile of the day ,ya fruitcake 🙂


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:54 am
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You could always try understanding and perhaps gently helping him form some of the words he struggles with.
It is normal for some kids, not normal for others. Little Ms TT will be 4 in Feb and she mostly talks in sentences now. I can understand most everything she says - apart from the Spanish stuff she learns in pre-school. We're going to have to learn Spanish ourselves to make sure she is correct!


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:55 am
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Thread URL is quite funny.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:55 am
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Is it possible that in the past you exchanged the real Hora junior for a Furby Boom ?


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 11:55 am
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I expect to see him on the classifieds shortly, along with a request for an updated model 😉

We've been dealing with the language specialist, as our hv expressed concern that our 2.5 yr old was not stringing words together. Some issues due to having to learn 2 languages, but still a concern. 3 months on shes made massive improvements, partly from focus from us and the nursery, partly due to increased confidence.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 12:01 pm
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My daughter (4) is the same.

[i]…babble babble babble when I grow up I don’t want a dog because dogs poo in the street and you have to pick it up I want a hamster because hamsters poo in their cage babble babble babble...[/i]

My son (6) talks to me in German.

Kids are weird.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 12:04 pm
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HVs can be less than helpful imo.

Neighbour's kid was learning Chinese from one parent and Greek from another, and English at nursery. The HV (not a very bright lady, the same one we had) expressed concerns about his lack of progress so they started using English.

Massive wasted opportunity imo. Give the kid a chance. So what if he takes a little longer to get going (which is well known AFAIK for multi-lingual kids)? Being tri-lingual from the start would be awesome.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 12:07 pm
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My son, when aged 4, corrected his mother when she pointed out some interesting hexagonal windows with the words 'no Mummy those are pentagons'...he was correct...


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 12:15 pm
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Our oldest had a bit of a fear of trying new words in case he got them wrong. He found it so frustrating when we couldn't understand him. We worked on his confidence and he started trying some amazing sentences.

A big part of pronunciation is also physical development - it'll come, in time. Ours still struggles with 'l', 'v' and 'th' sounds at age 4.5.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 12:27 pm
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I expect to see him on the classifieds shortly, along with a request for an updated model
It is a small, right?


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 1:10 pm
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I expect to see him on the classifieds shortly, along with a request for an updated model

That is so funny. 🙂

Kids all develop at different speeds and in different ways. I personally wouldn't be that worried about. Babbling is certainly normal. Our 3.5 year old is very very good at talking but still has a bit of babbling and we just babble back (which he loves). It's still communicating.

Don't expect too much, they are always taking it all in and suddenly shock you with huge overnight progress.

Consult health visitor if you are really concerned but I'm sure they'll say don't worry.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 2:26 pm
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This is what my 3.5yr old niece said the other day when asked to clear the table:
'Whatever I do, I do it and that's the only sense there is in my life. My passion.'


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 2:56 pm
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Lol 🙂

My daugther has been quite concerned lately with unlocking her true potential. She's quite positive about the rest of us too - whenever finish some job or other she says 'Well done Daddy, you unlocked your true potential'

She's no idea what it means, she's just been watching too much Ninjago on Netflix 🙂


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 3:15 pm
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With both of our boys, we've used sign language from the very beginning which helped massively with communication. Nothing so gratifying as a 1 year old signing please and thankyou even though he can't say the words.

As for the semi-babbling, sounds quite reasonable at 3 1/2.
i wouldn't worry the speech therapists just yet, if communication at a school age is still an issue, then maybe then.

(my wife's a speechie, works with adults these days, but had to deal with some wacko parents when she worked in paeds)


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 3:20 pm
 hora
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I once overheard a Father saying to his 3/4 yr old 'remember with power comes great responsibility'. I said 'excuse me, that sounds great who said that'?

Spiderman.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 3:23 pm
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Are you sure it's babbling, not just singing or using a funny voice? Our 3.5yr-old thing likes using funny voices which are almost unintelligible sometimes.

I have trained her to say "No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition", and to laugh like Muttley, much to my GF's annoyance.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 3:30 pm
 LsD
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Nothing to worry about. It's only when combined with extreme head rotation and/or projectile vomit of pea soup that you may need to start worrying.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 4:09 pm
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Speech therapy appointment sorted is a good first step. When was the last time he had his hearing tested? In the mean time play with him with the telly off, get down to his level and follow his lead. Its his game not yours, reduce questions and comment on what he's doing. You will end up using alot more descriptive language this way. If he miss pronounces words repeat back clearly but don't make him aware of mistakes. Keep your language simple just 1 step ahead of his eg if typically his sentences are at a 4 word level don't go over 6 yourself. Childrens speech sounds are developing up to the age of 5. Have fun.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 4:22 pm
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Have you left the Giant catalog open on the "Introduction to 29ers" page?


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 4:26 pm
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Nothing so gratifying as a 1 year old signing please and thankyou even though he can't say the words.
except maybe an 11 year old boy saying it spontaneously, without being reminded (again!)...


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 4:42 pm
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Second the suggestion of a hearing test, with an audiologist rather than a health visitor.

Speech therapy used to be woefully oversubscribed donkeys years ago so hope that has now changed.

Be assertive for investigations and hope there's a good outcome for the little one.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 4:47 pm
 hora
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No need I've ran my own tests.

Stand in a different room and say quietly

"Z would you like some ice cream'?

Amazing hearing. Outstanding results.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 6:23 pm
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hora - you don't know how clearly he can hear. Seriously, if you have doubts then get the little lad checked out.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 7:10 pm
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Yes he may have perfect hearing but you don't know that. Due to frequencies he may miss some speech sounds but still be able to pick up the overall sentence meaning. It costs nothing and rules out one potential issue. I would routinely refer even though I didn't think their was a problem. Standard practice.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 7:49 pm
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To give you a bit of detail Hora, we had a hv check at about 2.4, then an appointment with the therapist at 2.6. In the meantime, the hv gave us some suggestions and also discussed things with the nursery so they could focus on certain things.

3 months on the therapist confirmed she was making progress via a standard set of tests. She didn't consider the bilingual aspect to be a significant cause (obv. some kids just develop slower than others). Lili is reasonably shy which does come across as limited speech sometimes. Could this be the case with your lad?

In the new year, the therapist is coming to see Lili at nursery and meet up with the language specialist there to check how she was going. All in, whilst we were concerned to begin with I'm really happy with the help and support we've had. Hope it works out for you too.


 
Posted : 13/12/2013 8:18 pm