Your 18-month-old's language and cognitive development: Speaking loud and clear
New this month: Speaking loud and clear
At a year and a half, most children speak a dozen words (or more) clearly. Besides "Mama" and "Dada," favorite words include "bye-bye," "milk," "cookie," "car," "oh!," and "my." Many 18-month-old toddlers can also link two words together to form rudimentary sentences — sentences without linking verbs or other connecting words. She may say "All gone," "Want ball," or "Me up."
Your 18-month-old probably still does a lot of babbling in imitation of the adult conversations she hears. With increasing frequency, though, you'll hear clear words in the midst of the chattering. (If your child can't say at least two words by now, be sure to mention it to her caregiver at her next well-child visit; your caregiver may wish to test her hearing or have a speech pathologist do an evaluation.)
Tone speaks volumes and your 18-month-old is rapidly figuring that out. Since her vocabulary is still limited, she uses a combination of simple words, inflection, and body language to get her point across. In fact, you may be surprised by how much she can tell you with a just a few words. When she says "COOKIE," she's not merely ruminating about her favorite treat. You know by her tone that what she's really saying is, "I want a cookie — now!"
Many 18-month-old toddlers also begin to refer to themselves by name. It will be a few months before your child can use pronouns (other than the ubiquitous "my").
What you can do
At this stage, it's better to applaud what she can say rather than try to correct her "mistakes." For instance, if she says, "Want cacka," don't correct with, "No, say cracker." Say, "Okay! Here's a cracker!" It's a subtle difference, but an important one. (Some experts believe that over-correction may contribute to stuttering.)
Listen to children's music tapes or CDs together; it's a great way to hone her listening skills and you may be surprised by how many words she picks up from the songs.
Other developments: Improving comprehension, memory games
Your toddler has begun to realize that every toy, every animal, every person, every thing, has a name. And she relies on you for labels. She constantly points at pictures in books and asks, "What's that?" Or she just points repeatedly at the picture until you name it for her. She comprehends many more words than she can say easily and is filing the information away for later.
Sometime between 18 and 24 months, toddlers begin to be able to think about things that aren't present. She knows that her shoes are in her closet and will go fetch them if you ask her to. Or she stands in front of the pantry and asks for a cracker, which she knows is there even though she can't see it. If you want to test her on this ability, play a very basic version of the game Concentration. Hide a favorite toy under two or three blankets. She won't be foiled when she removes the first layer and the toy isn't visible — she'll keep searching. In fact, she'll have fun looking for things that you hide.
Source: http://www.babycenter.com
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