delayed talker?..

[ichelie]

^ marose, i agree with you that tv contributes  alot to delayed speaking.  i think i posted some effects of tv viewing on babies and kids.  just dont know where.  check out the statements of american acaemy of pediatrics about media/tv influence.

with my son, he just watch videos and not tv.  we limit it also to about an hour a day.  we talked to him straightforwardly.  at 3.6, he's reasoning out and talking very well.  the pedia noted his advance language skill and i also was able to compare him with kids of colleagues na age mates nya.  di na tuloy ako nagkwekwento ng talking milestone niya kasi naprapraning yung friends ko. 

i guess what helped is that, since baby si Migo, we talked to him and tell him whatever is around him.  like during car rides, i tell him about the dogs, the trees, the houses.  when getting dressed, about the body parts.  as in, extra effort kasi minsa pagod na ko from work! but now i can see the benefits!   at age 2, he was able to recite a poem!  now, he "pretends" he's reading a story book (like adarna, pooh series), complete with expressions, though he just recalls what we told him and base the story on the pictures.

[jmeangeL]

another known cause of delayed speech is the number of languages being spoken at home...
parents of different dialect should be careful of this
our little angels learn to talk by imitating us, but if they're hearing different dialects and tones, it would be more difficult for them to distinguish which words or sounds to imitate

this happend to my niece... bicolana ang nanay nya pati tita na kasama sa bahay.  kami naman ay tagalog
mahilig kasing mag-usap ng bicol [textspeak!] mother at tita nya sa harap nya, tapos kami naman at ang tatay ay tagalog
grabeh... kung [textspeak!]-anong gibberish words ang sinasabi ng bata, minsan parang make-up words na pinaghalong bicol at tagalog

the speech pathologist confirmed this and asked the parents to stick with one language kasi nasa stage na ang bata na dapat nakakapag-salita na...

ok naman na ngaun, it's been over 6months and my niece now have 10 to 20 recognizable words that she uses correctly

[marose17]

^^ My almost 3 year-old sons could also do "pretend reading" and make up stories while they open their books based on what we have read to them.  Oh, and they could really reason out well.  I'm amazed and sometimes I am rendered speechless because I could see the flow of their reasoning process.   My son Milo could supply the missing lines when we recite the prayer "Angel of God" - I say one line and he supplies the next line.   

I attribute my sons' speech development to constant communication and exposure to books.  I could see that my insistence on no tv exposure for them when they were less than 2 years old worked.

[ichelie]

^^ sis, i agree with using one language only when the child is in the stage of language development.  after about 3 years old, or when the child is already gained good language skills, then another language can be introduced.  another is that, the parents should constantly/consistently talk to the child on the kind of language they want the child to learn.  in our case, we talk to him in english.  now my son speaks it fluently, then we talk to him once in a while in tagalog or we translate what we say.  but not to code switch!

^marose, my son also likes books and he has story telling time every night.  either we tell him the story or he reads the story to my 8mos old baby.  my baby girl listens intently when "kuya" tells story.

[mamuconnie]

I am also a working mom but I strictly told the yaya to regulate tv time.  It also helps that there's no tv in the kids' room or in the common areas of our house.  I don't let my kids watch shows on cable, kahit na Disney Playhouse or Nick Jr. pa iyan.  Kasi nga, ayoko silang mag-develop ng tv habit like every 8 am, watch ng Diego or the like.  When I'm home, I sometimes let them watch Animal Planet or sports like soccer and basketball or American Idol (hehe) with me.  I pick out videos for them to watch.  I buy more books than videos though.
[/quote]
I wonder how I could minimize my son's tv viewing? [textspeak!] nasanay na sya na pumapayag kme. And he learned how to enjoy it already. He likes disney movies like cars, lion king, toy story, shrek, etc. Although, ok naman language skills nya... ok naman salita nya. But I heard from a Doctor na masama nga daw sa bata ang exposed masyado sa TV, computer, etc. Dapat daw after 7 years old pa. Any suggestions? What do you think about that comment?

[marose17]

^ Maybe you could introduce activities other than tv, such as sports, play dates with neighbors' kids, daily walks in the park/neighborhood, etc.  Have a reading time to cut short tv time.  Play with blocks, do some art such as coloring, painting, crafts, etc.  There are many things that our kids can do.  As parents, we really play a big role in planning and mapping out our children's days.

I also believe that early exposure to the computer may do more harm than good. 

[mamuconnie]

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll try my best to give more hands on activities and other stuff rather than watching TV.

[twelvth_goddess]

my nephews watch tv all the time and hinde nare-regulate the programs that they watch on tv. sometimes i get upset cus they also watch violent cartoons kaya violent kids din sila. However, they started talking at very young age. At 2 years old, conversant na sila most probably cus we talk to them normally as in walang baby talk.

My youngest nephew is now 3 years old and sobrang daldal nya. He sometimes comes with his older brother to summer school and nakikipagkwentuhan sya with the teachers.

[pinkpotato]

I also believe that early exposure to the computer may do more harm than good. 

lagot kami dito.

[latinagirl]

halu mga sis! my son is 2 years and 5 months na din pero delayed din ang speech niya.
yun una natakot din ako kasi baka nga may prob ang hearing. kasi di din siya nag rerespond sa name niya. pero wala naman daw prob sa hearing sabi nun therapist na tumingin sa kanya. pansin ko nga kasi he would look sa door kung may lumalabas or pumapasok. and alam niya kung yun fav cartoon niya yun pina palabas as in takbo agad sa TV.
yun nga lang maaga na expose si baby sa TV. now he know he's DVDs at siya pa ang pumipili kung ano ang gusto niyang panoodin.
maingay naman si baby, yun nga lang wala pa talagang clear words na ginagamit. dada and mama lang. pero the rest puros blah blah and action.
sabi ng mom ko wait ko lang daw mag sasalita din daw kasi iba iba talaga ang development ng bata. haay sana nga mag talk na anak ko bago siya mag 3.

[hunny_ally]

when is the best time to introduce a 2nd language? we only speak english at home (hubby cant speak nor understand Filipino). my mom is saying i should already start talking to our daughter in Filipino cause later on she'll have a hard time learning it. for hubby it's still too early.

[marose17]

^ My husband and I speak to our kids in English and the helpers + my mom speak to them in Filipino.  They're not confused.

I figured that I'd rather make the helpers talk to them in correct Filipino than in incorrect English.  Also, since we'll be sending them to school here, they'd better learn Filipino.  I don't want them to have a hard time with their Filipino subject when they're in grade school already. 

Based on the experience of my relatives who live abroad, it's easier to learn English as a second language than it is to learn Filipino as a second language.  My US-based niece learned to speak Filipino before English but when she went to school, she could easily converse with her American friends in English.  On the other hand, my husband's pamangkins in US and Saudi Arabia do not know how to speak Filipino and Ilocano because they speak English at home.

The books say that the best time to introduce a second, even third language, to a person is between the ages 0-7.

[marose17]

@latinagirl, at your son's age, he should already be speaking 2-3 word sentences,  should know/speak at least 250 words, and more importantly should respond when his name is called and know his name/could identify himself.  I think you should not wait any longer or his speech development might be compromised.  I do not want to alarm you but I believe that you should take him to a developmental pedia or speech pathologist to assess if he needs therapy.  If you wait until he's 3 years old, you could be wasting several months.

The consensus of all the sisses in this thread is that there is no harm in having a professional assess one's child.  If there's no delay, fine.   If there is delay, then at least you can do something about it.  That is better than waiting until he turns a specific age.  What if he is still not speaking when he turns 3?

Just my two cents...

[jenny_2284]

^ i agree with you sis marose17.

when we migrated here,  my husband and i agreed that we will speak in filipino at home so they will not forget their mother tongue. It will be easy for them to learn the english since all of their friends speaks only english. As well as in school.

When we had vacay there last year, my daughter did not have difficulty in understanding tagalog. She can communicate talaga. Kaya gulat din relatives namin na marunong sya. Though me accent pa din sya ng british english, at least tama pagkakabigkas.

[ichelie]

^ same goes for me.  my son is 3 and were training him to speak in Tagalog now.  we speak to him in English, but the maid and others sepak to him in Tagalog.  He is not fluent yet but he's learning.  The best thing to do is for parents to use the major language consistently and let others use the 2nd language, if the child is ready. 

I would really encourage you to teach your kids Tagalog, even if you want them to be articulate in English.  For the past years I worked in exclusive schools, I have seen how children struggle with Filipino subjects - AP and Filipino.  Whether we want it or not, if our kids would study here, they must understand Filipino.  Madami students na magaling i all areas, yet they failed in the local subjects.  Sayang!  They should find relevance of Aralin Panlipunan and Filipino also in their lives.

[purplelime]

hey mommies, got this from http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/not_talk.html


An infant who isn't responding to sound or who isn't vocalizing is of particular concern. Between 12 and 24 months, reasons for concern include a child who:

    * isn't using gestures, such as pointing or waving bye-bye by 12 months
    * prefers gestures over vocalizations to communicate by 18 months
    * has trouble imitating sounds by 18 months
    * has difficulty understanding simple verbal requests

Seek an evaluation if a child over 2 years old:

    * can only imitate speech or actions and doesn't produce words or phrases spontaneously
    * says only certain sounds or words repeatedly and can't use oral language to communicate more than his or her immediate needs
    * can't follow simple directions
    * has an unusual tone of voice (such as raspy or nasal sounding)
    * is more difficult to understand than expected for his or her age. Parents and regular caregivers should understand about half of a child's speech at 2 years and about three quarters at 3 years. By 4 years old, a child should be mostly understood, even by people who don't know the child.

hope this helps!

[lalei]

Regarding teaching a 2nd language, our family speak to my son in Filipino since he was born. His carers and friends at child care speak to him in English since he started when he was 20 months. I now speak to him in both languages. I say instructions first in Filipino then translate it in English then Filipino again. Paulit-ulit ko sinasabi para malinaw. He speaks and understands both. Although at times, na-mi-mix up nya especially when speaking to his carers kasi ndi pa naman nya alam kung alin ang Filipino at alin ang English.

Eventually, kapag mag-3 years old na sya, Filipino na lang kaming puro sa bahay para mas ma-practice syang mag-Filipino kasi napapansin ko ang bumibilis ang pick up nya ng words and phrases from his carers at nagiging Australian na ang pronounciation nya ng words at nawawala ang R sa pagbigkas.

[jenny_2284]

^ same with my son sis... naa adapt din nia australian accent.. Walang r

[lilsaintsm0m]

Tv doesnt affect naman the development of the child. My son talked early araw araw tv siya. Ganun din [textspeak!] ibang kilala ko eh.

I guess it depends on the chld lang [textspeak!]. So it's up to you to stimulate him.

[marose17]

^ Hi sis!  I disagree with you about tv not affecting the development of a child.  It's good that in your child's case, it didn't.  However, there is research to back up what the American Academy of Pediatrics and most developmental pediatricians say about early tv exposure and its possible harmful effects on a child's development.

I'd like you to check out the following links though.  You may also google "tv watching children" or "early tv exposure children" to read more articles. 

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and_watching_tv

http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm

I think that the more prudent course to take is to delay watching tv, strictly regulate tv time and monitor the programs that your child watches.  It is better to be safe than sorry.