Delighted and elated to hear those first words out of your little one’s mouth, but concerned about what happens after? We all know how emotional it is to hear your baby say their first words, but you might be wondering how many words a 15-month-old should say.
While being unique to every toddler, there are a few things you might be concerned about in your little one’s development, one of them being their speech. We’ve all been there, keeping track of whether our child is growing fine or not, or you’re just curious about how many words a 15-month-old says, in both ways we’ve got you covered!
Most children begin to say at least one to two words other than mama and dada, but their vocabulary usually isn’t the best, with only a handful of words.
While these speech milestones are not set in stone, and every kid grows at their own pace, most children have at least five words in their repertoire, out of which three would be new. No need to worry if they are just sticking to one word, some say at least one word while half of them saying two words.
Baby’s Development From 12-18 Months of Age
With curiosity peaking with age, your child might outgrow old interests and develop new ones. A secure environment is essential for these toddlers to achieve their long-awaited milestones.
Toddlers differ much in terms of size and shape, and even though there is a well-defined frame for development, your child might end up achieving them a bit late, and yet be completely fine.
Growth In A 15-Month-Old
A 15-month-old child’s weight might vary according to their nutrition, and on average, your toddler might triple their birth weight by the time they are 12 months old.
The head circumference by this age is around 45-47 cm and you can measure it yourself by using a measuring tape. Height might widely vary, but by the age of 12 months, most children acquire a height of 75-95 cm.
Developmental Milestones In A 15-Month-Old
Generally, an average 15-month-old child can stand without support and reach up to furniture, so make sure your furniture items are baby-proof. Installing safety gates near staircases might help you protect your child from mishaps.
Milestones In A 12-15-Month Old
At 12-15 months of age, children can hold and bang things and be able to point to body parts when asked about them. They would develop attachments to people and might struggle with separation anxiety.
Moreover, these children can follow simple directions, might eat a variety of items, and are good with different food textures. These children need at the very least around 12 hours of sleep in a day, but this varies largely.
Milestones In A 12-18-Month Old
By the age of 12-18 months, most all children begin to learn to stand up or even walk with or without help. These little artists might scribble their ideas onto paper and can pile blocks.
Drinking from a cup and using a spoon as well as picking up small toys are some of the milestones commonly achieved at this age. Self-awareness is also achieved by the age of 18 months.
Speech Developmental Milestones In A 15-Month-Old
By now you might be wondering how many words a 15-month-old says, so in terms of speech developmental milestones, these children by the age of 12 months can say mama or dada, baby talk is usual and your little one might mimic your words at 15 months of age.
Language Development In A 15 month-old
A 15-month-old child says words that might be recognizable and develops more social skills, making new friends. Though not articulated perfectly, these words range from 3 to around 10 words, along with the usual mama and dada.
Children at the age of 15 months develop the ability to learn a new word, which is often simple nouns or verbs. Imitation, sign language, and baby talk are common. They use three to five words that are unclear but regular with evident meaning that only those who are close to the little one would understand.
Should I Be Concerned If My 15-Month-Old Isn’t Talking?
No need to panic if your toddler is not talking much yet. Some children are late talkers, and late talking is completely fine, but keep an eye out for the red flags, such as if the baby does not babble or coo and fails to say a single word.
These signs might be normal or pathologic so reaching out to a speech pathologist is recommended. A 15-month-old is expected to say at least a word or two, and if your child is having a hard time talking, you might try some ways to help them achieve the speech developmental milestones according to their age.
When To Go To A Speech-Language Pathologist
Signs that you should keep an eye out for in your child include no eye contact or no signs of affection or facial expressions. If your toddler is using their hands to express themselves, they might have a problem communicating.
No interest in specific things might be an alarming sign, and a delay in the development of motor skills in your child is a red flag.
Most late talkers manage to say one word anytime from 1 year to 18 months; to help them achieve this, you should encourage them to boost their confidence and feed their curiosity to learn more. Speech-language pathologists might be able to help your child in case of any concerns, that is if your little one fails to say a word at this age.
How Vocal Should A 15-Month-Old Be?
Some children are very social and active, while others develop speech at a later stage. Giving you a little peek of what goes on in your little one’s mind, at 15-18 months of age, your toddler might be able to use words to communicate, which might not be articulate but discernible.
Language Skills Of A 15-Month-Old
Your child might use their form of words, using sounds and one syllable-words to communicate. Most words they learn are usually nouns, some common early words include cookie, ball, or cat, but they might struggle while developing speech sounds.
Do not worry if you don’t understand their baby talk, after some time your child would start saying real words.
How Can I Get My 15-Month-Old To Talk More?
There are several things that might help you build a safe and encouraging environment for your child to aid them to achieve developmental speech milestones. These suggestions are easy and helpful to fortify your child’s development, especially in terms of speech and language.
Narrating And Engaging Them In Daily Routine
Narrating your everyday chores to your child while you are following your daily routine or reading them stories at night to engage them and help them learn new nouns and verbs. For example, narrate to them as you are cooking, try saying “Mom is cooking spaghetti for dinner.”
Parents should encourage their children to help them around in daily routine work by communicating simple requests such as, “Can you help mommy with cleaning?” or “Can you get that for dada?”
Engage Them In Conversations
Engaging them in conversations while making eye contact is great for your child’s language development. Help your child by making them feel relaxed and comfortable so they can openly communicate their ideas with you. Though many words they say make no sense, try to pay attention while they talk to you.
Parents should try to reinforce positive behavior and encourage their children to help them develop their speech. Social skills also develop at this stage, so parents should encourage social interactions to instill confidence and improve language skills.
Ask Them Questions And Be Patient
To build confidence in your little child, frequently ask them about what they are doing and make sure you are as excited as they are while posing a question.
For very young toddlers, you can answer the questions yourself, emphasizing words like YES or NO. If your child chooses to use gestures instead of answers, be patient with them, and make sure they learn to communicate their feelings openly.
Answer Their Questions
Try to help your child whenever they ask something. Even if they repeatedly ask you about the same thing, be helpful and try to answer to help your child gain the confidence they need to learn.
Pretend-Play With Them
One more fun way to bolster your child’s speech is playing with them, specifically role-playing games. On weekends, try to spend one-on-one time with your child by engaging in games such as pretend play, helping them increase their vocabulary. Parents should pay attention to their child’s interests to make these games more interesting. Play games of their interest to make them feel special.
Read Books With Them
Surely, we’ve all heard that books are man’s best friend, but they are extremely helpful for these toddlers to develop speech skills as well.
Sing Along To Their Favorite Nursery Rhymes
Listening to nursery rhymes or shows might help them learn new nouns and verbs, but be careful, as screens are not recommended for these toddlers, it’s better to play them on speakers and sing songs with them.
Telling stories and reciting nursery rhymes to your child helps stimulate their imagination. For example, the all-time toddler favorite rhymes such as “twinkle-twinkle little star” or “itsy bitsy spider” might help you achieve this.
Listen Patiently
Whenever you are conversing with your child try to use single words or two-word sentences until they learn to make longer sentences. Try to listen to them whenever they are trying to communicate. This makes them feel heard and gain confidence to talk and be open about their ideas.
You might not be able to recognize many of the words they are saying, but don’t worry, and keep listening, you’ll learn to understand their baby talk very soon.
Be Attentive And Loving
One of the most important things in the development of a child is positive attention, so parents should give them lots of kisses and cuddles and appreciate them whenever they do something good.
Whenever your child learns something, try to bring attention to it and make them feel happy to feed their curiosity even more. Moreover, it is important to incorporate meaningful time with your child into your daily routines.
What Skills Does A 15-Month-Old Have?
It might not be possible for you to keep track of your little one’s milestones, so here is a checklist of things you can use to monitor your toddler’s achievements. Parents need to encourage and provide a loving environment for their kids to reach their full potential in these growing years of their life.
What Do Most Babies Do By This Age?
There are a handful of milestones 15-month-old children usually develop, such as walking, using a spoon, or identifying objects.
Follow Simple Directions
At 15 months of age, your child can follow simple commands such as, sit down or get up. These toddlers can drink water from a cup and might be able to use a spoon as well. They can easily point to body parts or specific toys or people when named and can make towers with blocks.
Stand On Their Own
In terms of motor skills, typically children of this age can sit up on their own, stand without support and some might even walk with or without support. They can grasp crayons and scribble on paper, while some might be able to imitate whatever you draw.
Curious And Sensitive
Most 15-month-olds are very inquisitive, getting into everything that catches their eye, so try to keep your house safe and secure for these little troublemakers. At this stage, your little one is adapting to use their senses and forms links between the things they perceive.
Late Talker
Some kids are late talkers and have a hard time establishing these milestones, so do not worry, unless your kid has not started babbling or even holding their neck yet, in which case you need to visit a doctor who might refer you to a speech-language pathologist.
Final Thoughts
A frame of milestones, though not set in stone, is used to keep track of your toddler’s development. A 12-15-month-old develops a variety of motor as well as language skills. Their baby talk consists of at least three words to up to five words, and they can point toward body parts when asked about them. The most used vocabulary words include simple nouns like cat, dog, and cookie.
It is not definite how many words should a 15-month-old say, but it is important to keep track of these language milestones and notice any alarming signs such as failing to make eye contact, having a hard time making facial expressions, and using gestures to communicate rather than sounds.
Speech-language pathologists might guide you in case you are facing a problem regarding your child’s speech to achieve better long-term outcomes. Parents need to be patient, listen, and encourage their child’s attempts, which would aid them in language development.
