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Any good books on childhood development and milestones?
Main Post:
Hello,
First time parent here. Looking for a good book that goes over the stages of child development. Kind of things like what to expect and what to do at each stage.
Anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks!!
Top Comment:
Wonder Weeks is a very nice app. It talks about the first ~20 months and why baby will be fussy and when it is most likely to happen.
There is an actual book, but I haven’t wanted anything other than the free app.
Speech delayed 2-year old
Main Post:
Ok, I have been posting/commenting regarding this issue a few times before, and so far I have never been concerned about the fact that my son didn't use discernible words like other kids his age. I figured it'll happen when he's ready.
He had his 2-year check-up last week, and while he excels in every other aspect of childhood development, he is way behind in when it comes to talking. I still wasn't worried by it until I asked his doctor if this is unusual, and her response was a "well, it does happen...", which made it sound like a rare thing and serious issue and pissed me off a little.
I know for a fact that many kids take up until 3 years of age to actually develop proper speech skills, and my son is not a freak of nature!
However, my son's doctor said to give it another 2 months to practice vigorously with him, and if there is no significant improvement by then, to contact a speech therapist.
Suddenly I feel so much pressure to get those words out of my son's mouth, to unlock whatever is blocking the avalanche of real words that everyone expects out of him.
I know my son has no hearing issues as he understands everything I say and ask of him without me having to raise my voice or him facing me. He reacts accordingly and follows orders just fine. He is "talking" pretty much nonstop in what sounds like full sentences, only in baby gibber gabber. The only things that we can really make out, are kitty, dog, door, car, ball, cheese, and 'where did it go'.
He does know what everything is, though. If I ask him to show me the tree, shoe, baby, flower, cookie, ball, pants, you name it; he knows where and what it is.
I have been trying to make him say the damn words that I know he knows, by repeating myself while showing him a strawberry, for instance, and make him touch it as I say the name. He smiles and goes "mmmmmh", but refuses to say the word. He completely shuts down, gets whiny and eventually just walks away. I don't know of he's lazy, shy or stubborn, but I feel like I'm having a power struggle with him every time.
If I ask him to say cookie, banana, water or whatever before handing it to him, he'd rather refuse the item instead of making an effort to say it. It's so frustrating, because I don't know if I ask too much of him and he might have a muscle tone problem, or if it's just the price I have to pay for catering to him way too much in the beginning. Should I stick to that strategy and stand my ground even on the risk of sending him to bed hungry on occasion?
Anybody else here who went through this/is going through it? What did you do to help your child outside of speech therapy?
EDIT: Thanks for all the replies; I didn't expect a response like this. You guys gave me a lot of food for thought, as well as fantastic tips and suggestions on how to deal with it and support my son's development in his speech. My husband and I talked about all of it and will make an appointment for an evaluation of our son's capabilities just to be on the safe side. Like many of you said, why turn down free services?
EDIT 2: Also, since this post our son has already shown great progress and added a few new words/expressions to his vocabulary. So, I think we're definitely on the right track. Thanks again, everyone. =)
Top Comment:
At our 18 month appt, my daughter was saying 3 words. Our pediatrician recommended speech therapy for her and so we made an appt to get her evaluated. She's been going for 4 months now, biweekly and it has made a huge improvement with her confidence in trying to say new words. Is there a reason you are resisting speech therapy?
The therapy sessions are play sessions, so my daughter loves going. She gets to play with toys and the therapist is just like a cool friend who plays with her. We sit in the session and observe so we know how to work with her at home. Her daycare actually sent home a note the other day saying she is talking a lot more.
Some of the things they advised us to do:
give choices, so take plastic animals and give a choice between the two "pig or cow?" Reward any sound they make and repeat their choice. "Cow? Good!" Or use a stacking ring and take all the rings and offer them to her two at a time, "orange or purple?"
Find action type toys so you can work on verbs such as on, off, in, out. They use a singing piggy bank at our place.
Associate sounds with actions. When they try to get her to say the B sound they have her tap her mouth, the m sound she raises her arms in the air. It makes it more fun and helps her remember the sound.