Category: Parent Talk
Hey. I'm not a parent, but I babysit my nephew fulltime. He's 18 months, and has a vocabulary of about 2 words. He says da da, and doggy, and nothing else. He has problems understanding the word no, and has no diciplin at all. If I say something like "nicky, go get me your cup," he'll understand and bring it to me, but I can't help but wonder if he may be developmentally delayed. Could part of this be due to the fact that his parents don't teach him or tell him no, and he hardly ever sees them? What are other signs to look for? Thanks.
Who is he staying with if he doesn't see his parents that often? Perhaps you could bring up these issues with his caregiver.
Well, he lives with his parents, but they both work, and his mother works two jobs. I'm the one who cares for him most of the day.
firstly, the fact that his parents work full time and he is in alternative childcare should not impact negatively on his development, provided he is in a positive childcare setting. Millions of children go to full-time childcare, i.e. nursery, childminders, family members while their parents work, and there is no evidence to suggest that this is detremental to development. A child can learn no in any setting, and children do quickly learn where the boundaries are different in different environments.
Secondly, at eighteen months he is just a baby, and the fact that he appears not to respond to the word no does not necessarily indicate that he is developmentally delayed, at this age children are learning to test their boundaries, and gain new understanding of the things around them and what they can and cannot do, and being unresponsive too negatives such as "no" is often perfectly normal at this age.
In terms of development there are things you can look out for, and eighteen months is the prime time for conditions such as autism, if you are generally concerned about his communication skills.
One of the main things to look foor is understanding. So this child doesn't respond to no. What does he respond to? does he point to things he wants? and more importantly, can he follow a point? so - if you point to things, on a shelf, in a cupboard, in a book, will he follow that?
Again lack of vocabulary is unimportant at this age and isn't something I would look to address until he is approx two.
But if you are genuinely concerned about his development then you might want to talk too his parents about it in a suttle way. But do be careful not to bring it up in the context of their not being there due to work, because that does make you sound a littlle bit judgemental.
I wouldn't worry about a child not speaking at 18 months. If anything my understanding is the boys tend to be less verbal than girls and develop in that area at a later age. My daughter started talking around 2 years, and my landlord at 3 years. The latter not only owns multiple properties but is very skilled at auto body repair work. Each child progresses at a different rate.
I'm not sure if he'll follow what you're pointing to, or if he points. I do know that he is able to understand some things. Like for example, if I say Nicky, get me you're cup, he'll bring me his cup. And he'll bring me his diaper and wipes if he needs changing. But he gets into everything, and doesn't understand boundaries at all. It can be so frustrating, and since I'm not his parent, I sometimes can lose patientes. I'll pay more attention to the pointing though. Thanks. Smiles.