Question
My child is 1.5 years old and still doesn’t talk. I often teach him, but he doesn’t follow along; he only knows how to call ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad.’ What could be the reasons, and will it affect him in the future?
Answer
Normal language development is related to many factors, including genetics, hearing, environmental education, and intelligence. These factors are interrelated, resulting in significant individual differences in language development. Most babies can say words around 9 months old, can form two to three-word phrases at 1 year, can speak meaningful words or simple sentences at 1.5 years old, and can use pronouns like ‘I’ and ‘you’ around 2 years old. By 3 years old, they can speak fluently. One common cause of language disorders is a multilingual environment. It is recommended to provide a single language environment for the baby and slow down the pace of speaking to the baby, telling more stories for them to listen to. Encourage more and criticize less, and allow the baby to interact more with the outside world.