So your child isn’t talking yet.  Should you be worried?

Parents worry about everything. Is it too early to stop breastfeeding? What’s the best way to toilet train? How do we handle bullying?  It never ends.  But what about talking?  At what age should your child be talking?  Is it so bad if he doesn’t?

According to Kingsley Bower, Kamloops Speech and Language Pathologist, children almost always begin to say their first unclear words between ages 12 to 18 months. By two years, most children can say simple two-and three-word phrases, and have vocabularies of about 200 words.  By age three, they have mastered around 500 words, and use three and four word sentences.  By age five, most children top the 13,000-word mark and have elaborate conversations with their friends.

If your child isn't speaking yet, don’t wait to get help. Sometimes late speech is a sign of a hearing loss or of a more serious developmental or neurological problem. Speech and language services are available free of charge at the Public Health Center (851-7300) and at the Children's Therapy and Family Resources Centre (37 -

Most of the methods that help improve talking work regardless of the cause. Local Public Health Units offer speech & language therapy to children from birth to kindergarten age.  There is no charge for assessment or therapy.

“Making” a child talk doesn’t improve communication.  In fact, forcing a child to say things can actually interfere with proper development. 

Therapy for young children forcuses more on encouraging real-life interactions than on doing exercises. “People become better talkers by talking with other people,” says Bower. “Children who are forced to talk learn to avoid speaking situations. That can isolate them from the very thing they need to improve their language skills.”

For that reason, speech therapy programs often place more emphasis on assisting parents than on working with their children directly.

Grown-ups often unknowingly sabotage children’s motivation to talk by being too corrective or too quick to help.  During early language therapy, parents quickly learn to recognize when help is appropriate and when it is better to let their child try just a bit longer.

Bower says that fun is the other crucial ingredient.  “After all,” he says, “we all talk more when we’re having a good time.”

Speech and language therapy is available by calling Kamloops Public Health office at 851- 7300.  No prescription or physician’s referral is necessary.