Toddler speech - what counts as a word?

[_Meep_]

Hey ladies,

I'm a little confused about what constitutes a word when making a rough estimation of the number of words my toddler uses.

She is 13 months old. We've only heard a full word once, which also happened to be her first word, at 11 months (she said 'dog' while pointing at our dog). Since then, she mainly refers to him as 'doh'. Other than that, we hear all sorts of half words, such as 'duh' ('duck'), 'boo' ('boobs'), 'doo-doos' ('degus', other pets we own), 'bubba' ('bubbles'), 'huh' ('hoops' - little Cheerio-style snacks), 'shwwww' ('shoe'), 'deh' ('there'), 'dat' ('that'), 'dis' ('this'), 't-t-t' ('teeth') etc.

I am not worried about her speech as she makes plenty of sounds. She always uses those above in context, and has an incredible understanding of instructions, questions, her own (and other people's) body parts and so on ... I just wondered if these would be counted as 'words', considering they are only usually the first letter or syllable of the word she is trying to use.

What counts as a word in a young toddler? Is a gesture/indication/positive context coupled with an appropriate (but partial) sound enough to count? If it has to be a full word pronounced clearly then she has absolutely no words at all!

 

[justplay91]

I would think those all count as words. We were told by our doctor that even animal sounds count (i.e. baby sees a cat and says "mow mow"). Your daughter sounds like she definitely means what she's saying and has a good idea of the sounds the words make. Definitely sounds like real speech to me!

 

[_Meep_]

Aw fab, that's good to know! Interesting what your doctor said about animal sounds ... I wonder if scrunching up your nose and huffing when someone tells you you have a smelly bum and need a change counts?!

 

[AP]

If she's using them in context, then they are words.

 

[amytrisha]

As AP said, anything used in context.

My LB can't say 'c' yet so he says aaaat for cat it's too cute. Love the words that only the parents can understand

 

[SarahBear]

Those all count as words. If it's a vocalization that is consistent and you can understand it, it's a word. As far as completeness or understandability by an outsider, that comes later and doesn't matter a this stage. They also say the average is one word at one year, so your kid is doing great!

 

[Amalee]

A consistent sound for a consistent meaning counts as a word.

 

[Alyssa Drough]

My dd is exactly the same, but we definitely say she knows loads of words! The only things she says properly are daddy and mama. But everything else is in context and close enough to understand what she means.

 

[_Meep_]

Thank you, ladies! I am really pleased to hear all your responses - I actually didn't realise she was doing so well!

Alyssa, mine is the same - mama and dada are about the only ones that are properly recognisable, but she has about 10-15 other words it would appear so I am happy with that!

 

[Literati_Love]

Yes, those are all absolutely words! As everyone said, what matters is that she is using them in context! My sister is a speech pathologist and has told me all about what counts and doesn't.

Sounds like she is pretty advanced for her age! Great job!

 

[_Meep_]

Thank you!

 

[tattlebaby]

Thats wonderful, 13 months and talking! My LO is now 16 months and just started saying water and ball. lol

 

[_Meep_]

Hers sort of came all at once, so I reckon now your LO has started, you're about to see an explosion ...

 

[navywag]

I was wondering the same so thanks for posting this! My son's been an early talker but wasn't sure if it only counted if they were said properly!
He can now say
Mumma, daddy, meg (eggy) drink (dink) dinner (din din)
Bo (name of bearded dragon) fish (fsssshhh)
Daisy (dzy, name of nans dog) teidy ( his grandad)
Hiya, I see, cheeky, kiss, and attempts to say breakfast

 

[_Meep_]

Sounds like he's doing fab! We have a new one here - 'raaaaa' ('rabbit') lol.