Which babies talk later

In the last post we looked at late talking babies. Now let’s see which babies tend to talk later.

Any baby can be an early or late talker, but ongoing research shows that some babies are more likely than others to develop speech late. These little ones include:

Boys: Some researchers think that little girls can multi-task development skills better than boys. Boy babies tend to focus on learning one task at a time and mastering it before moving on. In the case of my son, this seemed true. He was determined to run fast, kick hard, and jump and until he mastered these skills talking took second place. Also, almost every girl baby I’ve met talked early.

Twins and other multiples: Research shows that multiples do focus on communication, just with each other, instead of say, their parents. Because they’re babies their communication focuses on other aspects, not words.

Babies with older siblings: My sister fell into this. I was older by two years, and she just didn’t need to talk. I followed her around, handing her toys, moving her, and playing with her regardless of her asking. Research (besides my own) shows that sometimes younger siblings don’t feel the need to talk because the older sibling carries on already.

Children in mistreatment situations: Children who have been abused, exposed to poor health care, exposed to loud noises, or who have been generally ignored can talk much later than other kids. If you adopt or foster a child this is one reason you may have a late talker.

Preemies: Babies born too early can take longer to hit every milestone, including speech. This is not hard and fast though, many preemies hit milestones on the same timeline.

Did you have a late talker? Was it tough for you? Being chatty myself, I found it really hard, and was super glad when Cedar started talking.

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