my son wont talk!?

Whoa Jessica .... take it easy here! I am a teacher and in studying to be a teacher I had to learn a lot about child development. Every child is different, plus you have a boy. Most of the time they are slower than girls in this area. Making a child that is this young sit for THREE hours while you are forcing words down his throat is completely useless and abusive. Of course he just runs around and plays afterwards ... he's too little to comprehend what you are even doing to him. Any child would need to run around and play after being forced to "sit" for that long at that age.

Give him time. Many times children don't really start to talk until after 2 years old. There is not "certain" age that a child MUST talk by. An example? My aunt didn't speak until she was almost SEVEN years old. Now she is HIGHLY successful and the top Human Resources manager for a huge insurance company. Even Einstein didn't talk until he was 7 ~ and look how he turned out!! Someone above mentioned autism and they are right about that. I wouldn't worry too much, BUT if it is autism what you are doing will NEVER work with an autistic child.

If you are really concerned and he is still not talking more by the time he turns 2 in 6 months ... then talk to his pediatrician. He or she may do some testing or recommend you to a specialist if they are concerned. Of course, it is okay to teach him words here and there ... show him things and repeat what they are called ... but NOT for 3 hour stretches. I teach 4th grade and we don't even let students sit for that long because even at 9 and 10 years old - they are NOT capable of concentrating for that long.

Give your child and yourself a break ... let him be a toddler. Forcing him to do otherwise could really do damage and actually cause a problem when there was never one to begin with.

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P.S. THE best thing you can do for your son is you want to help him is to read to him every single day for 15 to 20 minutes. This will help with EVERYTHING ... his reading abilities, his communication skills, etc ... Trust me on this as a teacher ... READ! READ! READ!

He is a typical 16 month old. You will see a big change in him once he turns two, which is when most boys usually start speaking more. I would not force him to learn anything now, it could be one reason why he is not trying to talk anymore. The best way to get him talking is to point things out..." I am making dinner", "See your red ball?" " Look at the pretty cat"...etc... and if he says one of the words like "dinner" say "good job!" or "ball", or "cat" just praise him!! Forcing a child that age will do nothing but regress him further. Don't worry. Soon he will be talking up a storm and you will be going "sheesh...could you be quiet!" Enjoy those little phrases now!!

The average milestones for speech and language development are:

10 to 18 months; single word utterances.

18 to 24 months; 50 word expressive vocabulary and the onset of 2-word utterances.

30 to 36 months; rapidly expanding vocabulary and 4 to 5 word sentences.

Your son is right on target for meeting his developmental milestones for speech and language development; he certainly IS NOT slow. Because he is within normal limits, pushing him to talk (particularly with an unbelievable 3 hours every day, OMG!) will only have the opposite effect. If you want him to be a happy, healthy, normally developing kid, leave him alone and DO NOT sit and drill! Read to him from age-appropriate books (the children's librarian at your local library can steer you in the right direction), such as the classic, "Pat the Bunny". Just talk to him, too. Name objects you see, but don't ask him to repeat them; he's a little sponge right now and will learn from you by osmosis.

Good Lord leave that child alone !!! he is only 16 months old they dont even start talking like that until they are like 18 months and some even 2! I can already tell you are going to be one of there mothers that pushes there child into something they dont want to do just for yourself so you can brag. Maybe he just doesnt want to talk yet some kids are like that and some speak earlier than other because of older syblings you just have to give him his space and he will talk when he is ready and 3 HOURS that is abuse the poor child should be playing and exploring not sitting there with extensive lecturing.

I too think your over reacting. My on is 2 1/2 years old. He can put 2 or 3 words together but at this age he cant form full sentences. The doctors say he is fine though right on track. Reading to him is really good but don't force him to sit for hours on end and repeat words he is incapable of even saying. Just relax and let your child be a child

I think your really over reacting, as long as he can say words weather they are in sentence form I would not worry until he is at least 2. I have a two and half year old and she just in the last several months started talking in a sentence form. My brother did not start to speak until he was almost 3 , not a word. He is now 43 and a doctor. You need to let your child be a child 3 hours a day is absurd.

Speech development takes some time. The best thing to help with language is to talk to your children and read to them. Where is your adopted daughter during the day? Talk to your son and daughter about what you are doing. When you get them dressed, say things like "Let's put on your socks now. Here is a sock for your right foot and here is one for your left foot." or when you eat meals say things like, "Here is your dinner. We have some chicken and some noodles and some peas and carrots. Here is your glass of milk." A little commentary goes a long way in exposing your children to the natural cadence of language and makes them familiar with putting words with objects. It takes time and much of the second and third year of a child's life has a great deal of language skills developing. Talk to them and read to them a lot and you will find their skills will get better.

You've gone overboard on this!! For heavens sakes!! He's 16 months old. He's doing what he's supposed to be doing!

Don't punish him for not saying more than one word at a time! You are setting yourself up for a huge disappointment. Lighten up on him! It's a known fact that boys don't talk as soon as girls do. My son didn't put words together until he was two or so. My grandson is three and he's still not real good at long word sentences.

What you are doing is nothing short of child abuse. I think you need help. Please don't expect more from your son than what he's able to do. If you keep going at this rate, you will have a mixed up and sad little boy on your hands! Also, if you continue in this path, potty training your son will be explosive!

No, it isn't time for him to be putting two words together. My son's pediatrician said most 18 mos aren't even doing so.

You are pushing him way too hard and have unreasonable expectations. 3 hour sessions at 16 mos is ridiculous!

This can't be real, is this a joke?

OK, take a deep breath and relaaaax!

First you need to know that boys take sometime to learn how to speak, unlike girls who talk faster.

Second, he's not considered as having speech development delay...he's 16 months and started already to speak few words

Third, never do this to a kid, setting with him 3 hours daily to teach him how to pronounce words...It's like punishment...

Do it as a game so he'll enjoy it...and appraise him with a big cheer/hug/funny facial expression or clap your hands (anything that would drag his attention to you and make him happy)

Good Luck