Babies recognising words/name

qwertytlk

Hi, last night i was looking at another parennting forum and came across a thread that kind of threw me a bit so just looking for some opinions/advice.
Basically it was saying that a baby should definatley recognise not only its own name but also some object names by 7/8 months, and if they didnt then to bring them to the doctor! Well my son is almost 8 months and has been hitting all the developmental milestones, usually slightly early whihch is great. So when i read this i was a little bit shocked. What do you all think, is this true of your babies or was what i read an over reaction?? I mean to say that they would know their own names is fine but to know the names of a handful of objects too...is this not a bit OTT for a 7/8 month old??? Tbh i think my son might know his name but i cant say for definate. He knows his bottle etc by sight but again, i cant say with certainty that he would know the name of it. What are other peoples experiences? Should i be worried or should i disregard what i read on this other site (and just stick to boards lol;))

How Strange

qwertytlk I doubt very much that my son understood anything at that age. He started crying to the word no at around 11 months but he could've also been reacting to the tone of my voice and the fact that he was exploring new things when I said no.

I suspect, although I'm not certain, that he understands some words now at 1 year as he reacts appropriately when I say them. He also met all his milestones in good time.

dahamsta

Anyone, particularly on a forum, that says babies "should do n by n", is talking out their hat and should be ignored. Developmental guidelines are just that, guidelines, and they should be viewed as a whole. If baby isn't consistently missing a significant number of them by a significant amount, then baby is probably just fine. If baby is, then just take them to the GP, explain the problems, and they'll point you in the right direction.

JoanneD

Can I just add in to maybe check the childs hearing. I would agree that if the child is meeting all the other developmental stages, there is nothing to worry about at all. I rarely remember on each child what they should be doing & when (I'm on number 4 at this stage!), but maybe just check the hearing, and see if you are happy with it.
I have a 1 yr old at the mo, and she does recognise her name, and her brothers & sisters name, and she does recognise the word no (I know because she gets this really cheeky look & carries on regardless!!!), but wouldn't recognise much else. I know my first would have recognised more, but I had all day every day of speaking & interacting with him, whereas number 4 is being dragged up!!!!
I bring up the hearing because I have found that 1 of mine did have a hearing problem, & was getting a lot of ear infections, and it did slow him down on the talking a little. He has since caught up & has no problems, but maybe check. I have usually found opening a packet of crisps or biscuits is the best hearing test ever!!!

qwertytlk

Hi, thanks for responses. I just had his hearing checked at his 7 month checkup a few weeks ago as i was concerned due to hearing problems in alot of my partners side of the family. So i wanted to get it checked to be sure, although i was pretty certain he was ok in that regard. Anyway hearing test went great, he followed sounds etc right on cue. Have just been discussing this with his dad and we were saying that he may not know his name because we dont call him by it all the time. We have about 20 pet names for him. Ridicilous i knw. The poor child. Really have to stop that and start using his name lol. Otheriwse he will grow up thinking hes called 'schmoogle' or something:D

dahamsta

That could be it, but only if he's vocalising other stuff and specifically not his own name. If it's not already one or two syllables, try and shorten it a little to make it easier for him to get started. (Henry = Hen or Henny.) Some syllables are harder than others, for example apparently they find H ("huh") and R ("rrrr") difficult. Which is great for my fella.

They're good at lip sounds like "buh" and "muh", so make sure you're using things like Mama and Baba, and Dada of course. (Dada will probably come later, but my fella learned to click his tongue on the roof of his mouth by copying me, so I'm hoping for a win over mama.:)) But generally you should use all sorts of words, as simplified as you can, as if you're talking to a someone that understands but isn't responding, since of course at some point they actually will. Point, gesture, shake.

My wife is nuts, she tells him what she's doing the whole time, for example when she's doing laundry she shows and tells the colours of towels, etc. It's funny, but it'll probably work. Babies are /fast/ learners, and way cleverer than is obvious.

LilMrsDahamsta

dahamsta wrote: »

My wife is nuts

:-D

annamcmahon

My daughter just turned 1 and started to recognise her name about 2 months ago. Now she recognises her petname too, we made a real effort to stick to one or would have ended up with up about 20 too. She seems to be recognising other words too but it's kind of hard to tell when they are that young.
I do the describing tasks thing too. I read David Coleman's Parenting is Child's Play book when I was pregnant and just after she was born and figured if I started early I'd do it out of habit when she was older and it was beneficial.

implausible

dahamsta wrote: »

My wife is nuts, she tells him what she's doing the whole time, for example when she's doing laundry she shows and tells the colours of towels, etc.

I must be too! I do this all the time:o

egan2020

My daughter is 8.5 months. Had her at the PHN for her check up last week for the usual checks like hearing and how well she can sit up etc. She asked me if she's starting to point to things and I said no and also admitted that I hadn't been pointing things out to her. She said I should start pointing to things and telling her what they are and in turn she will learn to point to things when she wants something. I usually call her by her name. She does react but I believe she is just reacting to the sound of my voice and not her name.

lynski

I was starting to get concerned as my 11mths old is not saying any words where the other 2 were by then - duh. Anyway as i spent more time listening he has mama and dada and baba and nana (food), but he also has sounds for boob, his sister and doodie and maybe more if i had the time to listen under the incessant chattering of the 5yr old and 3 yr old. he can sign for milk and food and we think no and yes sometimes.
the other 2 would have had words like dog, bread, cookie and a few more by 1, but again time was on their side. The daughter, middle child, was precocious though as we could discern a sound for her brothers name from about 6 mths.
I found they all used signs from about 6/7 mths, and would understand milk and food signs from 4/5 mths.
They can communicate a huge amount with us, but each one is different and there are no hard and fast rules - like walking, I have seen 10 mth olds walking and 15 mth olds still shuffling.