Question

My son is still babbling and baby-talking at 20 months. He tends to repeat himself and I can't understand what he is trying to say.

Some of my friends' babies have started saying 'mama' or 'papa' at 12 months. He hasn't. Should I be concerned? What should I do? Why is he taking longer to learn to talk?

- Mrs Jessie Chai, 30s, finance manager

Answer

Oh my. This nanny has been inundated with questions about babbling since this column started. Mrs Chai's worry is typical.

So here's what experts say, to reassure the worried mums out there: Both Dr Terence Tan, consultant paediatrician with Kinder Clinic at Mount Alvernia Hospital, and Ms Lynn Heng, group professional leadership officer from NTUC First Campus, point out that there is a great variation in the development of speech and language skills.

At 20 months, a child should be communicating appropriately.

In other words, he needs to have good eye contact, point and gesture, indicate needs, understand instructions - that kind of thing.

Does he gesture or point to what he wants while using his voice?

Does he make sounds like car or truck sounds during play?

Does he follow simple directions when you have his attention?

Does he have a desire to communicate?

If so, he's fine and you're a worrywart.

Worry if your child has trouble hearing. Or if he's not showing interest. If you're really concerned, get him assessed by a paediatrician who can diagnose underlying problems.

The best thing you can do is to relax and connect with him through games, play and toys. Expose him to words through music.

In other words. Stop stressing him out too much and make learning fun.

This article was first published in The New Paper.