Problems with talking

Blake is now 25 months old and has quite a good understanding of what people are saying if it's kept short and simple but he seems to be reluctant to talk and in cases where he does talk it's rarely with understanding what he's saying. He will say "bye" when prompted with "say bye" but he doesn't understand who he's saying it to it's just repetition, when asked any question he says "yes" we originally thought that he was understanding the question because it would usually be something like "have you filled your nappy?" as we're trying to get him used to this question for potty training soon but one day I asked if he'd climbed everest as a joke and he said "yes" to that too so when I've tried some other questions that are quite obviously "no" answers he still responds with "yes".

I've tried reading him books and seeing if he'll repeat words when prompted, he has sponge letters for in the bath and I've tried spelling things out sticking them to the tiles and repeating the word but he shows more interest in pulling the letters back off the wall instead and ignores me.

Any tips with how to encourage more talking and learning what the meaning of what he is saying is and the willingness to speak?

Hi hun. I would say don't worry too much. They all do things at their own pace and obviously Blake isn't going to know what everest is so he is just answering a question you are asking him in his mind. It is a good thing as he does comprehend conversation. ie. you talk to him and he answers. regardless of what his answer is. He is only little still and i'm sure he will start to pick more things up. I think the most important thing for learning language skills is just to talk to your LO constantly. Point things out, like look there is a bus/tree/bike etc. Ask them questions, even if you then have to answer yourself. Where are we going - we are going to the park aren't we. Then when you get there, we are at the park. What is in the park, can you see the slide. etc etc etc. Basically just chatter chatter to them! If you have real concerns that things just aren't right though hun, take Blake to the HV and see what she thinks? I really would try not to panic though hun. At this age they are all concentrating on different things. It will come together in the end. My dd was very good at speech but her mobility was quite slow. She got there in the end though and now there is no stopping her! 😘 Xx

I really wouldn't panic at this stage, all children develop at different rates.

My son is 2 1/2 and has only just literally in the last few weeks begun to hold a small conversation, whereas my daughter at the same age could very easily have a full conversation, her vocabulary was excellent at 18-20 months!

It is good that you are encouraging him, but don't overwhelm him too much. Maybe you could start to learn body parts, i.e. where are your eyes/nose/ears etc, even if he just points to them you know he's understanding you.

As Mandy has already said, if you do feel that there's something else, take him along to the hv 🙂

I depends on the child, when Mikey was two we were trying to find something to shut him up! While Jamie doesn't say very much at all, he can say something if he really needs it, but most of the time he will show us what he wants instead.