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| Raising Boys |
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Is there truth to that? That boys develop slower than girls? Alex is 13 1/2 months and I'm a little concerned, because of things the pedi said about how he should be able to talk and speak some words. He walks great supported (holding a hand) and days baba, dada, mama (when he's having a fit or really wants something, and sometimes nana. I have had friends who have said Don't let the doctor worry you, but they either have girls or their son is their first child. At what point should I be worried. They're saying 15 months. Since you ladies are raising boys I thought this would be the place to ask.
Thanks In Advance,
Monica |
| Posted by Monica on 03/01/2008 12:20 PM
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| Hi! I have a son that is almost 23 months and health nurses, doctors and family are all saying that he is doing good. He started babbling at 18 months and only has a small vocably that he uses regularly now. They are the words he hears regularly. He says dada, mama, grandma, night night and tries to say words people try to teach him. The only thing I was ever told to be concerned about is if he is unhappy and stops doing the things he normally does. If you can no longer understand the words you once could. They learn when they are ready. If you are really worried talk to someone that you would be sent to if there were a problem; a speach therapist. Put him in different learning situations( with friends, family, other kids, etc...) . Sometimes they feel too much pressure or just want so badly to please that person that it will take the pressure off to do it differently. I sound very reassuring, but underneath I can not help but be a little concerned for my son as well. Take care. |
| posted by Michelle on 03/01/2008 12:45 PM
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I have heard that boys develop slower than girls, yes. I think we all worry that our sons (especially if they're our first) aren't saying "enough" words. My son is 18 months and is just starting to say more words than the usual 5-7. Every child develops at their own pace. Last week at Gymboree, there was a boy who was 18 months old with a HUGE vocabulary, but he just started walking at 17 months, while my son speaks less, but walked at 10 months. Everyone's different, that's what makes us all so interesting! :) Sounds like your little guy is progressing just fine. :)
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| posted by on 03/01/2008 12:49 PM
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You know I am not really sure but from what I hear that is the case. I have two boy's and one developed faster than the other. My oldest was talking about your sons age. Not in complete sentences of course but could say quite a few words. I am wondering if for him it was because he was the first one born. Now on the other hand my youngest son didn't talk much when he was your son's age. Mostly exactly what your son says. When he was around 3 I started to get worried because he still wasn't talking as much ad not in entire sentences but then it seemed as soon as I started to get concerned and was about ready to see about him getting speech therapy he started to talk in complete paragraphs LOL. Now he talks all the time LOL. I think for him it was because his brother would talk for him a lot so he didn't have need to talk so much. If you are really concerned follow your instincts and see about talking to a speech therapist. Mom's instincts are usually pretty good.
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| posted by Jody on 03/01/2008 01:18 PM
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| I think its all in what they are exposed to. My son just turned two and while he didn't say a lot of different words at 13 months he could communicate the important ones. Now he can have a conversation maybe not in full sentences but he can get his point across and he understands most of what we are trying to tell him or talk to him about. I believe he is able to do this because we always have communicated with him telling him what we were doing, going to do, prepared him for upcoming activities etc... just always talking to him, we don't do the baby talk thing I have a cousin ,she does baby talk to her daugther and she is four and it is really hard to understand her most of the time, so even if you think he isn't saying a lot now he is taking it all in and one day he will just start popping off all of these words and expressions to you. He is still pretty young nothing to get worried about. Read to him that is something I have done with my son from the minute I brought him home, you expose your child to a lot of things by just reading things that you wouldn't maybe think to talk to him about otherwise. I don't think boys are slower than girls because I know some little girls my sons age and they are not ahead of him at all, they might be a little more calm but not smarter |
| posted by amy on 03/01/2008 06:51 PM
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I have a seven year old boy and a 13 month old girl. I don't really compare... but I don't think that this is true. sure my daughter is more verbally inclined. and she seems to have more common sense... my son began to walk before she did and was saying his first four syllable word (impossible) at 18 months.
I think that children develope at different rates. It has nothing to do with gender. |
| posted by sheyla on 03/02/2008 12:25 AM
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We too, have never baby talked to him, we read all the time. And we too have always talked to him, even if it's just explaining why we're doing things...his reflux meds, his temperature etc. I work with adults with developmental disabilities and I know that it just makes life easier for everyone when you show respect to explain things even if they don't understand everything, they will. Part of it's the worrying mom part of it is job induced fears. Thank You all for your input!
Monica |
| posted by Monica on 03/02/2008 01:23 AM
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Biologically there are some areas boys develop slower than girls, but at that toddler stage there is not that much difference. I don't think you should be worried at this point the so-called "norms" for development stages are just averages and some kids fall on both ends of the range and that is perfectly normal. My son will be 18 months this week and although he's been understanding really well for months its only in the last couple months that his vocab exploded. At first he would understand but preferred to just respond to instructons by signs and actions. Pulling you to what he wants, pointinig etc. We always spoke to him a lot but there were not many kids around.
Now he is in daycare and by interacting with the kids I believe she started to want to say more. So he's gone from about 6 works at the beginning of the year to two word phrases, a lot more than 30 regularly used words and greater ability to identify objects in books, on TV or in the street.
Don't worry just keep talking to him and soon he'll just start doing everything at a faster rate than you expected. |
| posted by Afihtan on 03/03/2008 10:20 AM
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New research attempting to shed light on the evergreen question – just how do male and female brains differ? – has found that timing is everything.
In a study involving more than 8,000 males and females ranging in age from 2 to 90 from across the United States, Vanderbilt researchers Stephen Camarata and Richard Woodcock discovered that females have a significant advantage over males on timed tests and tasks. Camarata and Woodcock found the differences were particularly significant among pre-teens and teens.
“We found very minor differences in overall intelligence, but if you look at the ability of someone to perform well in a timed situation, females have a big advantage,” Camarata said. “It is very important for teachers to understand this difference in males and females when it comes to assigning work and structuring tests. To truly understand a person’s overall ability, it is important to also look at performance in un-timed situations. For males, this means presenting them with material that is challenging and interesting but is presented in smaller chunks without strict time limits.”
The findings are particularly timely, with more attention being paid by parents, educators and the media to the troubling achievement gap between males and females in U.S. schools.
“Consider that many classroom activities, including testing, are directly or indirectly related to processing speed,” the researchers wrote. “The higher performance in females may contribute to a classroom culture that favors females, not because of teacher bias but because of inherent differences in sex processing speed.” An additional question is whether this finding is linked to higher high school dropout rates for males and increased special education placement for males that do stay in school.
In their new article, Camarata and Woodcock focus on understanding differences in processing speed between males and females.
“‘Processing speed’ doesn’t refer to reaction time or the ability to play video games,” Camarata said. “It’s the ability to effectively, efficiently and accurately complete work that is of moderate difficulty. Though males and females showed similar processing speed in kindergarten and pre-school, females became much more efficient than males in elementary, middle and high school.”
The researchers found that males scored lower than females in all age groups in tests measuring processing speed, with the greatest discrepancy found among adolescents. However, the study also found that males consistently outperformed females in some verbal abilities, such as identifying objects, knowing antonyms and synonyms and completing verbal analogies, debunking the popular idea that girls develop all communication skills earlier than boys.
The researchers found no significant overall intelligence differences between males and females in any age group.
The research has been published in the May/June 2006 issue of the journal Intelligence. Camarata and Woodcock compiled their results through an evaluation of three sets of data collected from 1977 to 2001 as part of the Woodcock-Johnson Series of Cognitive and Achievement Tests.
Camarata and Woodcock plan to conduct studies to measure brain activity using tools such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and event-related potential tests to better understand which brain areas are playing a role in processing speed and how these areas react differently in males and females.
“We know that there are different paths to competence, and we believe there are fundamental differences in how male and female brains end up getting organized,” Camarata said. “Our next studies will give us some insight into where these processing differences are occurring.”
Camarata is a deputy director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, a professor of hearing and speech sciences and an associate professor of special education.
Woodcock is a member of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and a visiting professor of hearing and speech sciences. He is also a research professor at the University of Southern California.
The research was funded in part by an endowment from the Scottish Rite Foundation of Nashville and by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Just something I came across, I thought was interesting |
| posted by amy on 03/03/2008 02:18 PM
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