My son is 15.5 months old(DOB 2-6-06), and he does talk. I've heard him talk. I've heard him utter 2 word sentences and 3 syllable words and speak paragraphs of baby gibberish! But trying to MAKE my little man use his words to ask for something? Oh my GOODNESS! Talk about an argument with a toddler! He grunts and when I tell him to ask mommy(which I know he understands, because once in a while , he WILL ask!), he does this phony little cry and squeazes his eyes to make a tear come!!! GAWD! He tries to be a manipulative little buger! Unfortunately for him, Mommy is a stone statue and I will argue with him-and since I am the Mommy I ALWAYS win! But still, I wish it wasn't an argument! LOL! With my 5ish year old daughter, I hardly had this issue with her! With this little man, it is every dang day!!!!So, parents, who has experienced/is experiencing this?I understand where you are coming from Mom of 4, but the issue is that he HAS asked before...Things like "Milk", "Bottle", "Cup", "Juice""Eat""Get up""Get down"-and this is basically it when it comes to me telling him to ask-only because he has asked unprompted. The pointing and grunting thing is NOW out of the question. As far as tension, no, that really isn't the case. I try to minimize yelling, cuz you are right-it is stressful for a 15 month old. I tell him "Mommy knows you are a smart boy"(to which he will ALWAYS reply with the signs for "smart boy"!)"so I want you to use your words".I really have to go change his diaper now.

Yes i do. The child just won't stop swearing!! I personally blame 18 movies. My child swears!! I blame the father!!

I think you need to back off in arguing with a 15 month old. At that age, they only have a very limited word vocabulary, unlike girls who speak more at that age. Tell him what you want him to say and give him a chance to say it. If he doesn't, than don't worry about it! I can speak from experience as I have 4 kids who are ages 14 thru 6 months. Why would you want to have such tension in your house daily by trying to argue? He will get it, but not as long as you make an issue out of it. As long as he sees he's pulling your chain, he is never going to talk. Try to just relax and maybe back off on the issue for awhile. Before you know it, he will start telling you what he wants and needs.

When I was a child I didn't talk till I was 3. I had been talking gibberish up till age one, along with several words, then stopped. My parents took me to several doctors. The bottom line... I wasn't ready to say anything. All of my needs were being met. My mom read to me, talked to me and gave me all of the information I needed. It wasn't a question of if I was able to, it was when. Finally, I was in the bathroom with my mom, and asked her, "Where water come from?" My mother look at the sink, pointed, and said, "the tap." I said, "NO!."I too am "I am the mommy" type, however, you have to pick your battles. It sounds like you are wasting a lot of negative energy on something that he is just not ready to do. I would try to loosen up and try to be a little more encouraging. Positive reinforcement is the way to go.