InsaneJournal

Filtered to parents.
I need some advice.

I was starting to get a little worried because Franny is nearly 18 months old and isn't talking yet. She hasn't uttered her first word. This especially bothered me because the boys have pretty good vocabularies for neatly three year olds. But before seeking medical advice, I put the kids in their room and just watched.

The problem is most definitely not a medical one. Franny isn't talking because she doesn't have to talk. The boys are doing everything for her. She just points and they get what she wants. They call out for me when she wants attention.

Here is where the advice comes in. I know that she will need to learn how to talk eventually and I'm afraid that's going to take a while if her brothers keep helping her, but at the same time I don't want to discourage their helpfulness. How can I make it so that Franny needs to verbalize what she wants or needs without making the boys feel like helping her is bad?