Name: Oscar

New York, NY

Number of kids: 1

Ages of kids: 19 months

Problem: My son is a very active, healthy toddler. Lately it has been very difficult to sit him down and read and teach him about himself (e.g., This is your nose, these are your eyes, etc). He seems to just want to run around and climb all day. When we try to sit him down and interact with him he kicks and does the boneless chicken on us. My wife and I feel that developmentally he is behind...he seldomly talks...only knows how to say a few words. We feel that this level of activity is hindering his speech and developmental process. But we've noticed that he understands a lot of the things we say to him. Should we be concerned?

What activities do you suggest can help us interact with him more, and at the same time benefit him developmentally? How can we use his level of activity in a positive way that will benefit him?

My wife and I both work full time jobs. Her parents take care of our son. Her elderly folks do not interact enough with our son, which is another reason why we feel he is behind developmentally. We appreciate their efforts because they minimize other concerns and at least we can rest assure that he is in good hands. We've thought about daycare, but it is very expensive and we cannot afford to send our son to a good quality daycare. What can we do to address these issues? Your advice and help is greatly appreciated.

Solution submitted by Kaci: I can appreciate your concern. At 19 months my son started moving around a lot, and wasn't content to sit in my lap and read a book. But I still tried. He is now 2 and has over a 100 word vocabulary, granted, some of them are sounds for words but I count them because I know what they are. For instance vroom is car, but can say Eeyore and Owl. Rabbit is RAA RAA, but he is trying.

Your son may have a problem with expressive language. Have him evaluated. The local school system may be able to help you. Here in California they do. They want to give the children a head start prior to school.