My DS was home with us WFH from about 14 months - 18 months. I was definitely concerned about the number of single words he had at that point and brought it up with my pediatrician. Within probably 2 weeks of being back at daycare (a new one even!), his vocabulary exploded and he had more words that his sister at that age, who was an early talker.

Is it a coincidence - maybe? But do I also know that working from home and trying to keep up with two kids in a pandemic was stifling us all - yes. For us, going back to daycare helped in many ways - but speech was definitely one of them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been working at home with my just 2 year old during the pandemic and his speech is fine. I actually have been holding off sending him back because, like mentioned above, I am concerned about how being cared for by adults in masks would affect his language. I'd consider a couple days a week because I am super burned out.

He is old enough that isn’t an issue. The concern is for one year olds - he can learn orally at this point. Send him to daycare / it will be better for him than a burnt out mom yelling “don’t touch my work computer!” ten times a day.

Wow, that's rude. I'm not yelling at my kid or ignoring him. I work a flex schedule so I do a lot of work on nights and weekends. The fact that I haven't sent my kid back is no judgment on people who have - I have an unusually accommodating employer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are working from home and keeping your toddler home from daycare, or are a SAHM but moms groups aren’t meeting- have you noticed any speech delays? We’re having problems and I’ve also seen more people posting about this topic. It could be a coincidence too. We obviously speak to our child but it’s not nonstop the way kids talk to each other all day in daycare.

Toddlers learn language from adults, not from other kids.

Speech delays are very common, they aren't more common during covid.

one of the first things an SLP will tell you is to make the kid use the words he has and not give him things when he points silently or grunts. Daycare is great for that because the kids kind of have to advocate for themselves from a young age. So, yes, daycare can help with language delays. My kids had a language leap each time they moved to an older class - if you expect more, they can rise to the occasion (in the absence of true language issues).

This isn’t a crazy thought.

+1 some people on this thread are threatened by the idea that daycare isn't a hell scape that damages children

Anonymous wrote:I've been working at home with my just 2 year old during the pandemic and his speech is fine. I actually have been holding off sending him back because, like mentioned above, I am concerned about how being cared for by adults in masks would affect his language. I'd consider a couple days a week because I am super burned out.

He is old enough that isn’t an issue. The concern is for one year olds - he can learn orally at this point. Send him to daycare / it will be better for him than a burnt out mom yelling “don’t touch my work computer!” ten times a day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are working from home and keeping your toddler home from daycare, or are a SAHM but moms groups aren’t meeting- have you noticed any speech delays? We’re having problems and I’ve also seen more people posting about this topic. It could be a coincidence too. We obviously speak to our child but it’s not nonstop the way kids talk to each other all day in daycare.

Toddlers learn language from adults, not from other kids.

Speech delays are very common, they aren't more common during covid.

one of the first things an SLP will tell you is to make the kid use the words he has and not give him things when he points silently or grunts. Daycare is great for that because the kids kind of have to advocate for themselves from a young age. So, yes, daycare can help with language delays. My kids had a language leap each time they moved to an older class - if you expect more, they can rise to the occasion (in the absence of true language issues).

This isn’t a crazy thought.

DD had 1 or or 2 words at 17 months when she started back at daycare after 5 months at home with DH and I WFH. She was assessed to have a speech delay by early intervention. She is 22 months now and talking up a storm, therapist says she no longer has delay. No idea if it is the speech therapy, daycare or her just her natural time for a speech explosion. Therapist did say kids often talk more when they are around other children.

Anonymous wrote:If you are working from home and keeping your toddler home from daycare, or are a SAHM but moms groups aren’t meeting- have you noticed any speech delays? We’re having problems and I’ve also seen more people posting about this topic. It could be a coincidence too. We obviously speak to our child but it’s not nonstop the way kids talk to each other all day in daycare.

That literally doesn't make sense. Toddlers are not learning language from each other. They learn language from adults and maybe from other kids, but only older ones who can actually talk. Look at toddlers playing with each other. They are almost never talking.

The only reason I can think dacyare would encourage speech is for a lazy kid who wants to fit in with the other chatterers. For example, the younger sibling who is content to have the older sibling "take care" of everything for them getting separated from said older sibling.

In terms of quality of speech, mom's will be miles better than the boogary daycare kids.

I've been working at home with my just 2 year old during the pandemic and his speech is fine. I actually have been holding off sending him back because, like mentioned above, I am concerned about how being cared for by adults in masks would affect his language. I'd consider a couple days a week because I am super burned out.