Can a 16 month old have a "conversation?"

[Beatlesfan]

My mum reckons my sister and I could at that age...she keeps asking if Imogen is "talking yet" - I always say she has been "talking" for ages as she babbled from a few months old and since she was 10 months old could say a few words consistently pronounced the same (although sounded slightly different from the actual word) and in context. She now says about 10-12 words mostly naming things although her pronunciation is not clear, but I know what she is saying.

I am a nursery nurse, teacher and now an advisory teacher for children with special educational needs, so consider myself to be pretty clued up on child development and have never come across a child who can have a "conversation" at this age. when I ask her what she means by conversation, she just says, you know a conversation... talking properly.

Has she just forgotten what age we were when we could converse and made one up do you think?

Or do you think it could be true? Do you think she just means coherent speech?

If we could converse god knows what we sounded like as my parents, esp. my mum, are sooooooo Cockney! Oh why was Youtube not around in the 70s???? I would have loved to see that!

Or are there 16 month old babies who can converse and if so, what do they say??? !!!!! Please share! Might have to look in Guiness book of records for "advanced talking baby" - who knows maybe my sister and I are in there!!

 

[Squiglet]

My mum said I could have proper conversations at 18 months. I would have said she was lying based on my experience with my eldest, but I have "conversations" with lil miss now. Not proper ones though, but I pretend I understand what she is saying and have a "proper" conversation back with her Saying that shes very good with talking so it may be possible for them to have conversations at 16 months.

My friends lil girl was very advanced at 18 months and you could have conversations with her too.. Not indepth ones mind...

But at 16 months, I've never seen it personally.

 

[Xena]

Not sure about 16 months I can't remember, but Lydia certainly was having conversations at 18 months. Proper ones with words I mean, she would say 2-3 word sentences "daddy ride", "Lydia fallen down" that sort of thing

Alex is 17 months and absolutely nowhere near having a proper conversation.

I'm sure it depends on the child

 

[maria1976]

hmm not sure, I know Ruby has picked up saying "oh dear" with her hands in the air lol, and we certainly have our conversations that only we understand IYKWIM x