As a parent you may feel pressured to make your child TALK as soon as possible. I know as a speech-language pathologist I feel this pressure all day. However, I try to remind myself and every parent I work with- we do have to be sensitive to where each child is in development and whether he/she is even ready to verbalize. So many earlier skills (cognitive, play, social) are ought to emerge before words can begin to come out. Focus on communicative gestures, facial expressions, and movement games to take the pressure off saying things!