What is the crowd's opinion of Baby First Words & Sounds Free?

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You should be able to use Zendey Flashcards already... it's available for download. I update it and add new words and categories once in a while when I have time but it works great as is and I credit it with my baby's vast vocabulary (she's now a toddler who speaks complete sentences and is somewhat multilingual). I suggest starting with the First Words app which starts off with the first 25 words that experts say a child should know by the age of 2.

Thanks for the honest feedback on BlastPad. Is it the background photo that's not nice or is it 'cause the landing page is bare? (Like, would it be better if I switched out that photo with something else?) This is something I just threw together quickly because I am concentrating on coding the back-end at the moment and a long way away from launching still.

As other people have said, make sure you bring it up with the pediatrician to rule out any medical issues and also get an evaluation from early intervention.

Having said that, there is a wide range of normal. I have heard of stories of kids older than yours who don't say a word then start speaking in complete sentences when they do start speaking. Or some kids are developing other skills like walking at the expense of speaking. There is also a chance she is saying the words but incorrectly so it's hard to understand.

Here are some of my suggestions to encourage her to speak:

• Baby sign language. If you are not already doing baby signs, start now! You don't need a lot, just maybe 5-10 words like "eat", "drink", "more", pick me up, her favorite food, her favorite toy, etc. You can look up baby signs online or you can even make up your own signs (just make sure you use the same sign consistently). When you do the baby sign, do the sign while saying the word at the same time. For example, "Do you want to eat (do the sign on the word 'eat')?" I like to repeat the sign word a couple of times for emphasis. Make sure you are facing her so she can see the sign clearly and so she can see your mouth while you are forming the word. You can also physically take her hands and make her do the sign. For a sign word like "eat", you can do the sign every single time she eats. It takes a lot of repetition (like hundreds or thousands) so keep doing it even if it doesn't seem like you can see progress.

• How is she communicating with you right now when she wants something?
  Whenever she wants something (for example, if she wants some milk), make sure you say the word "milk" (repeat a couple of times for good measure). Take her hands and make her do the sign "milk" before giving the milk. Soon, she will learn that if she communicates properly, she will get what she wants faster. Once she is doing the sign herself, you can start prompting her to say the word (in the beginning, if she even grunts or attempts to say the word or says, 'mmm...', you can count that).

• Cut down on TV.
  There is some research that suggests that TV hampers speech so try cutting down on TV or cutting it out completely (even TV in the background). If you are speaking to her with TV in the background, she can't separate your words and the words from the TV.

• Flashcards.
  Buy some physical flashcards and let her play with it (don't worry if it gets messy when she throws it around). The good thing with flashcards is that there is only one word per flashcard so the idea is very clear.
  If she likes apps, there are also flashcard apps available. Most of them have audio available but for best results, mute the audio and read the flashcard to her yourself because kids learn better from real people. Again, it's best if you can face her so she can see your mouth, say the word slowly and enunciate. I like to pause after each word so the child has a chance to internalize the word and possibly repeat it. You can also reinforce the baby signs. This flashcard app focuses on the first 25 words a child should learn by the age of 2.
  First Words and Sounds (Disclaimer: I am the creator of this app.)

• Books. What kind of books are you reading to her? How many books does she have?
  We have our child's books on a low shelf (with her toys) easily accessible to her so she can get them herself and play with them. Get board books if you are worried about them getting roughed up but try not to stress if the kid plays roughly with them. (Our child's first books all have teeth and bite marks, broken spines and lots of tape). There are books that are more interactive that have flaps, pop-ups, textures, holes, etc. that might be more interesting to your child. My kid's favorite book (up to now, she's two) is a nursery rhyme book with around 200+ rhymes so I highly recommend getting a nursery rhyme book. If your kid won't sit for it, you can memorize some rhymes and just recite/sing it to her. You probably already know a couple by heart. The best ones are the ones that have fingerplays (like Itsy Bitsy Spider) or actions (like Ring around the Rosie). When my kid was younger, I would sit her on my lap facing me (with my knees up to support her back) and hold her hands so we can do the actions together. If there was no action, sometimes I would just wave her hands for emphasis or bounce her to the rhythm of the words.

• Syllables. I recite the alphabet to my kid but I also recite it by syllable like this, that way, she gets to hear the different sound combinations.

> a e i o u

> ba be bi bo bu

> ca ce ci co cu

> da de di do du

> fa fe fi fo fu

> ...

> etc... all the way to...

> ...

> za ze zi zo zu

• Narrate everything. Everything that you are doing, just narrate it in excruciating detail. For example, if you are changing her clothes, you can go, "Okay, we are changing your clothes now. We are taking this onesie off, put your arm through, put this other arm through, put your head through. Now we are putting this onesie on. This is an orange onesie with brown owls. Hoo hoo! Put it on your head... etc." Do this for everything that you do, like when you're playing, doing chores or eating.