My partner has a 2 year old son. He just turrned 2 last week but he only babbles and says a word or two. I'm concerned he might have a speech problem, but I don't want to open my mouth and stick my 2 cents. How much should a child this age be talking? He is also so active, we went to a wedding and the boy wouldn't sit still for a second. I have a 4 year old and I remember he was bad but not THAT bad. I can't really say anything without him taking it as bad criticism and I feel like it's really not my place. Maybe I'm just worrying or over reacting! :confused:

Really you know if you are that concerned, you should bring it up. This is the age for speech therapy to be most effective, so you need to seek help now if there really is a problem.

You need to bring it up right away. A two year old should be able to form 2-3 word sentences (at 24 months) and have a vocabulary of 50 words. At least. A lot of states cut you off from early intervention at 3, so you should get him seen at once.

Ok so I tried to speak up but it seems that since it was MY suggestion the little one's mom refused. It's sad really. I think she believes she knows what is best for her son. But it seems like he might just take the initiative and take the little one himself.

We're just going through this too. My son is 2 and a half. He's only now putting sentences together. The speech therapist I had for my older daughter gave me a quick guideline.
They need 18 words by about 2. They try to imitate what you say, even if it isn't totally clear. They understand what you say. By 2 and a half, they need about 50 words. My son has hit each of these, but barely. I am not worrying too much until 3 though. His dad waited until 3 to speak properly, and there is nothing the therapist can do right now that I'm not already doing.
Either way, good luck. Maybe try getting his dad on board with you. It may give more standing to the mom.

Thank you all. It looks like they are going to go with the speech therapy after all. The little one doesn't really try to repeat what we say. The only words he knows are dada and more, these two words he can say clearly but that's about it. I'll see how it all turns out.

I have seen some kids that just don't talk until they are older even though it is quite rare. I am happy to see that the therapy is a good idea and the Daddy is willing.

When all else fails involving the grandparents can usually help. Or whomever the most logical person with some authority in their life is. Thats how we got help for my nieces. We appealed to their dad and he got them tested when he had them over the summer for a month.

I really hope his mom comes around soon because it's in the best interest of her son. My two year old tries to repeat almost everything I say. He also sings :) along with his bedtime songs, whether I am singing or they are being played on CD.