Q: I have one kid who is only 1.8 years old. He is not able to speak properly at this age. Our neighbrour"s baby who is 3 months younger than my son speaks all the words. I have shown him to a doctor who said that the tongue is not completely free, and it is attached by thin membrane which is slightly towards the tip of the tongue which needs to cut to make the tongue free. What is your suggestion and what will happen if we dont go for surgery?

A:There is no cause for concern. Your child will speak normally. There is no point comparing with other children. There is a great variation in when children start speaking. The membrane below the tongue is never a cause of speech delay. It may only result in poor quality of some consonants. That too if it is very tight. There is no need of getting any surgery at this time. Surgery may be required if the tongue appears cleft at the tip when protruded. The operation must be done properly and not simply cutting the membrane.