Thanks everyone for the encouragement.  I was feeling a bit unsure as it would seem his peers are talking well (or so their parents tell me) and yet he just sooks and whines whenever he wants something.  He will sometimes imitate singing though - "doo..doo..doo" he says while bobbing up and down.

He is actually ahead!! 

My 15 month old says  "more" and "mum" = both referring to breastmilk.

He only really understands " do you want some milk"(will look an my breasts, sometimes say mum or more)  and "do you want some food" (will go to kitchen).

Any my oldest son knew even less at this stage.  His speech was slightly delayed and I was silly to spend so much time worrying about it - because he is now 3 and he NEVER stops talking!!!  They all develop at their own rate.  you will look back and laugh when you read this in a year or two.

Good luck!

Your little man sounds right on track to me!!! In fact, with his understanding of things, I'd say that he's quite advanced for his age. My son is also almost 15 months old and would be about the same. My son probably says more, but your son understands more, so that's why I say they are the same because it all evens out.  My son has only been walking for just over a week too, but I believe that's because he's more advanced at other developmental skills.

Well done for knowing what your son understands. You must do a lot of talking and interacting with your child.  He's doing great!!!

Tanya

He says more than my DD2 did at that age (she had three words - daddy, oh-no & uh-oh - until 21 months) but now she is going great. In fact by her two year check with the nurses she was right on track again. Before long you'll be wishing he spoke a little less LOL!

Ahhhh ... I enjoyed reading this cause it brought back such wonderful memories!  Aren't kiddies great?!?  Sounds like he and you are both doing great!  Have fun!

He he, love the door comment because my 15mth girl is all about closing doors, if we leave them open she tells us 'door boom'!!  There are many boys the same age that I know of that can't say or understand that much, sounds like he's doing well! I bet he loves his books, keep doing what you're doing!

Definitely on track to me - even ahead of most his age I'd say. My son turns 2 in less than a month and barely understands even half of what you listed and still doesn't say mum!! So you have nothing to worry about. Just keep doing what you're doing. Sounds like you're doing a great job and interacting with him really well. I've just started the heads and shoulders game with my son so now when I say eyes and ears, mouth and nose he points to each one. But he's only been doing that for a week now and his other words are: dad, dog, taz (thats our dogs name), hot and nan. So as you can see a small useage of words but he does understand the basics as well such as drink, minky (thats his teddy), bye-bye, nigh-nigh, poo-poo and pop-pops (for farts lol)!! Hope this helps :o)

Love Samantha xox

My son isn't that old yet but here is one response that I found on the net

"By 15 months, the majority (about 75 percent) of children have a vocabulary that consists of "Mama" and "Dada" plus at least three other words, usually nouns, such as "cookie," "ball," and "dog." "More," and of course the all-time toddler favorite, "No!" are also common early words. A typical 15-month-old can also follow simple commands, such as "Bring me your shoes," or "Put the book down." She also understands the meanings of phrases such as "No," "Come here," "Show me," and "Look."

Here is the website

http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-15-month-olds-language-and-cognitive-development-speaki_1213394.bc

By the sounds of reading that, he is a clever boy and I smiled while reading it the whole way through because he is so lucky to have a mum who enjoys talking to him and playing games. YOU ARE A GREAT MUM!!!