Speech and language milestones
Is my child developing communication skills on time? This is such an important question, and one that all parents should keep in their mind as they enjoy watching their babies start to grow. Here are some rules of thumb to check for:
By 3 months: babies should start to use lots of vowel sounds (cooing) and pay attention (at least sometimes) when people talk to them. They will be able to take conversational turns by cooing and vocalizing when a familiar person talks to them in an engaging way, pausing to let them take a turn.
By 6 months: babies should start to add some consonant sounds in with the vowel sounds, and engage in lots of varied vocal play. Their voice is one of their best toys at this age, and they should be experimenting with it all the time! They also usually respond to facial expressions and will giggle or laugh (baby laughs might be the best sound in the world)!
By 9 months: babies can look at you when you say their name, and will be babbling with repeated syllables using consonants and vowels (“babababababa, dadadadadada”).
By 12 months: babies will be starting to use a variety of hand gestures, such as waving bye bye or some simple baby signs (I recommend starting with “more” or “all done” because those are two words that are extremely functional for little ones and can help them communicate with a word instead of crying to make their point). They will be able to point to an object to draw your attention to it, and “show” you an item they want you to look at in their hand. Most babies are using at least a few single words by this age (common first words might be Mama, Dada, hi, bye), and should respond to some familiar simple phrases (“Time to go!” “Where is Mama?”).
By 24 months: children are able to use and understand at least 50 different words, and are starting to put two or more words together. Words might not be very clear (du for “shoe,” for example). They can follow 2 step directions.
By 36 months: children use lots of phrases and sentences to communicate (“I want juice!”). Their language should be somewhat more complex (using -ing verbs, or past tense -ed verbs like “running” or “jumped”). Their speech should be mostly clear to familiar listeners but may still be hard to understand for unfamiliar listeners. They should minimally be able to use /p, b, m, h, w, d, n/ in words, and may have many more sounds than this.
By 48 months: children's language should be growing in complexity. They should be using and understanding location words, like “inside,” “on,” and “under.” Unfamiliar listeners should be able to understand most of what they say. They should be using all of the syllables in frequently used words. They should be using /g, k, f, t, ng, y/.
By 5 years: children should be using fairly adult-like grammar most of the time. They can use irregular verbs and plurals, like “ran,” “flew,” “feet,” or “men.” They can follow directions and rules to play games. They are developing early literacy skills like reading their own names. They can produce most consonants correctly (some kids are still missing /r/ or /th/), and their speech should be understandable (they should be using /v, j, s, ch, sh, l, z/).
By 6 years: children should be using /r, zh/ and voiced /th/ (“that”).
By 7 years: children should be using voiceless /th/ (“thirty”).
If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to a speech therapist! You can set up a free, brief consultation that will often alleviate your concerns. And if your child’s communication progress warrants investigation, a therapist can guide you through the best next steps.
For more details and suggested activities to support your child’s development, here are some excellent resources:
