Kids Awareness Series

A common question asked of parents when their children are little is, “when should my child by speaking where I can understand him?” Parents are often concerned when their child does not seem to be at the same developmental level as other children and are unsure of what they should be able to do at what age. Here are some hard and fast rules that can be used as a guide for a child’s speech/language development. As always, if you believe your child’s development is delayed or you have a concern, consult your child’s pediatrician. A referral may be needed for speech/language therapy to help with development.

At the age of 12 months a child can normally:
Make cooing sounds
Respond to the word “no” and mimic your sounds
Say 10-50 words
Follow simple commands such as “show me” or “give me”

At the age of 24 months a child normally can:
Say 50-300 words
Identify parts of their body
Follow 1-2 step commands
Say a 3-word sentence
Follow commands that include prepositions

At the age of 36 months a child can usually:
Say 300-500 words
Use pronouns and prepositions
Understand negatives
Understand prepositions, adjectives, and pronouns
Answer questions logically when a parent asks them

At the age of 48 months a child can usually:
Speak in multiple sentences with each sentence clearly connected and in order

If their is concern that your child is delayed in their language development, then speech/language therapy may be needed in order to help with expressive and receptive language or articulation difficulties.