Today’s Parent Tip of the Week is brought to
you by Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center
The following timeline can be used to determine whether your child’s speech is developing at the desired rate. Here’s what to look for at various ages:
Birth to 6 Months
- Responds to sounds (startles, turns head)
- Quiets to familiar voices
- By 6 months, responds to name being called
- Vocalizes when talked to
- Begins to coo
7-12 Months
- Stops what he or she is doing when name is called
- Responds to simple commands or requests such as “come here” or “stop that”
- Demonstrates facial expressions and smiles
- Begins to babble
- Gestures by reaching and pointing with vocalization
- Waves bye-bye, gives five, seeks attention from others and plays turn-taking games such as peekaboo
- Imitates sounds such as: animals (woof, moo) and cars (beep)
12-24 Months
- Understands at least 300 words and follows simple directions such as “get diaper” or “throw ball”
- Points to body parts when named
- First words emerge around 12 months with a minimum of 50-100 words by age 2
- Common first words include names (mama, dada), objects (nana = banana), verbs (go, up, eat), yes/no, and please
- Listeners understand 65% of what your child is saying by age 2
2-3 Years
- Follows a two-step direction such as, “Put on your shoes and get your coat”
- Answers what and where questions
- Listens to a 5-10 minute story
- Vocabulary expands to approximately 900-1,000 words between age 2 and 3
- Begins to combine words such as “eat cookie,” “more juice,” or “my ball”
- Continues to expand to 3-4 words by age 3 such as “me eat cookie now”
- Names a few objects by function
- Listeners understand approximately 80% of what your child is saying by age 3
3-5 Years
- Follows three-step directions by age 5.
- Understands concepts of quantity (more/less), quality (big/little), and spatial terms (top, bottom, above, below)
- Asks and answers questions (what, where, who, why)
- Vocabulary increases to approximately 1,900 words by 4-1/2; 2,200 by age 5
- Uses 4-7 word sentences
- Asks meaning of words
- Tells long stories
- Listeners understand almost all of what your child is saying
- Child shows an interest in books and remembers information from book
- Recognizes sounds and letters in name
— By Hannah Ross Hange, speech-language pathologist at Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center
