Language Development Milestones

“Kids develop differently.” The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says you should avoid comparing your child’s abilities with those of his peers; some children are just naturally more talkative than others. Don’t be discouraged if your child doesn’t acquire the skills right away. Use these milestones as a guide. “Give or take a few months is not all that bad.”

At Age One

• Like going through books and looking at pictures
• Likes being read to
• Knows how to follow simple directions
• Points to objects, pictures, body parts, and family members when asked
• Says two or three words (even if not clearly said)
• Tries to copy words heard and makes different sounds from words
• May start to combine words
• May start to use pronoun “mine”

At Ages Two To Three

• Knows more words
• Answers simple questions
• Speaks in two to three word phrases
• Learns how to use plurals, like “shoes”
• Uses questions to ask for something
• Knows descriptive words

At Ages Three To Four

• Identifies colors and shapes
• Speaks more clearly
• Able to describe everyday objects
• Has fun with language, especially books with rhymes, etc.
• Able to verbally express own feelings more and more
• Repeats sentences

At Ages Four To Five

• Understands spatial concepts, like “here” or “there”
• Understands more complex questions
• Speech is understandable, but still has a difficult time pronouncing longer words
• Says about 200 to 300 words
• Describes how to do things and how things are done, and what he is doing
• Defines words
• Answers “why” questions

At Age Five

• Understands more than 2000 words
• Understands time sequence and story sequence
• Carries out a series of three directions
• Uses more complex / longer sentences
• Uses imagination to create own stories