Talking to your child as he begins learning language skills and new vocabulary can be one of the most amazing experiences of your life as a parent or caregiver. Most children reach certain language milestones as they grow, allowing you to track his constant progress. However, all children grow at different rates, and speaking with your family doctor or pediatrician can ease your worries if you fear your child might have a developmental delay.
2 to 3 Years Old
By the time your child is 2 years old, or 24 months, she should know around 50 words, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Your child will begin to use descriptive words such as “big” and “happy,” and she will also begin to use plurals while speaking. Still, she may not speak in a particularly clear manner, so strangers and friends or some family members may not be able to understand her all the time.
3 to 4 Years Old
The language milestones your child will finally reach between his third and fourth years include the monumental task of understanding the ideas of similarity and difference. Health website Healthy Children says your child will also finally begin speaking in short sentences of three to five words and will comprehend basic grammar rules. Strangers and friends will finally understand him as he speaks more clearly at this age. He may even tell stories or recall events.
4 to 5 Years Old
Between 4 and 5 years of age, Healthy Children states that your child will be able to remember stories and tell them to you. Her sentences will grow even longer as she learns more complex grammar and sentence structures. She will be able to say her name and address. Your child, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, will begin to explain directions and describe how to do things such as painting or drawing a particular picture or shape.
Encouraging Development
Children’s health website Kids Health states that there are simple ways that you as a caregiver or parent can help further your child’s language development. Begin immediately by talking as often as possible to your infant, communicating to him through singing and gestures. Next, try to encourage him by reading age-appropriate books and materials to him. Finally, always reinforce your child’s language skills and development by talking with him all throughout the day. Tell him where you are going, what you are doing, why you are doing it and how it affects him. You may look crazy to those around you, but you are furthering his language skills.
Developmental Delays
Kids Health says that many parents and caregivers may ignore the warning signs that their child has a language developmental delay because she is developing so well in every other area. Knowing the warning signs can help you decide whether or not to speak to your physician. If your child is not developing language, she will have trouble gesturing and pointing to communicate. If she is not mimicking sounds by 18 months or she has trouble following simple directions, she may have a language delay. If, by two years of age, she still is not imitating speech, forming words or following directions, or has a raspy or nasal sounding voice, talk to your physician.
