Important communication, speech and language milestones for young children
Children learn an incredible amount of words in the first three years of life, so much more than we could learn as adults in such a small amount of time!
Here are some important milestones.
Communication Milestones
- Smiles around 4-6 weeks of age.
- Listens and looks towards voices around 4 months
- Pays attention to parents and reaches to be picked up around 6-7 months
- Making sounds, noises and waving around 8-9 months
- Point to objects around 11 months
- Shakes head “no” around 13 months.
Speech Milestones
- Makes vowel-like sounds (e.g., “oooo” “eeee”) between 4-6 months
- Makes single sounds (e.g., “ba” or “ga) by five months
- Repeats single sounds (e.g.,’bababa’) between 7-9 months
- Babbles (e.g., ‘bagabaga’) around 10-12 months
- Uses words such as ‘mumma’, ‘dada’, ‘yes’ and ‘no’ around 12-14 months
Language Milestones
- First word used around 12 months.
- Uses about 20 words near 18-20 months.
- Uses 50 words and use two-word phrases (e.g., “that drink,” “more milk”) by 2-years-old.
Each child is unique and develops at different rates; these milestones are a basic guide.
If your child has not reached many of these milestones by two years old, please contact a speech and language pathologist.