When Should My Child Start Talking? Speech and Language Milestones Parents Should Know

One of the biggest questions parents have during the first few years of their child’s life is:

“Should my child be talking more by now?”

Maybe another child at daycare is already speaking in sentences while your child mostly points or gestures. Perhaps your child has plenty of words but is difficult for other people to understand. Or maybe your child seems to understand everything you say but doesn’t use many words themselves.

It can be difficult to know what’s simply normal variation and when it may be time to consider a Speech Therapy evaluation.

At BK Kids Pediatric Therapy in Joliet, IL, our Speech-Language Pathologists work with children at many different stages of communication development. Understanding general speech and language milestones can help parents recognize their child’s strengths and identify areas that may benefit from additional support.

Speech and Language Are Not the Same Thing

Parents often use the terms speech and language interchangeably, but they describe different skills.

Speech refers to how we produce sounds and words. This includes articulation, speech clarity, voice, fluency, and the motor movements involved in talking.

Language is how we understand and communicate ideas.

Language includes:

• Understanding words and directions
• Learning vocabulary
• Combining words into sentences
• Asking and answering questions
• Expressing wants and needs
• Describing experiences
• Telling stories
• Participating in conversations
• Using language socially

A child can have difficulty with speech, language, or both.

For example, a child might speak in long sentences but be difficult to understand because of speech sound errors.

Another child may pronounce individual words clearly but use very few words or have difficulty creating sentences.

Understanding the difference helps determine what type of support a child may need.

Communication Begins Before First Words

Speech and language development starts long before a baby says “mama” or “dada.”

Babies begin developing communication through interactions with the people around them.

Early communication skills include:

• Looking toward voices
• Making eye contact
• Smiling socially
• Babbling
• Imitating sounds
• Using different cries or sounds
• Responding to their name
• Reaching toward desired objects
• Using gestures
• Pointing
• Showing objects to caregivers
• Taking turns making sounds

These early interactions create the foundation for later language.

A baby who looks at a parent, makes a sound, and waits for the parent to respond is already learning something incredibly important:

Communication goes back and forth.

Speech and Language Around 12 Months

Around the first birthday, many children are beginning to communicate intentionally.

They may:

• Respond to their name
• Understand familiar words
• Follow simple directions with gestures
• Wave goodbye
• Point toward desired objects
• Use gestures to communicate
• Imitate sounds
• Babble using different sound combinations
• Begin saying a few meaningful words

Not every child will say the exact same number of words at 12 months.

What’s important is looking at the overall communication picture, including gestures, understanding, sounds, interaction, and attempts to communicate.

Speech and Language Around 18 Months

Between 12 and 18 months, vocabulary often begins expanding.

Children may start using words for:

• People
• Favorite foods
• Toys
• Animals
• Actions
• Familiar objects

They may also understand significantly more language than they can say.

Parents often notice their child can follow familiar directions such as:

“Bring me your shoes.”

“Give Daddy the ball.”

“Go get your cup.”

This difference between what children understand and what they can express is common during early language development.

However, children who use very few words, rarely attempt to communicate, or have difficulty understanding simple language may benefit from additional evaluation.

Speech and Language Around Age 2

The second year of life is often an exciting period for communication.

Many children begin combining words.

Instead of simply saying:

“Milk.”

They may begin saying:

“More milk.”

Instead of:

“Mommy.”

You may hear:

“Mommy come.”

Children around this age may begin:

• Combining two or more words
• Learning new words rapidly
• Naming familiar objects
• Asking simple questions
• Following familiar directions
• Identifying body parts
• Using words to request
• Using words to protest
• Commenting on what they see
• Participating in short back-and-forth interactions

Parents sometimes become concerned when their 2-year-old understands everything but uses very little spoken language.

Strong understanding is encouraging, but expressive language development is still important.

A Speech-Language Pathologist can help determine whether a child is developing within an expected range or may benefit from additional support.

Speech and Language Around Age 3

By age 3, conversations often become much more interesting!

Children are beginning to talk about things beyond what is directly in front of them.

They might tell you something that happened earlier in the day or explain what they’re pretending during play.

Language may include:

• Longer sentences
• Questions
• Descriptions
• Early storytelling
• Pronouns
• Plurals
• Action words
• Location words
• More detailed requests

Children also begin participating in longer back-and-forth conversations.

Speech should gradually become easier for familiar and unfamiliar listeners to understand, although some speech sound errors are still developmentally appropriate.

Speech and Language Around Ages 4–5

Preschool-aged children experience tremendous growth in language.

They may be able to:

• Speak in increasingly complex sentences
• Tell simple stories
• Describe events
• Answer a variety of questions
• Explain what happened during their day
• Follow multi-step directions
• Participate in longer conversations
• Use language during imaginative play
• Understand basic concepts
• Communicate with peers
• Ask many, many questions!

Language also becomes increasingly important for school readiness.

Children use language to understand teachers, follow classroom routines, learn new concepts, participate in groups, interact with classmates, and eventually support reading and writing development.

“My Child Understands Everything but Doesn’t Talk Much”

This is something Speech-Language Pathologists hear frequently.

A child may:

• Follow directions
• Point to requested objects
• Understand routines
• Recognize familiar people
• Know what others are talking about

…but still use relatively few spoken words.

This can suggest that receptive language—what the child understands—is developing differently from expressive language—what the child communicates.

Some children eventually catch up.

Others benefit significantly from early Speech Therapy.

Rather than relying solely on “wait and see,” an evaluation can provide more information about the child’s overall communication development.

What If My Child Talks a Lot but I Can’t Understand Them?

Vocabulary isn’t the only part of communication development.

Children also need to learn how to produce speech sounds accurately enough for other people to understand them.

Speech sound development happens gradually.

Young children commonly make errors while learning to talk.

However, parents may want to consider an evaluation when:

• Family members frequently have difficulty understanding the child
• Unfamiliar people understand very little
• The child becomes frustrated because others don’t understand them
• The child avoids talking
• Speech errors seem unusual or inconsistent
• The child leaves out many sounds
• Speech clarity isn’t improving over time

A Speech-Language Pathologist can evaluate how a child produces sounds and determine whether their speech patterns are developmentally appropriate.

What About Children Who Say Words Inconsistently?

Some parents notice that their child can say a word perfectly one day and struggle with it the next.

Other children may pronounce the same word differently each time they attempt it.

There are several possible reasons speech can be inconsistent.

Because speech requires rapid coordination between the brain, mouth, tongue, lips, jaw, breathing, and voice, an evaluation may be helpful when inconsistency is frequent or significantly affects how well others understand the child.

A Speech-Language Pathologist can look more closely at the child’s speech sound production, motor planning, language development, and overall communication skills.

Signs a Speech Evaluation May Be Helpful

Every child develops differently, and one isolated skill doesn’t necessarily indicate a delay.

Instead, parents should consider the overall pattern of development.

It may be worth discussing a Speech Therapy evaluation if your child:

• Uses fewer words than expected
• Is not beginning to combine words
• Rarely attempts to communicate
• Has difficulty understanding directions
• Becomes frustrated when trying to communicate
• Is difficult for others to understand
• Frequently leaves sounds out of words
• Uses speech inconsistently
• Has difficulty answering questions
• Struggles to tell you about their day
• Has trouble participating in conversations
• Has difficulty interacting with peers
• Has lost previously developed communication skills
• Relies heavily on adults anticipating their needs

Parents don’t need to know exactly what type of speech or language difficulty their child has before requesting an evaluation.

That’s what the evaluation helps determine.

What Happens During a Pediatric Speech Evaluation?

Parents sometimes hesitate to schedule an evaluation because they aren’t sure what to expect.

At BK Kids Pediatric Therapy, the goal is to understand how your child communicates in everyday life.

Depending on the child’s age and concerns, an evaluation may look at areas such as:

• Receptive language
• Expressive language
• Vocabulary
• Speech sound production
• Speech clarity
• Social communication
• Play skills
• Oral-motor abilities
• Fluency
• Voice
• Feeding skills when appropriate

For younger children, much of the evaluation may happen through play and interaction rather than sitting at a table answering questions.

The therapist will also want information from parents because you know your child’s communication better than anyone.

What Does Speech Therapy Look Like for Young Children?

Pediatric Speech Therapy shouldn’t feel like a child sitting through an adult conversation.

Children learn through play, movement, repetition, interaction, and experiences that motivate them.

A therapist might use:

• Bubbles
• Cars
• Animals
• Dolls
• Pretend food
• Books
• Puzzles
• Games
• Songs
• Movement activities
• Favorite toys

The toy itself isn’t the therapy.

The Speech-Language Pathologist is intentionally creating opportunities for the child to communicate, imitate, understand language, practice sounds, combine words, answer questions, or interact with another person.

To the child, they’re playing.

To the therapist, there may be dozens of carefully planned communication opportunities happening during that play.

Parents Are an Important Part of Speech Therapy

Speech Therapy doesn’t end when the child leaves the clinic.

Children communicate throughout their entire day, which means everyday routines provide countless opportunities for language development.

Parents may learn strategies such as:

• Modeling simple language
• Expanding what their child says
• Offering communication opportunities
• Waiting before anticipating a child’s needs
• Using choices
• Reading interactively
• Narrating play
• Repeating useful words naturally
• Following the child’s interests

The goal isn’t to turn parents into therapists.

It’s to give families practical strategies that can fit naturally into mealtime, bath time, getting dressed, playing, reading, and everyday routines.

Should I Wait and See?

Parents are often told:

“They’ll talk when they’re ready.”

And yes—children develop at different rates.

But parents also don’t need to wait until communication difficulties become severe before asking questions.

A Speech Therapy evaluation doesn’t automatically mean a child will need ongoing therapy.

Sometimes an evaluation provides reassurance.

Sometimes it identifies a specific area to monitor.

And sometimes it shows that early intervention could help a child develop communication skills more successfully.

If something about your child’s communication doesn’t feel right, asking for more information is reasonable.

Pediatric Speech Therapy in Joliet, IL

Communication gives children a way to connect with other people, express what they need, share ideas, ask questions, participate at school, make friends, and tell you about their world.

When communication is difficult, it can affect much more than talking.

At BK Kids Pediatric Therapy, our Speech-Language Pathologists provide individualized, play-based Speech Therapy designed to help children build meaningful communication skills while having fun and feeling successful.

Whether you’re wondering why your toddler isn’t talking yet, concerned about speech clarity, noticing difficulty understanding language, or simply aren’t sure whether your child’s communication is developing as expected, an evaluation can help provide answers.

BK Kids Pediatric Therapy is located in Joliet, Illinois, and serves families throughout Joliet, Plainfield, Shorewood, New Lenox, Lockport, Romeoville, Minooka, Channahon, Morris, Bolingbrook, Naperville, Oswego, Yorkville, Wilmington, and surrounding communities.

Contact BK Kids Pediatric Therapy to learn more about pediatric Speech Therapy or schedule a Speech-Language evaluation.