What to Expect
Speech & Language Development
2-3 YEARS
BETWEEN AGES 2-3, THESE SKILLS ARE EXPECTED:
- Can identify objects when told how object is used
- Understands ‘what’ and ‘where’ questions
- Understands negatives (no, not, don’t, can’t…)
- Can follow 2-step directions
- Can identify objects when told how object is used
- At age 2, speech should be understood 50% of time
- At age 3, parents should understand 100% of child’s speech
- Others should understand roughly 75%
- Vocabulary should grow to 200 words by age 3
- Consistently using 2-word phrases and beginning to use 3-word phrases
- May show frustration when not understood
- Asks for/directs attention to objects by naming them
- May stutter on words or sounds
- Talk to your child using clear, simple speech
- Expand on your child's vocabulary
- Introduce new words while reading books
- Talk about colors (“your shoes are blue, just like the sky”
- Practice counting. Count toes/fingers. Count steps as you go down them
- Name/describe pictures while looking at books.
- State synonyms for familiar words (e.g., mommy, woman, lady, grown-up, adult)
- use new vocabulary in sentences to help your child learn it in context
- Look at family photos and name the people
- Use simple phrases/sentences to describe what is happening in the pictures (“the dog is chasing the cat.”)
- Ask your child questions that require a choice, rather than simply a "yes" or "no" answer
- Sing songs, play finger games ("Where is Thumbkin?"), and tell nursery rhymes ("Hickory Dickory Dock")
What Can I do to help my child?