Even when you’re not sure what your 2-year-old is saying, do you nod along and do your best? That’s a great way to help her learn language skills, and you’ll be surprised at the words and thoughts she’s expressing. Among the gibberish, you’ll hear simple phrases and short sentences, which, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), are the beginning stages of your child’s language development milestones.
Read our guide to developmental milestones for kids.
Here are the language milestones your little one will reach before her third birthday:
What language development milestones do 2-year-olds reach?
By the time she turns 3, your child will be able to participate in short conversations with you and other familiar adults. She will use two to three sentences at a time, and will learn the names of familiar objects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, she will learn to speak clearly enough for strangers to understand most of what she says, and she’ll be able to say her name and age when she meets new friends.
Of course, there are times when she’s not interested in making friends — after all, it’s called “terrible twos” for a reason. In part, your child is showing signs of defiance or independence. This behavior, while sometimes frustrating, means that your child has reached an important milestone: using pronouns and plurals. This is why you’ll feel bombarded with “my” and “I” statements such as “my toys,” “I like,” “I want my ball” and so on. Though her demands may seem never ending, she’s learning to incorporate some basic rules of grammar into her speech.
Your child also has a few hundred words in her vocabulary, according to the University of Miami, and it’s growing every week. However, that number may seem to vary depending on how many languages your child regularly hears. Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, an American Psychological Association fellow and director of the Temple University Infant Language Laboratory, notes that multilingual children know as many words as expected of their age but, “the difference is that a multilingual child may distribute, say, 300 words at 2-years-old between multiple languages.” If your tot is learning more than one language at a time, it will take a bit more time for her to expand her vocabulary equally in both languages.
What can you do to encourage your little chatterbox?
The best way to help your little one conquer language development milestones is to lead by example. That means talking to her — a lot. “Enrich the child’s language exposure,” says Dr. Carlos Lerner, a pediatrician and clinical assistant professor at UCLA. You can do this in many ways, “such as reading aloud to the child, encouraging language use and narrating daily activities.” Dr. Hirsh-Pasek agrees, emphasizing that playtime is a key social context when your tot is working on language skills. So make language development a game: challenge your child by pointing to objects, animals or body parts and asking her to name them. You can do this when you’re at the store, taking a walk or reading a book together. Games like this also help to keep your child’s short attention span focused on the learning task at hand.
There are times when your child may not be speaking as much as other children — and that’s okay. Not all children will develop in the same way, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything to worry about. According to Dr. Lerner, “Most children with isolated expressive language delay have normal cognitive development.” However, if you child is not making eye contact, avoiding social situations, stuttering for an extended period of time or not answering questions, it may be time to consult your pediatrician.
Susana Marcelo is a professor, writer and mother of two multilingual children. Follow her on Twitter snamarcelo.
* This article is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be providing medical advice and is not a substitute for such advice. The reader should always consult a health care provider concerning any medical condition or treatment plan. Neither Care.com nor the author assumes any responsibility or liability with respect to use of any information contained herein.
