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How to Support Your Child's Language Development
One to Two Years of Age
What can you expect your child to do?
For most children, this second year is a period of rapid growth in language, both in spoken vocabulary and in the amount of language your child understands. Typically, the child:
Points to objects, pictures or family members.
Tries to imitate simple words.
Says 2-3 words to label a person or object.
Begins to use a greater variety of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
Adds new words to his or her vocabulary weekly and may surprise you often with words you didn't realize the child knew, especially around 18-24 months.
Can follow simple commands ("Roll the ball." or "Get your truck.") and will participate more actively in games and songs.
Makes simple two-word requests or questions ("more milk," "what's that?") and may begin to combine longer groups of words ("I want juice." or "There's the cat.").
May be difficult for a stranger to understand, even though you may understand the child.
Understands at least 50 words and says at least 40 different words by 24 months of age.
What can you do to encourage language development?
Here are some activities that family members can do with your toddler to have fun and encourage him or her in the area of language and communication. Many of these are extensions of the games you played and activities you engaged in with your baby at younger ages, but the vocabulary, the sentences, and the complexity of what you are doing and what your toddler is doing in response are growing.
Talk about the things you do, and the things around you, by pointing out and naming familiar objects during walks, visits to the store, and outings to other places where you take your child.
Play with sounds, using animal sounds and toy sounds like trucks and trains make, and try to get your child to make a variety of consonant sounds.
Sing songs with your child, especially those that have gestures with them.
When you child says single words, expand them into short sentences. For instance, when you child says "doggie," you can say, "Yes, that's a dog. That's a black dog."
Read simple storybooks to your child, pointing at pictures and naming items, talking about what is happening in the pictures, and having your child point to pictures that you name. Let the child help you turn the pages and hold the book.
When should you worry?
A lot is happening during this second year of life. Your child is better able to move around on his or her own and explore the world, and may have lots to tell you. If your child does not seem to understand simple commands, use words and word combinations to make his or her wants known, or is not using a few new words each week, you should consult your doctor, nurse, or a speech-language pathologist.
For a checklist of activities you can use to determine whether your child is developing on schedule, see Additional Resources.
How to Support Your Child's Language Development
During the First Year of Life
» From One to Two Years of Age
From Two to Three Years of Age
From Three to Four Years of Age
From Four to Five Years of Age
Bilingual Language Development
Additional Resources
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