07811 955 623 elizabeth@speakingandlistening.co.uk HCPC & RCSLT registered · 20+ years' experience
Speaking & Listening, Speech and Language Therapy, Reading

Speech and Language Milestones

A plain‑English guide to how children usually develop speech and language, and what to do if something doesn’t feel quite right.

Ages & stages

What children are typically doing

Each stage lists what many children are doing by that age, alongside the things that more commonly prompt parents to seek advice.

By 12 months

Often doing by now

  • Turns towards you when you speak, and responds to their own name
  • Babbles strings of sounds such as "bababa" and "dadada"
  • Uses gestures such as pointing, reaching or waving
  • Enjoys games like peek‑a‑boo and copying sounds
  • May be using one or two recognisable words

Worth a conversation if

  • Not babbling at all
  • Not responding to familiar voices or everyday sounds
  • Not using any gestures such as pointing or waving

By 18 months

Often doing by now

  • Understands far more than they can say
  • Follows simple instructions in context, such as "where’s your cup?"
  • Uses around 20 or more single words, even if unclear
  • Points at things to show you, not only to ask for them
  • Copies words and actions during play

Worth a conversation if

  • Not using any recognisable words
  • Not understanding simple familiar instructions
  • Little interest in interacting or sharing attention with you

By 2 years

Often doing by now

  • Uses roughly 50 words or more
  • Starts to put two words together, such as "more juice" or "daddy gone"
  • Follows simple instructions without gestures to help
  • Points to familiar things in a picture book when asked
  • Speech is often unclear, which is completely normal at this stage

Worth a conversation if

  • Fewer than around 50 words, or no two‑word combinations emerging
  • Not following simple instructions
  • Seems frustrated often when trying to make themselves understood

By 3 years

Often doing by now

  • Uses short sentences of three or four words
  • Asks lots of questions, such as "what’s that?", "where going?"
  • Familiar adults understand most of what they say
  • Understands simple concepts such as big/little and in/on
  • Enjoys pretend play and simple stories

Worth a conversation if

  • Still mainly using single words
  • Familiar adults struggle to understand much of their speech
  • Difficulty following instructions with more than one part

By 4 years

Often doing by now

  • Uses longer sentences and joins ideas with "and", "because"
  • People outside the family can usually understand them
  • Can tell you about something that happened earlier
  • Understands and asks "why" and "how" questions
  • Takes turns in conversation and in play with other children

Worth a conversation if

  • People outside the family often can’t understand them
  • Sentences remain very short or words are frequently left out
  • Finding it hard to join in or play alongside other children

By 5 years and beyond

Often doing by now

  • Speech is clear and easily understood by everyone
  • Tells a longer story that makes sense in order
  • Uses grammar much like an adult, with occasional slips
  • Listens and responds appropriately in a group
  • Some later sounds, such as "r", "th" and "l", may still be developing

Worth a conversation if

  • Speech is still difficult for unfamiliar listeners to understand
  • Struggling to follow instructions in the classroom
  • Difficulty finding words, or with reading and spelling as school starts

A single item on a "worth a conversation" list is rarely significant on its own. It is the overall picture, and your own instinct as the person who knows your child best, that matters most.

Worth acting on sooner

When to speak to a GP or health visitor promptly

A small number of things are worth raising without waiting to see whether they settle. Please contact your GP or health visitor if:

  • Your child loses skills they previously had (words, babble, gestures or eye contact) at any age
  • You have any concern about your child's hearing, or they have had frequent ear infections or glue ear
  • Your child rarely responds to sound, or to their own name
  • Your child is having difficulty with eating, drinking or swallowing, or frequently coughs or chokes during meals
  • Your child seems to be losing interest in interacting with the people around them

These are not necessarily signs of anything serious, but they are worth checking properly rather than watching and waiting.

Things that help every child

None of this requires special resources or a diagnosis. It is simply what supports language in any child, whether or not they need therapy.

  • Get down to their level and follow what they're interested in, rather than redirecting them
  • Leave gaps. Pause and wait. Children often need far longer to respond than we instinctively allow
  • Comment more than you question. "You're building a tall tower" teaches more than "what colour is that?"
  • Repeat back correctly instead of correcting. If they say "him runned", reply "yes, he ran!"
  • Add a word. If they say "car", you say "big car", just one step beyond where they are
  • Share books daily, and don't feel you have to read the words as written, as talking about the pictures counts
  • Reduce background noise. Television and radio make listening much harder than we realise

A note on "wait and see"

You may be told your child will probably grow out of it. Often that turns out to be true.

But "wait and see" works best when it's an active decision, where someone has looked properly, hearing has been checked, and there's a point at which you’ll review it, rather than simply a long silence.

If you're told to wait, it's entirely reasonable to ask: what should I expect to see by then, and who do I come back to if I don't?

If you'd like to talk it through

If something on this page rings true, or you simply have a feeling that something isn't quite right, I'm happy to talk it over. A short, informal conversation is free and there is no obligation. It will help us work out together whether an assessment would be useful, and it often ends with me saying there's nothing to worry about, which is a perfectly good outcome.

Get in touch

Still not sure?

If you’ve read through this and something is still nagging at you, a short conversation costs nothing and may well put your mind at rest.

Call 07811 955 623 Send an email