All parents stress about whether their child is developing at the right pace, and one of the most common questions parents wonder about is if their child is talking on time.
What Dr. John LaCount, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence office, wants parents to know, however, is that language isn’t just speech.
Here, he outlines some milestones you can use to track your child’s language development:
For speech
- Smiling or interacting by 3 months
- Babbling by 7 months
- Making sounds and gestures and saying at least one word by 12 months
- Putting two words together in 18 months
- Understanding what people are saying by 2 years
- Demonstrating an interest in early reading and writing skills by 2.5 to 3 years
- Paying attention to what other people, including playmates, are saying by 3 years
For sounds
- Making “p,” “b,” “m,” “h” and “w” sounds by 2 years
- Making “f,” “t,” “d,” “n” and “k” sounds by 3 years
“By ages 2 or 3, kids should be understandable to people outside of their family,” LaCount said.
Also, around ages 2 and 3, kids could begin to show signs of stuttering, he said.
For hearing
- Responding to sounds by 4 months
- Responding to his or her name within 12 months
- Responding to simple directions by 2 years
When it comes to language development, LaCount says it’s important to remember the importance of hearing screenings because if a child is unable to hear or is having trouble hearing, that will, of course, affect speech.
And parents shouldn’t assume that their child isn’t talking yet because he or she has an older sibling who talks all the time.
“The fact that your child has older siblings is not necessarily an excuse for these types of things,” LaCount said. “You can’t say he’s not having to talk because his brother or sister is always talking for him. Make sure he’s listening, concentrating, and expressing himself because if you need interventions for a communication disorder, the earlier the better.”
Also, LaCount said, bilingual children might be six months to a year behind in language skills development because they’re trying to assimilate two languages.
“If you have doubts about your child’s language, evaluation by a qualified speech/language therapist should occur sooner rather than later,” he said. “Early intervention has been shown to dramatically improve function and to diminish potential problems that may otherwise arise.”
