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All children develop at their own paces and that pace also depends on the activity. Some children will progress rapidly in physical skills while lagging behind on verbal skills. Still others will excel at verbal skills and lag behind on the physical. No matter which of these or any other category that your child may fall under, there is a basic timeline for the language development in young children.
Around 6 months, your child will begin to show signs of verbal development. They begin to vocalize specific sounds and repeat those sounds. They will also begin to respond to language around them. He or she will turn his or her head when their name is called. They will also react to different tones of voice, getting upset when the tone is angry and excited when the tone is cheerful. These are all signs that your child is getting ready to communicate.
At 12 months, your child will begin to use real words. This will start with just a word or two and will eventually progress to more and more words each day. Children this age are also beginning to be able to follow simple directions such as bring me the ball. They will not remember anything beyond one instruction, so break down complex instructions one piece at a time. They also will begin to use tone of voice for their own speech and begin to use their babble more as a source of a communication rather than simply to hear their own voice.
By 18 months, a child’s vocabulary should be somewhere between 5 and 20 words. These words can be just about anything, but are more likely to be nouns. Children this age will generally speak with plenty of emotion and will often repeat the same thing over and over again.
A 2 year old child will have a much more extensive vocabulary of between 150 and 300 words. They are also adding new words on an almost daily basis. They also begin to combine words to make small 2 to 3 word sentences. Their verbal skills are also becoming clearer. You should be able to understand approximately 2/3 of the things that they say. They will begin to speak using pronouns such as I or me even though they may not always use them in the proper context. They also will not have the proper tones and inflections completely correct yet either, but that will come with time.
Pronouns will become correctly used by the time the child is 3 years old. They will also begin to use prepositions and past tense correctly. Your child will now have mastered anywhere from 900 to 1000 words and be understood at least 90% of the time. At this age, a child will also be able to reason to answer a question. They should be able to tell you their name and age and what they should do when they are hungry and such questions. They will not always answer a question properly, but they are well on their way.
It is very important for parents to realize that all children will progress at their own rate and while there is a general timeline, children will do things when they are ready. If you suspect that your child is significantly delayed, make an appointment with the pediatrician and take up your concerns with him or her. The doctor will briefly observe your child and ask you questions and if he or she feels that your child may need additional help, they will refer you to a specialist. Not all delays are a true problem, though.
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