BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE

JUNE 30, 2023

Your baby’s first word is cause for celebration (even if they say “Dad” before ‘Mum”) and from there, the sky’s the limit! 

Your child’s communication will develop a lot in their first years, and it’s a real thrill to go from single words to short sentences to lengthy conversations about important matters, like the difference between a pterodactyl and a triceratops!  

Every child is different, though, and while some chatter away early and others are slow to enunciate, it helps to know what’s typical when it comes to communication development.  

That way, you can look forward to certain milestones, and seek assistance if your child is finding it difficult to understand language or get their words out.  

Thanks to Speech Pathology Australia, here’s a run-down of what you can expect your child to understand and communicate at different ages, with some helpful tips from their Senior Advisor for Early Childhood and Education, Jane Delaney. 

Communication milestones for a 12-month-old 

Your baby is a sponge, sucking up information about everything – including language and non-verbal communication – and by their first birthday, you can usually expect them to: 

• Understand about 10 words  
• Respond to their name  
• Recognise greetings and gestures, like “Hi” and “Bye-bye”  
• Recognise a few familiar people and objects, like Mummy, Daddy and teddy, and  
• Make eye contact when you say something to them. 

You’ll probably notice that your one-year-old is starting to use sounds, gestures and say a few words.  

They’ll still be doing plenty of babbling as well, and will copy different sounds and noises as they get their mouths and minds around the English language.  

You can help them by giving your little one plenty of time to talk, and Jane says, “Instead of using longer sentences, use single and two words together when talking to your child, and give them some time to respond or copy.”  

“You can also repeat back simple words or sentences your child says and then add another word.”   

Praise your child if they try to copy you, but if they don’t try to do this, that’s okay too! 

Communication milestones for an 18-month-old 

Once you have a toddler, you’ll likely see that they’re taking leaps and bounds with their language, and by 18 months of age, it’s usual for your child to: 

• Understand up to 50 words and some short phrases  
• Follow simple instructions, like “Get the ball”   
• Point to familiar objects when you name them, like “Book” or “Dog,” and 
• Point to some pictures in familiar books. 

There’s a lot more experimentation with talking at this age, and your toddler will probably be able to: 

• Say six to 20 single words (with some easier to understand than others, but increasing consistency)  
• Copy lots of words and noises  
• Name a few body parts, like “Leg” and “Nose,” and 
• Use objects in pretend play. For instance, saying “Hello” as they welcome you into their play café. 

At this age, Jane encourages you to get face-to-face with your child when you are communicating.  

She says, “This allows your child to see your facial expressions and the movement of your mouth, and it encourages shared attention and interactions.” 

Communication milestones for a two-year-old 

Once your child hits the terrific twos, you can expect them to: 

• Follow simple two-part instructions, like “Give me the teddy and the doll”  
• Respond to simple wh-questions, like “What is that?” and “Where is your sock?”  
• Point to several body parts and pictures in books when you name them, and  
• Understand when an object is ‘in’ and ‘on’ something. 

Your toddler is really starting to build their vocab at this point and it’s developmentally normal for them to be able to: 

• Say more than 50 single words  
• Put two words together, like “Funny doggy” or “Bye Daddy”  
• Use their tone of voice to ask a question, like “Daddy go?”  
• Say “No” when they don’t want something (yep, that time has come!)  
• Use most vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u) and a variety of consonants (m, n, p, b, k, g, h, w, t, d), and 
• Start to use the words ‘mine’ and ‘my’ to assert ownership.  

Communication milestones for a three-year-old 

At this age, your child is starting to get a real sense of the world and their place in it, and their understanding of language is on the up! 

Specifically, you can expect your preschooler to: 

• Follow more complex two-part instructions, like “Give me the bat and throw the ball”
• Understand simple wh-questions, such as “What is that?”, “Where is your doll?’ and “Who is this?” 
• Understand the concepts of ‘same’ and ‘different’ 
• Sort items into groups when asked, e.g. into toys and food or clothes and books, and
• Recognise some basic colours. 

Language-wise, this is an exciting time because your child can probably put together four- or five-word sentences, like “I want the yellow car.” 

You can also expect them to: 

• Use a variety of words for names, actions, locations and descriptions 
• Ask more questions using ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘who’  
• Talk about something in the past, possibly using ‘-ed’ a lot (e.g. “She goed there”), and  
• Have a conversation with you and other interested people.  

Jane says, “Don’t worry if your three-year-old goes off topic or forgets to take turns in a conversation. This is common as their communication skills develop, and it’s important to take the time to listen.”  

“You can also help your child if they’re struggling to find their words. For instance, if you know that they want another raspberry, but are having trouble with the request, you might say, ‘Would you like me to give you another raspberry or banana?’”  

Communication milestones for a four-year-old 

Your four-year-old is a pretty competent little person, and when it comes to communication, you can expect them to be able to: 

• Answer most questions about daily tasks, such as “Which jumper would you like to wear?”
• Understand most wh-questions, including those about a story they’ve heard recently
• Understand some numbers, and 
• Show an awareness that some words start or finish with the same sounds, like ‘tree’ and ‘trike’ or ‘shell’ and ‘shirt.’  

At this age, your child will generally be using words like ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘because’ to make longer sentences when they speak, and they’re able to: 

• Describe recent events, like bedtime routines 
• Use personal pronouns (e.g. ‘she/he,’ ‘me/you’) and negations (e.g. ‘don’t/can’t’)  
• Count to five and name a few colours, and
• Ask lots of questions!  

Reading books together is a great way to build vocabulary and communication skills, and Jane says, “You don’t always have to read the whole book to your child. You can look at the pictures together, model new words, talk about what is happening on each of the pages and what you think might happen next.”  

“The most important thing is exposing children to books from an early age.”  

Communication milestones for a five-year-old 

By this age, your child has made the big move to school (or soon will), and they usually have a good understanding of language. 

You can expect them to: 

• Follow three-part instructions, like “Put on your hat, get your backpack and line up outside” 
• Understand time-related words, such as ‘before,’ ‘after,’ ‘now’ and ‘later’ 
• Start thinking about the meaning of words when they’re learning 
• Understand instructions without stopping to listen, and 
• Start to recognise some letters, sounds and numbers. 

They’ve come a lonnnng way since their first word, and by the time your child is blowing out five birthday candles, they’ll probably be using those same lips to form sentences well and get their point across to most people (not just family and friends).   

Your child will also likely be able to: 

• Take turns in increasingly longer conversations  
• Tell simple, short stories with a beginning, middle and end  
• Use past and future verbs properly, like “I went home” and “I will go to daycare,” and  
• Use most speech sounds – though they may have trouble saying s, r, l and th words, like ‘snake,’ ‘roar,’ ‘listen’ and ‘thirsty.’   
  
  

It’s typical for five-year-olds to find it hard to say the trickier sounds, however, there are times when it’s worth getting a second opinion, whether your child is one, five, or somewhere in between.  

Jane says, “If you notice your child is not reaching their communication milestones for their age range, it may indicate a need for extra support, and making an appointment with a speech pathologist would be a good step to take.” 

“We often hear of parents, carers or professionals taking a ‘wait and see’ approach, and for some children they will progress. However in the early years it is often difficult to establish which children will catch up and which may present with ongoing difficulties.” 

If you are worried about your child’s communication and feel they’re having difficulty –or someone has raised a concern about your child’s development (such as an early childhood educator) – then you can easily find a speech pathologist in your area, using this search.     

And if you still wish your baby had said “Mum” before “Dad,” then don’t worry – there are plenty more words to come!