Language milestones are confusing! And do they even matter? Let's dive into what the research tells us when it comes to early language milestones and how you can figure out where your child's skills are compared to his or her peers.

What is a "milestone"?

Developmental milestones are the skills most children achieve by a given age. We use milestones to help us understand a child's physical, social, and emotional development, but they should not be the only tool. Milestones are most commonly used by pediatricians and other health professionals as a baseline to determine if a closer look is warranted. A milestone indicates that approximately 90% of children have met this skill by this age. 90%! So, it's super important not to confuse a "milestone" marker with an "average".

Speech milestones vs language milestones?

We often hear these terms being used interchangeably, but they are actually different. You can read more about the difference between speech and language here. To sum it up: language is what we say (our words, and our understanding) and speech is how we say it (the sounds that make up the words). When we're talking about toddler skills, and for the purposes of this post, we are talking about language milestones. That's because, in general, language skills develop first.

What are expected language milestones?

Here is a chart showing the milestone for a skill, or the age at which most children achieve that skill. This chart also lists the "average" age for each skill, or when 50% of children generally achieve that skill.

What if my child is not meeting the milestones for number of words?

First of all- don't panic! The number of words your child says is just one skill that is a part of their language development. There are so many other skills related to using words to communicate, and skills that we look at to help determine if a child would qualify for speech therapy.

There are also many things you can do at home to support your child's language development. Learning to talk and communicate is a complicated, hard thing for our babies' fast-growing brains.

If you want to learn more about supporting your child's communication skills, click here to watch my free video training, "Get Your Toddler Talking". Also, follow me on Instagram and join my parent Facebook group for more support!

💛Kristi