Toddler speech is an amazing and complicated ability that explodes in the early years, prompting questions about word count. For some toddlers, this explosion happens early while others are “late talkers.” This range makes it tricky to predict the right time to seek out an evaluation.
Monitoring a child’s language development is a critical aspect of understanding their overall growth. As children grow, they reach various developmental milestones that signal their progress. Speech development is one important area where caregivers and professionals look for specific advancements. Two-word phrases, for example, are a significant hallmark that typically emerge when a child is between 18 to 24 months old. Recognizing the number of words a child should know or use at different stages can be a useful gauge of their language acquisition.
Before looking at specific milestones, it’s important to first discuss what constitutes a word, as identifying what counts as a word is vital in speech therapy for toddlers. Words can include spoken terms, sound effects, and even signs used consistently and independently.
Sign Language, Speech Approximations, and Sounds
Words are not limited to spoken language. Other forms of communication can also count as words, including:
- Sound Effects: Using sounds, like saying “meow” for a cat, can be considered words if used consistently and appropriately to represent the correct object or situation.
- Sign Language: If a child uses a sign consistently and with intent, such as the sign for “eat” when hungry, it is considered a word.
- Speech Approximations: When a child uses a word that isn’t perfectly spoken but is understandable, like saying “goga” for “dog,” it still counts as a word.
Consistency and Independence
For a toddler’s communication to count as a word, it must meet two important criteria:
- Consistency: The child must use the word consistently to refer to the same object, person, or action. For example: Saying “ball” every time they see a ball shows they understand and know what it means.
- Independence: The child should use the word independently without needing prompts. For instance: If they say “juice” whenever they want a drink, it demonstrates they are learning to express their needs on their own.
Toddler Speech Developmental Milestones
Understanding developmental milestones helps you monitor your child’s growth and developmental progress, particularly in speech and communication.
Toddler Speech Development Fundamentals
Speech development is a critical aspect of your child’s overall development. By 15 months, a typical toddler might have a vocabulary of 8 to 10 words, although it’s not unusual for the number to vary among individual children. By 16 months, your child should use at least 15 words, increasing to nearly 20 words consistently by 17 months.
At 18 months, a child’s vocabulary undergoes significant expansion, and they can often learn new words rapidly, with some children reaching over 50 word. Simple phrases like “more milk” and “mommy go” may emerge alongside this single word vocabulary development.
By 24 months, a child should comprehend at least 300 words, with some capable of understanding and using more. Variability is normal, and these figures serve as a general guideline. Speech development relies on both genetics and environmental factors, like interaction with parents and caregivers.
Early Toddler Speech Milestones
| Age | Expected Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| 15 Months | 8-10 words: mama, dada, familiar objects |
| 16 Months | At least 15 words |
| 17 Months | Minimum of 20 words |
| 18 Months | Rapid word learning, >100 words likely |
| 24 Months | 50 recognizable words, phrases emerging |
Your child’s early communication includes gestures, babbling, and responsiveness to auditory stimuli even before the first word is spoken. You should observe increased intentionality in communication at around 18 months, with notable improvements in the complexity and clarity of expressed ideas. Early interactions greatly influence these milestones; engaging with your child through reading, talking, and playing supports their learning process.
Toddler Speech Milestones By Age
Understanding speech milestones helps you monitor your child’s language development effectively. Here are some highlights from the American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA), when it comes to speech expectations:
- By one year old, a toddler should say 2-3 words (such as hi, dog, dada, mama, uh-oh) and make attempts to imitate sounds.
- Between 13 to 18 months, a toddler should say names of common objects, some actions, and important people. You will likely also hear long strings of sounds, syllables, and real words that appear conversational.
- By two years, most toddlers should say over 50 words, which in turn gives them a large enough selection to combine single words into phrases like: “more apple”, “no bed”, “mommy book.”
- Somewhere between 2-3 years, a toddler should be able to say sounds: p, b, m, h, w, d, n and most vowels in words. At 3 years old, toddlers are typically combining three words into a phrase to talk about things.
More Toddler Speech Resources
As a speech pathologist, I often send families this Google Document with alphabet labeling and ask caregivers to fill in a word count. This information aids in documentation of the Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale when it is time for an initial assessment. The Rossetti measures communication from birth through three years. While there are a number of factors in measuring communication development, for purposes of this post, these are the number of words a toddler should say by range:
- 15-18 months: says 15 meaningful words
- 18-21 months: uses single words regularly and imitates phrases
- 21-24 months: uses 50 different words
- 24-27 months: *MLU 1.50-2.00
- 27-30 months: *MLU 2.00-2.50
- 33-36 months: *MLU 2.50-3.00
*MLU: Mean Length of Utterance
Constructing Two-Word Phrases
When you observe speech development in toddlers, constructing two-word phrases is a significant milestone. Around the age of 24 months, you will likely notice your child beginning to pair words together. This step is crucial as it represents the start of combinatorial speech, allowing your child to express more complex thoughts and needs.
Key Aspects:
- Expression: Two-word phrases enable your child to convey relationships between concepts, like possession (e.g., “my toy”) or actions (e.g., “go home”).
- Understanding: This stage reflects an increasing understanding of grammar and syntax, even in its most basic form.
Expected Progression:
| Age | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 18 months | Imitates two- and three-word phrases |
| 20 months | Uses two-word phrases occasionally |
| 24 months | Routinely constructs two-word phrases |
Vocabulary Growth: Your child’s word bank typically includes 50-100 words by the time they are 2 years old. This richness in vocabulary supports the construction of meaningful two-word combinations.
Examples of Two-Word Phrases:
- Requests: “More milk,” “Hold you,” “Help please”
- Comments: “Doggie big,” “Truck loud,” “Shoe off”
- Identification: “Mommy coat,” “Daddy car,” “Baby sleep”
You can encourage your child to form two-word phrases by reading to them, speaking in simple sentences, and naming objects during your daily routines. It is important to acknowledge and reinforce their attempts at speech. Each child develops at their own pace, but if you have concerns about your child’s speech development, consulting with a pediatrician or a speech-language pathologist might be beneficial.
Frequently Asked Questions About Toddler Speech
This section addresses common inquiries regarding the progression of early language development in children.
By what age do babies typically start using two-word phrases?
You can expect babies to typically begin forming two-word phrases between 18 and 24 months. This is a natural progression as their vocabulary expands.
How many words should an 18-month-old typically be able to say?
At 18 months, a child may typically say between 20 and 50 words. The range is wide as individual growth varies.
What are the expected language milestones for an 18-month-old child?
An 18-month-old child usually recognizes names of familiar people, objects, body parts, and actions. They also begin to follow simple instructions, imitate two- and three-word phrases, and spontaneously say a two-word phrase on occasion.
At 2 years old, about how many words should a child know?
By the age of 2, children often comprehend about 300 words, express 50 recognizable, and combine words into short phrases.
Nanette Cote is an ASHA certified speech pathologist, published author, and private practice business owner with 30 years experience.
