Language Development Guide for Parents: Birth to 5 Years

  Starts to know the names of common things (points to the ball when they hear you say “ball”)

  Follows simple directions (“sit down”)

  Looks to where you point

  Starts to wave, point, lifts arms to be picked up, shakes their head for “no”

  Copies the actions and sounds that you make

  Gets your attention using sounds and actions while looking at your eyes

  Says 3 or more words

  Puts lots of sounds together as if they are trying to talk

  Likes to look at books

  can show that they know words such as:

     – On (Put your cup on the table)
     – Off (Turn the light off)
     – In (Put it in the box)
     – Out (Take the book out of the bag)

  Can point to 5 body parts when you ask them

  Can say 20 or more words.  The words may not sound exactly right but they are consistent and you know what they mean.  

  Knows more words than they can say

  Answers simple questions with a word or an action (“Where’s the ball? – may go find it, point to it, look at it or say “ball”)

  Does simple pretend things like talking on the phone, eating toy food, putting a doll to bed, feeding a stuffed animal, etc. 

  Uses early simple to make sounds (m, p, b, d, w, h)

  Likes to look at books with you or when you tell simple stories

  Can point to some pictures in a book

 Follows directions with 2 parts (ex. Get your ball and show it to Grandma”)

 says 100 or more words

 Says words like “you, me, mine”

 Says 2 words together (Mommy up, more ball)

 Likes to be with other children and tries to copy what they say and do

 Holds books the right way and turns the pages

 Pretends to read

 Strangers can understand what your child says about least half of the time or more

 Can make M, W and simple Vowel Sounds (A,I,E,O,U)

  Knows what these words mean:

     – Big

     – Little

     – More

     – A lot

     – A little bit

  Begins to add endings to words like:

     – Ing: “Running”

     – S for plurals: “Balls”

     – S for possessives: “Mommy’s hat”

  Says 350 words or more and learns new words every week

  Uses action words like “running, spill, playing”

  Says the beginnings and endings of words

  Tries to say words that have 2 to 3 parts – some words such as “banana may be shortened to  “nana” but they are not leaving parts out of longer words

  Takes short turns with other children – some trouble sharing is still normal

  Shows concern when another child is hurt or sad

  Pretend play has multiple steps (feeds a doll and puts her to sleep, fills toy car with gas and drives away)

  Recalls and understands stories and songs that they know well

 Understands and asks questions such as:

     – “Where is your coat?”

     – “Who’s that?”

     – “What is soap for?”

  Says sentences with 5 or more words

  Can tell about things they have done or tell a simple story

  Enjoys other children and plays more with them

  Pretend play follows a story (drives the car, crashes the car, fixes the car, and drives the car again

  Knows that written words mean something even though they cannot read – may sometimes point to the words in a book or on a cereal box

  People other than you can understand what they are saying about 75% of the time

  By 3 can say N, P, B, T, D, H sounds and doesn’t leave off any beginnings or ends of words.  

  Follows directions with 3 parts (Open the box, get the ball, give it to dad)

  Sentences sound like adult speech

  Tells stories with a clear start, middle and end

  Uses their words to try to solve problems

  Lots of imagination when playing

 Can make up simple rhymes (cat-bat)

  Knows some of the sounds letters make (T says “tuh”)

  Most strangers can understand them almost all of the time – except for some certain words or when upset or excited

  By 4 can make K, G, F, Y sounds and say both parts of S Blends such as “Spoon” and “Stop”

  Understands group directions (“All the boys get a toy”)

  Understands “if…then” directions (“If you’re wearing runners, then line up at the door”

  Tells long stories that make sense

  Speaks about past, present, and future events

  Uses long complete sentences (puts 5 to 8 words together)

  Knows the letters of the alphabet

  Can sometimes tell you what sound starts a word (“Ball starts with the ‘buh’ sound)

  Makes friends, and likes to make their friends happy

  Plays in groups of 2-5 friends

  Strangers understand almost all of what they are saying.  A few “tricky” words may still be a bit harder to understand and speech may be harder when excited or upset.

  By 5 years can say almost all of the sounds of their language correctly.  Some sounds such as Th, Sh, Ch, J and Rs sometimes develop later.