Between your child’s second and third birthday you will see a speech explosion as your child’s vocabulary grows from about 50 words to 400 words. She’ll start using sentences with more words. Instead of saying “More milk,” she’ll say, “I want more milk.” The use of pronouns will become common. He will start using language to express and communicate his desires, thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
At this age your toddler should understand two-step commands. If you say, “Get your jacket and wait by the door,” he should be able to follow your instructions. It doesn’t mean that he sometimes won’t get sidetracked and need a reminder. (It doesn’t seem like they ever grow out of this.)
Your child should begin to understand contrasting concepts like big/small or hot/cold. Point out things in his everyday life that you can compare. Like that “tree is big” and “that flower is small” or “this train is long” and “this train is short.”
During this year start expanding what your child says. If she says “dog” add to it and say “big dog” or “That is a big dog.” This will help increase your child’s vocabulary and encourage the use of sentences. The American Academy of Pediatrics tells parents to “talk to your toddler about what she did during the day or what she plans to do tomorrow. ‘I think it’s going to rain this afternoon. What shall we do?’ Or discuss the day’s events at bedtime.” Make-believe play is also a great time to expand and use vocabulary in a non-threatening setting.
Reading becomes extremely important as your child’s vocabulary develops. Just as in speech when reading add description words instead of just pointing to the sun and saying “sun” say “yellow sun.” Remember reading to a young child isn’t always easy so don’t get discouraged. Click here for some tips I wrote about how to read to your young child.
Not every child develops at the same level. Some children are more talkative than others. But by age three your child should know between 3000-500 words. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that one in every ten to fifteen children suffers from a speech delay and may need outside help. “Early detection and identification of language delay or hearing impairment is critically important so that treatment can begin before the problem interferes with learning in other areas. Without identifying the difficulty and doing something about it, the child may have continuous trouble with classroom learning.” If you suspect your child’s speech and language skills are not developing normally talk to your child’s pediatrician about speech therapy.
For more information read my blogs on other Speech and Language Topics:
Child Speech and Language Development
Speech and Language Delays
Causes of Speech and Language Delays
Speech: Birth-12 months
Speech: 1-2 years
Speech: 3-4 years