Children’s speech milestones by age

12 months

The first year is mostly about communicating without words. Speech is the last thing to arrive, and plenty of it happens before a single word does.

• Waves goodbye
• Calls a parent something like “mama” or “dada”
• Understands “no”, and pauses briefly when you say it
• Uses gestures to ask for things: reaching up, pointing, holding an object out to show you

18 months

• Tries to say three or more words besides “mama” and “dada”
• Follows a one-step instruction without you pointing, like “give me the ball”
• Points to show you something interesting
• Copies you doing everyday things, like sweeping or talking on a phone

2 years

This is the age most parents start counting words, and the age most search engines get used. Two things matter here: how many words, and whether any of them go together.

• Says at least two words together, like “more milk” or “daddy go”
• Points to things in a book when you ask “where is the bear?”
• Uses more gestures than waving and pointing, like blowing a kiss or nodding
• Around 50 words is the number most often quoted, and it is a useful yardstick rather than a hard rule

3 years

Three is the age most parents start comparing notes with other parents, so it gets its own page: the full 3-year-old speech checklist adds the sounds a child should already have by now and how much of their speech a stranger ought to understand.

• Talks with you in a conversation with at least two back-and-forth turns
• Asks “who”, “what”, “where” and “why” questions
• Says their first name when asked
• Talks well enough for you to understand most of the time

4 years

• Says sentences with four or more words
• Repeats words from a song or story
• Talks about at least one thing that happened during their day
• Answers simple questions like “what is a coat for?”

5 years

• Tells a story with at least two events in it
• Answers simple questions about a book after you read it
• Keeps a conversation going with more than three back-and-forth turns
• Uses or recognises simple rhymes

How much of your child's speech should a stranger understand?

Word count is only half the picture. The other half is whether people outside the family can actually understand your child. Clinicians use a rough rule of thumb for this:

Individual speech sounds arrive much later than words

Parents often assume that a four-year-old should say everything perfectly. They should not. Words come first, and the individual sounds inside them keep sharpening for years afterwards.

P, B, M, N, T, D, W and H are usually in place by around three. K and G arrive around three to four. F, S, L and SH tend to land between four and six. R and TH are frequently still developing at seven or eight, so a five-year-old saying “wabbit” is not behind.

• Every sound, with the age it typically arrives and free practice words
• The R sound, the latest of them all
• The S sound, where lisps show up
• The K sound, the classic “tat” for “cat”

When to ask someone about your child

You do not need to hit a threshold to be allowed to ask. If any of these are true, book an appointment with your doctor or a speech-language pathologist. Early help is more effective than waiting, and a single appointment often ends the worrying.

• No words at all by 18 months
• No two-word combinations by 2 years
• You cannot understand most of what your three-year-old says
• Your child loses words or skills they previously had. This one always warrants a prompt appointment
• Your child avoids talking, gets frustrated when speaking, or has started to stammer and it is not settling
• Your own gut says something is off. Parents are usually right about this.