18 Months to 3 years

How communication develops from 18 months to 3 years old

At 18 months your toddler will probably try to:

• say some words- these may only be understood by family members at this stage.
• point to tell you what they see.
• look at people and objects as you are naming them.
• copy everyday sounds such as transport and animal sounds e.g. ‘beep beep’, ‘neigh’.
• sing along to songs that you both know.
• They might also be chatting to you in babble – don’t worry; this is normal!

At 2 years of age your child may be:

• using around 50 words spontaneously.
• starting to join two words together e.g. “my teddy.”
• understanding words and phrases without cues.
• using these sounds in their speech – p,b,t,d,n,m.
• using pretend play e.g. feeding dolls or teddies.

By 2½ years your child may be:

• using a wider range of vocabulary.
• putting two words together to tell you things.
• understanding simple questions and instructions such as ‘where’s mummy’s coat?’
• using the sounds p,b,t,d,n,m and w.

At around 3 years old your child may:

• starting to use 3 + words together to say what’s happening.
• using questions including ‘where?’, ‘what?’ and ‘who?
• enjoying simple stories with pictures.
• understand longer instructions, and responding to common action words and describing words.

How you can help:

• Have some time every day for play.
• Switch off the TV and radio so it’s quiet when you are playing.
• Chat about what you’re doing together.
• Listen to what your child is saying and add some new words, e.g. “Great, that’s a big, spotty ball.”
• Use lots of praise, for example, “Good talking!”