0-3 months
- Makes pleasure sounds (cooing, gooing).
- Cries differently for different needs.
- Smiles when sees you.
4 – 6 months
- Babbling sounds more speech-like with many different sounds, including p, b and m.
- Vocalizes excitement and displeasure.
- Makes gurgling sounds when left alone and when playing with you.
7 – 12 months
- Babbling has both long and short groups of sounds such as “tata upup bibibi”.
- Uses speech or non-crying sounds to get and keep attention.
- Imitates different speech sounds.
- Has 1 or 2 words (bye-bye, dada, mama), although they may not be clear.
1 – 2 years
- Says more words every month.
- Uses some 1-2 word questions (“Where kitty?, “Go bye-bye?”, “What that?”).
- Puts two words together (“More cookie”, “No juice”, “Mommy book”).
- Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
2 – 3 years
- Has a word for almost everything
- Uses two or three words to talk about and ask for things
- Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds
- Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time
- Often asks for or directs attention to objects by naming them.
3 – 4 years
- Talks about activities at school or at friend’s homes.
- People outside the family usually understand child’s speech.
- Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words.
- Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or word.
4 – 5 years
- Voice sounds clear like other children’s.
- Uses sentences that give lots of details (e.g., “I like to read my books”).
- Tells stories that stick to topic.
- Communicates easily with other children and adults.
- Says most sounds correctly except a few like l, s, v, z, j, ch, sh, th.
- Uses the same grammar as the rest of the family.
