How many words should a child say?  This is a frequent question asked by parents!

Like all developmental milestones, there is a RANGE in the number of words typically developing children can say.

What is most important is that a child is meeting the milestone for his age, regardless of gender, birth order, or if he is exposed to more than one language.

The “Milestone” column shows the minimum number of words we expect a child to say at each age.  It is what 90% of children can say.  If your child is below what is expected, your child may be at risk for a language delay and intervention may be needed.  If this is the case, we recommend you consult with a Speech-Language Pathologist.

The “Average” column shows approximately the number of words 50% of children can say at each age.  This is not a maximum.  Some children will have vocabulary sizes even larger.  What it means is that half of children at this age have a vocabulary size around this number.

So, why do you need to know the difference between the average and the milestone?  If your child is 18 months old and saying 10 words, you may think, “oh, he’s not far off.”  However, the average number of words at that age is 50 words!  See the difference? 

Knowing the milestones is important but it is also good to be aware of the averages for your child’s age.  Even if a child has a vocabulary size that falls on the low end of the range listed for his age, there are ways we can enhance and support their communication. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s language development or would like information about how you can help your child’s language skills grow, please call us at 1-888-623-6363 to speak with a Speech-Language Pathologist.

“Toy Talk” is a strategy you can use while playing with your child, in addition to using “self talk” and parallel talk”, both of which have been reviewed in previous posts.  “Toy Talk” is a simple adaptation of these strategies. Toy talk shifts the conversation toward descriptive comments about the toys and objects themselves, matching the content of your sentences to your child’s interests and activities.  Toy Talk was designed to promote nouns as sentence subjects.

1. In “Toy Talk”, there are two main components:a) Talking about the toys your child is playing with, including the actions, states, properties of the toys (e.g., The baby is drinking.  The ball rolled away.)
2. Naming the object (e.g., That’s a cow.)

More examples of toy talk during play:

• Playing with dolls – The baby is sleepy. The baby is thirsty. The baby’s eyes are closed.  The baby is wearing a hat
• Playing with farm animals – The barn door is open.  The pig is dirty.  The duck is swimming.  The cow is eating.  The horse goes in the barn.
• Playing with bubbles – The bubbles are going up.  The bubble popped.  The bubble is on the wand.  The bubble is big.
• Playing with blocks – The blocks are in the bucket.  The tower is big.  The tower fell down.  The blue block is on top.
• Playing with vehicles – The car is fast.  The truck crashed.  The car goes beep beep.  The car is in the garage.  The airplane is flying in the sky.

 Using “Toy Talk” along with “Self Talk” and “Parallel Talk” provides great language input to help your child grow their vocabulary, increase their sentence length and learn about different concepts.

Self Talk” simply means talking about what you are doing out loud.  Using “Self Talk” exposes your child to a lot of language during real time and real-life experiences.  Doing this, models language for children, showing them words they can say while they go about their day!  Studies show children who hear more words every day have a larger vocabulary when they start school.  Use self talk during everyday activities.  For example, while dressing you could say, “I’m getting my shoes.  First, I put on my socks.  Then I put on my shoes.  Tie them up!” or during breakfast you could say, “I’m going to have some cereal.  First, I pour my cereal in the bowl.  Then I pour in the milk.  Where’s my spoon?  Here it is!  Mmmm, my cereal is yummy!”

This strategy can be used during all daily routines:

• Getting dressed
• Brushing hair
• Brushing teeth
• Washing hands
• Making meals
• Eating meals
• In the car
• At the store
• Doing housework
• During play
• At bath time
• Reading books
• Etc…

Things to keep in mind when you are using “Self Talk”:

• Narrate activities that are interesting to your child in that moment. If she is looking around and thinking about something else, then save your breath. This is a “child-directed” activity, which means you’re not forcing your agenda on her.
• Self-talk for short bursts of time throughout the day – don’t self-talk constantly or you’ll just sound like the parent from the Muppet Babies (wha wah wah wha) to your child. Again, watch your child and if she is interested in something, tell her about it!
• Don’t expect your child to repeat you. Right now, you are filling her bucket, so that later she can use the language she has stored there.
• Use child-friendly, short sentences. Instead of “Right now I am folding the pink, striped shirt so that you have clothes to wear tomorrow to daycare.” Try saying, “I’m folding clothes” and “Here’s a pink shirt!” See the section below for more on talking at the right level for you child.

When a child is late to talk, parents frequently attribute this to a sibling doing the talking for him or her. But is there any truth to this? Is there a relationship between birth order and delayed language development?  Do later-born children really take longer to develop speech than first-born children?

Several studies have shown that the language development and skills of first-born and later-born children are similar.  Based on the research, parents can be assured that language delays are NOT caused by older siblings talking for their younger siblings or by parents paying less attention to their later born children.

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s language development, please call us at 1-888-623-6363 to speak with a Speech-Language Pathologist.