Guide
Speech milestones, age by age
Milestones describe most children, not every child. Use them to decide whether to ask a question, not to diagnose your own child.
12 months
Babbles, points, uses a gesture or two, and may have one word.
18 months
Several single words, and understands much more than that.
2 years
Around fifty words, and starts to join two together.
3 years
Short sentences, and understood by strangers most of the time.
4 years
Clear speech, proper grammar most of the time, and tells a short story.
5 years
Full conversation, and speech that is clear to everyone.
This page gives general information only. It is not a diagnosis. For your own child, see a registered speech-language therapist or a doctor.