Parents Want to Know 101: Language in Toddlers: Milestone Year, Age 2

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Language in Toddlers: Milestone Year, Age 2

By Sharon Rose

Let’s talk about language in the milestone year, age 2. This will be a memorable year. There will be much growth and development in independent behavior and language will be a big part of that. How exciting when your toddler starts to communicate with you! Although every child grows and develops at their own pace, toddler speech development follows a fairly predictable path. By age 2, your toddler should have a vocabulary of at least 50 or more words. Several of the more common words most likely mastered are: Mommy, Daddy, juice, milk, cookie, hot, hi, bye, car, see, and ball. Your 2 year-old should also be putting together two-word sentences, such as: “more juice.” They are listening to you and understand much more than they can say. Don’t use ‘baby talk!’ As well, Mom and Dad, watch what you say if you don’t want to hear it repeated. Don’t worry about how your toddler pronounces words, that will improve in time. However, you should be concerned if your toddler is not responding to you when you repeat something over and over again. In this case, a middle ear infection or a speech delay could be of concern. In either case, check with your pediatrician and/or a speech-language pathologist. A health care professional can help parents understand the difference in a ‘late talker,’ which children grow out of, and developmental issues, such as autism and cerebral palsy.

Gestures are also a part of language development. Out stretched arms, which signals, “Pick me up,” is one of the first gestures babies use, early, in language development. You may find that your toddler does a lot of pointing. For example: If he points to the refrigerator, ask, "Do you want something to drink?" (Wait for a response.) Then say, “Do you want juice?

(Wait for a response.) You say, “Ok, let’s get some juice." Interactions matching their gestures with your verbal responses are behaviors that will encourage your toddler to respond and participate in conversations. Further, encourage this by playing gesture-games, like ‘Pat-a-Cake,’ and ‘So-Big.’ Help your toddler learn the appropriate words for body parts, pictures in books, objects, and familiar people: "Where is your ear?", “Where is your nose?”, “Show me the ball," and "Where is Mommy?" Educational toys and books are great tools to help encourage language, naturally, without seeming to instruct or push. Play time and story time can become a fun part of your toddlers day, as you see their language grow right before your eyes!