Is My Child’s Speech Developing? Speech Milestones by Age 2, 3, 4 & 5

As a parent, it can be difficult to know whether your child’s speech and language development is progressing as expected. You might wonder:

“Should my 2-year-old be talking more?”

“How clear should my 3-year-old’s speech be?”

“Is it normal that my 4-year-old still mispronounces some sounds?”

“When should I see a speech pathologist?”

Children develop communication skills at different rates, so there is no single age at which every child should be able to say every sound or use every type of sentence. However, there are broad developmental milestones that can help parents understand what to expect and recognise when extra support may be helpful.

Speech vs language: what’s the difference?

Speech refers to how your child produces sounds & words so that other people can understand them.

Language is broader. It includes understanding what other people say, learning and using words, putting words into sentences, telling stories, answering questions and using communication socially.

 A child can have difficulty with speech, language, or both. For example, a child may understand everything you say and have lots of ideas to communicate but be difficult to understand because of their speech sounds. Another child may pronounce words clearly but have difficulty understanding instructions or putting sentences together.

 This is why looking at your child’s overall communication is more useful than focusing on one milestone in isolation.

Speech and language milestones at age 2

Around their second birthday, many children are beginning to combine words into short phrases such as “more juice”, “Daddy go” or “big dog.”

Australian guidance notes that most toddlers begin putting two words together between 18 months and 2 years. By around 2–3 years, children are increasingly using word combinations, learning new vocabulary and beginning to use more grammatical features such as plurals and -ing words. At this age, speech does not need to be perfectly clear. Children are still developing the sounds they need for mature speech, and unfamiliar listeners may have difficulty understanding them.

If your 2-year-old is using very few words, is not combining words, has difficulty understanding simple language, or has stopped using communication skills they previously had, it is worth discussing this with a health professional or speech pathologist.

Speech and language milestones at age 3

By around 3 years, children are generally becoming much more conversational.

You may notice your child:

• Using sentences of around 3–5 words or more

• Asking lots of who, what, where and why questions

• Talking about things that have happened

• Naming familiar objects and people

• Following simple two-part instructions

• Beginning to tell simple stories

• Learning many new words

• Becoming increasingly understandable to people outside the family

 By 3–4 years, children are developing more complex sentences and beginning to use words such as because, if, so and when. They may also start telling stories with a beginning and an end. Speech clarity should also be improving. Children may still make errors on some later-developing sounds, but their overall speech should generally be becoming easier to understand.

If your 3-year-old is still using very short phrases, struggles to understand everyday instructions, or is frequently difficult for family and other people to understand, a speech pathology assessment may be helpful.

Speech and language milestones at age 4

By 4 years, children are typically becoming much more confident communicators.

They may:

• Use longer, more complex sentences

• Explain their thoughts and ideas

• Tell simple stories

• Answer a wider range of questions

• Follow 2–3 step instructions

• Use words describing time, position and emotions

• Have conversations with adults and other children

• Be understood by most people most of the time

It is also completely normal for some children to still be working on particular sounds at this age. For example, sounds such as “r”, “l”, “th”, “sh” and other later-developing sounds may not yet be fully established. What matters is the overall pattern of speech development and how easily your child can communicate with other people.

Speech and language milestones at age 5

By 5 years, children are generally using language in increasingly sophisticated ways.

They may:

• Use longer and more complex sentences

• Talk about past and future events

• Tell more detailed stories

• Explain their ideas and feelings

• Follow multi-step instructions

• Participate in conversations and take turns

• Understand an increasingly broad vocabulary

• Speak clearly enough to be understood by unfamiliar listeners in most situations

 By around 4–5 years, unfamiliar listeners should generally be able to understand almost everything a child says, although occasional pronunciation errors can still occur.

Communication skills at this age are also closely connected with school readiness and early literacy. Children are developing skills such as rhyming, recognising sounds in words, telling stories and understanding increasingly complex language.

When should I see a speech pathologist?

You don’t need to wait until a child reaches a particular age before asking for advice.

 Consider speaking with a speech pathologist if:

1.    Your child’s speech is difficult for other people to understand

2.    Your child is using significantly fewer words or shorter sentences than expected for their age

3.    Your child has difficulty understanding instructions or questions

4.    Your child struggles to communicate their needs or ideas

5.    Your child is frustrated because others cannot understand them

6.    Your child has difficulty participating in conversations or telling stories

7.    You have concerns about your child’s language, speech sounds or communication

8.    Your child has lost a skill they previously had

At City Beach Speech, we provide speech therapy services across Perth’s inner western suburbs, supporting children with speech, language, literacy and communication development.

What should I start doing before our appointment to support my child’s speech and language development?

Talk together. Describe what you are doing, what your child is doing and what you can see around you.

Read together every day. Pause to talk about pictures, characters, new words and what might happen next.

Expand what your child says. If your child says, “big dog”, you could respond, “Yes, a big brown dog!”

Give your child time to respond. Children often need a little extra processing time before answering.

Follow their interests. Communication is often easiest when children are engaged in something they already enjoy.

Use the language you’re most comfortable speaking. Growing up bilingual or multilingual does not cause speech or language difficulties