COMMUNICATION MILESTONES

A woman and a young girl sitting on the floor reading a book titled 'Garden Sounds' in a classroom with a large potted plant and shelves with colorful storage boxes in the background.
A woman and two children are playing with a wooden block stacking toy on a rug in a room.

A child developing at 2 years of age should:

  • Use at least 50 words

  • Combine words (i.e. "more juice")

  • Point to pictures in a book when asked

  • Follow 1-2 part directions within daily routines 

A child developing at 3 years of age should:

  • Use a variety of words (500)

  • Combine words into 3-4 word phrases

  • Demonstrate understanding of concepts like in/on/under, big/little

  • Be easy to understand by unfamiliar listeners

  • Understand basic questions (who/what/where)

Two children playing with a wooden play kitchen against a plain white wall.

A child developing at 4 years of age should:

  • Use sentences of 4-6 words

  • Use grammar forms like is, are, walking

  • Follow 3-4 part directions

  • Play and take turns with others

  • Re-tell a simple story with a beginning and end

A child developing at 5 years of age should:

  • Be using grammatically correct sentences of 5-7 words

  • Use pronouns correctly (i.e. he/his/him/they)

  • Understand a variety of concepts like long, short, front, top

  • Describe objects by what they do (i.e. "things that you cut with")

  • Describe objects by feature (i.e. "they all have wheels")

  • Answer reasoning questions (i.e. "What do you do when you are hungry?")

  • Describe recent events/stories in the correct sequence

Have Questions About Your Child’s Communication Skills?

If you’re unsure about your child’s progress or think they may need extra support, we’re here to help. Our team offers personalized speech and language services in Red Deer and Central Alberta to support children at every stage of development.