Toddler Talking
Common Speech Problems in Young Children
By Jacqueline Bodnar
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, it's important to understand what speech milestones are in order to determine if a child is having a speech problem or delay. The toddler milestones that they outline include the following:
12 months – Should be saying "mama" and "dada" with meaning and often imitate two and three syllable words. - 16 to 18 months – Should have a vocabulary of 10 words.
- 22 to 24 months – Should have a vocabulary of up to 50 words.
- 2 to 2 1/2 years – Should have a vocabulary of up to 400 words.
- 2 1/2 to 3 years – Should be able to use plurals and past tense, count three objects correctly and have three- to five-word sentences, with up to 90 percent of speech being understood by strangers.
If your child is speech delayed or having problems, it should be addressed. Delaying treatment can lead to a child not feeling confident, which can hamper emotional growth. "Generally all kids undergo a dramatic acquisition of speech between 18 and 24 months," says Dr. Olson. "If your child is not exhibiting this explosion of speech then an initial pediatric evaluation is warranted."
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