Language Development Milestones: What to Expect at Every Age

It's true that every child grows and develops at their own pace. However, there are a few general milestones that are used to identify development progress. Much like physical growth, these milestones are applied to language development as well.

Knowing what language development milestones in your child can help you feel more confident about their progress even if you aren’t a first time parent.

In this guide we share language development milestones for ages 0 through 12, what to keep an eye on, and when it may be time to have a conversation with your pediatrician.

Understanding the Two Types of Language Development

Many parents may not know this but language development actually happens in two parts. One being understanding language also known as receptive language and the other being using language also known as expressive. And while both matter, they don’t develop at the same time.

Receptive Language: understanding information through listening, processing, non-verbal cues like body language.

Expressive Language: communicating through words, symbols, gestures and sentences

Language Milestones by Age

Below are a few general milestones to what children can do at different ages. However, it is important to know that some children reach milestones earlier, and some later both of which are completely normal.

Birth - 12 Months (First Sounds)

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the first year is full of small but important steps toward that first word.

0 - 3 months: At this stage children react to loud sounds, start making happy sounds and smiling when spoken to.

4 - 6 months: Babies usually start turning towards sounds and begin babbling with sounds like p, b and m.

7-12 months: Typically starts to respond to their name and understand simple words like water or cup, imitates sounds and uses gestures like waving

1 - 2 Years (First Words)

18 months: Understands simple commands, points to objects or pictures in books, and uses 10-20 words

24 months: Understands simple concepts like "in" or "on," follows two-step instructions, and puts 2-4 words together in short phrases. By age 2, vocabulary usually reaches 50 or more words.

It should be noted that during the first two years physical milestones like tummy time also play a key role in building the strength babies need to explore, babble, and eventually talk.

2 - 3 Years

Toddlers ages 2 to 3 understand ideas of the same and different. They start asking what, where, and why questions. They use 2 - 3 word phrases and can follow simple two-step instructions. About 50-75% of their speech can be understood by familiar adults. And according to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, at the age of two toddlers usually reach a vocabulary of 50 words or more.

3 - 4 Years

At this age toddlers start to understand shapes, colors and basic time concepts like lunch time or today. They start to use 4 to five word sentences and roughly know around 900 words. At this stage children also start to ask who, what, where and why questions and their speech is clear enough for most to understand.

4 - 5 Years

By this age, most children can hold their own in a real conversation. Research from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders shows children this age typically understand potion words like behind, beside and between. At this age children have an estimated vocabulary of over 2,500 words and can tell simple stories. You may see them hold a fluent back-and-forth conversation.

5 - 6 Years (Kindergarten)

By kindergarten, children can use longer, more complex sentences and are beginning to understand grammar rules like past tense and plurals, even if they still make cute mistakes along the way (like "goed" instead of "went"). Most 5-year-olds can tell a simple story with a clear beginning, middle and end, understand rhyming words, and follow three-step directions. Vocabulary typically reaches around 5,000 to 6,000 words.

6 - 8 Years (Early Elementary)

As children move through early elementary school, language becomes a tool for learning, not just talking. Kids this age can retell stories with more detail, understand jokes and simple sarcasm, and start using more complex sentence structures with conjunctions like "because" and "although." Reading comprehension becomes a major focus, and children begin connecting spoken language to what they read on the page.

8 - 10 Years (Later Elementary)

By ages 8 to 10, children can hold nuanced conversations, understand multiple meanings of words, and explain their reasoning ("I think this because..."). They're also better able to adjust how they speak depending on who they're talking to — a teacher, a younger sibling, or a friend. Reading and writing continue to reinforce spoken language, and vocabulary can reach well over 10,000 words.

10 - 12 Years (Tweens)

Tweens typically have strong conversational skills and can discuss abstract ideas, express opinions, and understand figurative language like idioms and metaphors. Vocabulary keeps expanding through reading and school, and most children this age can follow multi-step directions, summarize longer stories, and communicate effectively in both casual and more formal settings.

Quick-Reference Table

Will overall milestones differ if a child is learning more than one language?

Bilingual children and children attending a bilingual preschool hit the same major milestones as monolingual children, including first words around 12 months and two-word phrases by 24 months, though their vocabulary in each individual language may look smaller at first. Their combined vocabulary across both languages is typically equal to or greater than a monolingual child's, and mixing words from both languages in one sentence is a normal part of the process, not a sign of confusion or delay.

Signs You Should Talk to Your Pediatrician

Every child develops differently, but here are a few things you should keep an eye on that may be worth mentioning to your pediatrician:

• Isn't babbling or making sounds by 12 months
• Doesn't say any words by 18 months
• Isn't combining words into short phrases by age 2
• Is difficult for even family members to understand past age 3
• Seems to lose language skills they previously had at any age

Please keep in mind that seeing any of these signs doesn’t mean that something is wrong, it can simply open the door to extra support if needed. The CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early." program offers free, printable milestone checklists you can bring to your next appointment.

Simple Ways to Support Your Child's Language at Home

In the early years of development, a lot of support starts at home. And don’t worry, you don’t have to be a qualified teacher to help with your child’s language development. Instead, here are a few everyday activities that you can try:

• Read books together every day, even short ones
• Talk through your day out loud ("Now we're putting on your socks!")
• Sing songs and repeat nursery rhymes
• Ask open-ended questions instead of yes/no questions
• Give your child time to respond before jumping in

These tips also apply to bilingual children.

Supporting Every Step of Your Child's Language Journey

Language develops at different stages, from babbling to full conversation by age 5. With every child developing at their own pace, having a simple guide like this can help you identify areas that may need extra attention and support.

Talking and reading to toddlers is really critical for language development. Spending time socializing with other children and caregivers plays a big role in helping children develop conversational skills and even language cues.

Tutoring and speech therapy may also be helpful in the preschool and elementary years to reinforce core language skills.