Ages and Stages
There are some of the milestones that mark the progress of young children as they develop speech and language skills

Birth to 3 months Birth to 3 months

• looks at you while getting fed
• quiets when hearing familiar voices and sounds
• makes cooing and gurgling sounds
• is startled by loud noises

What you can do:

• look at your baby when feeding, bathing or changing him/her
• talk and sing to your baby
• make cooing and gurgling sounds back to your baby

3 to 6 months

• turns eyes or head toward sounds
• responds to you by making sounds and/or moving arms and legs
• smiles and laughs
• begins to make speech-like sounds – buh, ma, boo

What you can do:

• smile and laugh with your baby
• show interest in the sounds your baby is making and repeat them back
• provide a variety of sounds (e.g., music, outside noises, animal sounds, toys) and show excitement in the sounds you hear
• tell your baby what you are doing when you feed, bath or dress him/her

6 to 9 months

• responds to hearing their own name
• understands “No”
• looks at common objects or family members when their names are mentioned
• babbles sounds in a series – bababa, dadada, mamama

What you can do:

• point to people, pictures and common objects and say their names
• look at books, point to the pictures and name them
• say sounds back and forth with your child as long as he/she is interested
• sing songs

9 to 12 months

• understands simple requests – “Give it to mommy”, “Don’t touch”
• Understands simple questions – “where’s your ball?”
• uses gestures or sounds to let you know what he/she wants or needs
• says first word
• begins to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo

What you can do:

• encourage your child to use gestures and respond to them (e.g., when child raises arms to be picked up, say “You want up?” and then pick the child up)
• talk about things you are doing using simple words and short sentences
• Listen carefully to the sounds your child makes. You may hear their first word, e.g., ba for “ball”, u for “up”, mook for “milk”
• play with your child and have fun

12 to 18 months

• follows simple spoken directions, such as “Get the ball”
• points to people, body parts or toys when asked
• uses connected sounds that sound like sentences in a different language (jibberish)
• uses 10 or more words
• uses common expressions – oh no, all gone

What you can do:

• look at books and tell stories about the pictures, or choose books that your child can hold (e.g., board, cloth or bath books)
• talk back to your child when he/she talks to you
• use real words, not baby talk (e.g., say “Give me” instead of ta ta and “bottle” not baba)
• pay attention to what your child is saying, not how he/she says it
• play games and use toys and objects that your child enjoys

18 to 24 months

• uses 20 or more words
• combines two or more words, such as “more juice”
• uses many different speech sounds at beginning of words, such as p, b, m, t, d, n
• takes turns “talking” back and forth with you
• listens to simple stories, rhymes and songs

What you can do:

• use different kinds of words when you talk with your child (in, big, happy, jumping)
• encourage your child to play with other children (e.g., library story times, play groups)
• name and copy different sounds your child hears (e.g., dog barking, bird singing, fire engine siren)
• use the adult way of saying words or phrases without correcting your child directly (e.g., child says daddy car, you say “Yes, daddy’s in the car. Let’s go.”)