Learning to understand and talk is a complex process. Children need to master a number of different skills. They need to hear lots of talking and experience lots of interaction with other people to understand what words mean and be able to combine words together to make sentences.
Most children will follow the same steps in learning language, but the age at which they learn them can vary a lot. Sometimes it is best to think about the next steps in your child’s speech and language learning rather than worry to much about what age they are achieving each skill.
Our development charts are broken down into four main areas of language learning; understanding, talking, listening and speech sounds. Within each area we share the main milestones for that skill and give you some tips on when to seek advice. They are colour coded so you can find activities that are suitable for each level easily under the language and speech activities sections.
Remember the tables only provide a rough guide. If you have any concerns about any aspect of your child’s communication you should seek advice from a speech and language therapist.
