will I grow out of it?

Speech and Language Development - Milestones
Speech Delay - Warning Signs

Small girl with a bow in her hair.

age - 3 to 4 years

  • follows 2 related directions e.g. "close the book and give it to me"
  • tells first and last name
  • understands questions about a picture story e.g. "Where did the bunny go?"
  • reasons - answers "What do you do when you're hungry/cold?"
  • tells a short story e.g. "two kids played ball"

warning signs

  • is your child's speech difficult to understand?
  • are your child's speech skills not at age level described?

 

activities - language comprehension

  • your child should be able to distinguish square and round some of the time.
  • he should be able to maneuver objects and exhibit up, down, top, and bottom with them.
  • she should understand fast and slow.
  • he should be able to identify silly or wrong pictures. e.g. A picture of a child sitting on a table and eating food off his chair. He should be able to tell you what's wrong with the picture.
  • after you read your child a short story or book, she should be able to recall 3 or 4 events of the story.

 

activities - language expression

  • He should be able to sing or say two nursery rhymes. "Ring around the Roseys" or other rhymes that use physical movement are popular and seems to help them remember the words easier.
  • She should be able to respond to 'who' or 'whose' questions. "Whose shoe is this?" or "Who lives here?" (try this when you are driving in the car).
  • a child this age should be able to sustain a conversation for 3 to 4 turns.
  • when playing with toys, he should be able to describe attributes of the toy. e.g. "What is the color of your car?", etc.

Activity suggestions are courtesy of Laura Renfroe Christiensen, a Speech Pathologist working with children from birth to 18 months of age.

This page is sponsored by www.blankees.com