What age should a child speak fluently?
2–3 years: Toddlers start to string phrases together and speak coherently. They can usually refer to most things around them. 3–4 years: They can describe activities, use more complex sentences, and speak more fluently. 4–5 years: They use detailed sentences, tell stories, and can communicate easily with others.
A 3-year-old who can comprehend and nonverbally communicate but can't say many words may have a speech delay. One who can say a few words but can't put them into understandable phrases may have a language delay. Some speech and language disorders involve brain function and may be indicative of a learning disability.
If your child is not meeting specific milestones such as babbling by 9 months or pointing by 12 months, then it may be time to talk to your doctor. Typically, a late-talking child will catch up with their peers.
Between the ages of 2 and 3, most children: Speak in two- and three-word phrases or sentences. Use at least 200 words and as many as 1,000 words.
A “Late Talker” is a toddler (between 18-30 months) who has good understanding of language, typically developing play skills, motor skills, thinking skills, and social skills, but has a limited spoken vocabulary for his or her age.
Speech/Language Milestones
Boys tend to develop language skills a little later than girls, but in general, kids may be labeled "late-talking children" if they speak less than 10 words by the age of 18 to 20 months, or fewer than 50 words by 21 to 30 months of age.
Also call the doctor if your child's speech is harder to understand than expected for their age: Parents and regular caregivers should understand about 50% of a child's speech at 2 years and 75% of it at 3 years. By 4 years old, a child should be mostly understood, even by people who don't know the child.
Despite recent claims on TikTok—and (seemingly widespread) disapproval—there's no definitive proof showing that CoComelon causes behavioral and/or developmental issues.
Children with speech delay is one of the concerns for many parents. Many opinions believe that children with delayed speech affect intelligence. However, so far, there has been no research to prove that children with speech delay are less intelligent.
Not necessarily. While speech delays, language delays, and learning differences are often a hallmark of ASD, a speech delay by itself does not mean a child has autism. In fact, there are key differences between communication delays caused by autism and other types of speech-language disorders.
What causes a child not to speak?
There are several things that can cause speech delays, such as hearing loss, physical problems in the roof of the mouth, learning disabilities, or certain diagnosable conditions like autism spectrum disorder or cerebral palsy.
The most common causes of speech delay include: Hearing loss. Slow development. Intellectual disability.
- not responding to their name.
- avoiding eye contact.
- not smiling when you smile at them.
- getting very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound.
- repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body.
- not talking as much as other children.
A 2 year old not talking is a reason to seek advice from a speech pathologist or a health professional. There is a lot of variation and reason for delayed toddler talking, however, if they are saying NO words at 2, it is a definite red flag for them being at risk of development and learning delays.
In fact, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), about 15 percent of children between the ages of 18 and 24 months old are late talkers. There are several reasons why a 2-year-old is babbling but not talking. Sometimes, it may be because they are shy or introverted.
The physician should be concerned if the child is not babbling by the age of 12 to 15 months, not comprehending simple commands by the age of 18 months, not talking by two years of age, not making sentences by three years of age, or is having difficulty telling a simple story by four to five years of age.
Although some kids with late language emergence later prove to be “late bloomers” (who ultimately catch up to their peers without intervention), the differentiation is really only made after the fact. That's why we recommend all “late talkers” get early intervention speech therapy.
Some children with expressive language delay "catch up" during the preschool years ("late bloomers"), whereas others have persistent delay (see 'Natural history' below). Early evaluation can help to correctly identify late-talking children who will benefit from intervention and/or additional evaluation.
At age 13, children identified as late talkers had lower scores on aggregate measures on vocabulary, grammar, verbal memory, and reading comprehension. At age 17, children who were late talkers showed poorer scores on vocabulary/grammar and verbal memory factors.
Simple speech delays are sometimes temporary. They may resolve on their own or with a little extra help from family. It's important to encourage your child to "talk" to you with gestures or sounds and for you to spend lots of time playing with, reading to, and talking with your infant or toddler.
Can too much TV cause speech delay?
Studies report a link between TV and language development in young children. The more time kids spend watching television, the more slowly they learn to talk.
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a disorder of the nervous system that affects a child's ability to say sounds, syllables, and words. With CAS, the brain has trouble telling the lips, jaw, and tongue what to do in order to produce speech.
If you think your child has a problem with their speech or language, let their doctor know right away. The doctor will need to test their hearing. They'll probably also suggest that your child see a professional who can diagnose and treat these delays, called a speech-language pathologist or speech therapist.
- Lines up toys or other objects and gets upset when order is changed.
- Repeats words or phrases over and over (called echolalia)
- Plays with toys the same way every time.
- Is focused on parts of objects (for example, wheels)
- Gets upset by minor changes.
- Has obsessive interests.
“Cocomelon is so awful for children. It's over stimulating which can delay a lot of developmental milestones," one mum claimed. Another mum shared on Reddit that her little one was so addicted to CoComelon, she would tantrum to the point of harming herself when she wasn't allowed to watch it.
Cocomelon, Sannes thinks–with its 2-second scene changes, fast camera movements, and emphasis on multiple effects–is too stimulating for some children.
Babies should not watch Cocomelon or any other programs that involve screen time. The World Health Organization recommends children abstain from sedentary screen time until 2 years of age. After this, the guide is up to 1 hour per day, but no screen time is better than some.
Should a 5-year-old Speak Clearly? By age 5, most children understand how speech should sound and how to produce every speech sound, with the possibility of some mistakes or imperfections. They can identify rhyming words and may engage in rhyming games or songs or listing off words that rhyme (hat, cat, bat, etc.)
In fact, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), about 15 percent of children between the ages of 18 and 24 months old are late talkers. There are several reasons why a 2-year-old is babbling but not talking. Sometimes, it may be because they are shy or introverted.
They'll usually be able to let you know what they want in most situations. Some 3 year olds speak very clearly, while others still use some 'baby talk'. Your child may stumble over some words, but this will probably clear up by itself. Your 3 year old can understand 1000 or more words.
How well should a 4 year old speak?
By 4 years old, most children can: say sentences with 4 or more words. repeat words from a song or story. talk about at least one thing that happened during the day.
A speech delay is when mistakes continue past an appropriate age, and is not necessarily a cause for concern. However, if these mistakes do not correct themselves by six years of age, therapy is required. Young children often make speech errors such as the replacement of “r” sounds with “w”, or “th” for “f”.
Most young children have some trouble with speech. But some speech troubles can be a sign of speech (sound) disorders. Children might need help for speech disorders if they sound immature, don't pronounce words as you'd expect, or get frustrated about speaking.
Also call the doctor if your child's speech is harder to understand than expected for their age: Parents and regular caregivers should understand about 50% of a child's speech at 2 years and 75% of it at 3 years. By 4 years old, a child should be mostly understood, even by people who don't know the child.