Communication and Your 2- to 3-Year-Old (for Parents) (2024)

FAQs

Communication and Your 2- to 3-Year-Old (for Parents)? ›

What Should I Do? The more interactive conversation and play kids are involved in, the more they learn. Reading books, singing, playing word games, and simply talking to toddlers builds their vocabulary and teaches listening skills.

Role play, counting games and helping out around the house are great ways to use their imagination and build on the words they already know. Try to repeat words and add instructions to words they've grasped to encourage their play.

At around two years of age your child will probably have built up a core vocabulary of about one to two hundred words, and learned to join two words together. It is important to remember that children at this stage often do not pronounce words clearly, and that this is perfectly normal.

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. Ask questions that start with who, what, where or why, such as "Where is mommy?"

Toddlers between the ages of two and three years are beginning to talk in sentences and sometimes say things in a big and definite voice. We can be tricked into thinking our toddlers are more grown up than they really are. The most important thing to remember is that your two or three year old is still a baby.

At 2-3 years, you can expect strong feelings, tantrums, pretend play and independence. Toddlers are developing new skills in many areas, including language, thinking and movement. Development activities include talking and listening, reading, playing outdoors, playing with others and cooking together.

By age 3, a toddler's vocabulary usually is more than 200 words. Kids can string together 2- or 3-word sentences. They can talk with you in a conversation that has at least 2 back-and-forth exchanges. Other people can understand your toddler most of the time.

Age 2-3. By the third year of life, a toddler should be starting to use 2-3 word combinations with more regularity. A typical 3-year-old can use about 1,000 words . They should have enough vocabulary to name most things around them by this point.

Why is my 3-year-old not talking but understands everything? ›

If your child understands everything but doesn't speak it is mostly because the child has developed receptive language appropriately for their age and may have an expressive language delay.

So if your toddler is 2 or 3 years old and isn't yet talking, it's vital to go ahead and speak with their pediatrician, or with a speech-language pathologist. They will likely recommend a speech evaluation in order to assess your child's current abilities. Early intervention is so important in these situations.

Young kids are often able to count higher than you might expect if you help them with a few key numbers, particularly the decades. For example, a 2.5-year-old might count up until 19 and then get stuck on what comes next, but after you tell her it is 20, she can keep counting until 29.

They start to understand social skills like sharing and being kind, but only when they're feeling safe and happy. Three year olds often enjoy being and playing with other children. Your child is learning that other people are real and have feelings so they may be upset when other people are upset.

Signs and symptoms of challenging behaviour

defiance (e.g. refusing to follow your requests) fussiness (e.g. refusal to eat certain foods or wear certain clothes) hurting other people (e.g. biting, kicking) excessive anger when the child doesn't get their own way.

Your child's ability to recognize different colors heats up at around 18 months, the same time he begins to notice similarities and differences in shape, size, and texture. But it will be a while longer before he's able to name the colors; most children can name at least one color by age 3.

What Should I Do? The more interactive conversation and play kids are involved in, the more they learn. Reading books, singing, playing word games, and simply talking to toddlers builds their vocabulary and teaches listening skills.

Repeat words, for example, "Where are your shoes?", "Are you wearing blue shoes today?" and "Let's put your shoes on". Repetition helps your child to remember words. Use simple instructions – your child will understand some instructions at this age, such as "Get your coat" or '"Shut the door".