How Many Words/phrases Does Your Toddler Say?

Have him assessed by an early childhood speech therapist. If he needs early intervention they will tell you and it will save him loads of embarrassment in elementary.

I've heard 50 words by age 2. But if you have any concerns at all, call early intervention. They will screen him for free, and if he need a therapist, that will be free too.

All 4 of my kids were completely different. My oldest shortened many words - cooks were cookies and cracks were crackers - until he was about 3.5. My second was very mobile walked at 9 months but was considered speech delayed. We had his hearing tested at about 2 but it came back fine. He now is in first grade and among the top in his class in most areas. My third was very much just the average of what is expected. My daughter talks circles around any of them. Started saying phrases and sentences younger and learned new words daily starting very young.

So IMO all kids are different and this isn't necesarily a big red flag unless there are other concerns as well. I had my 2nd sons hearing tested because I had a cousin that was thought to have a speech impediment that turned out to be a hearing issue. In general I try not to over react to things but I also take advantage of any testing/help that maybe available when my children have an issue. I would hate to ignore an issue and see it get worse so if the pediatrician is recommending additional testing or therapy I go for it.

My boys are now 153 and 136 months old. They both have excellent vocabularies and communicate well. They both get A's and B's in school. But they have very different stories and personalities.

My oldest didn't even speak until he was 15 months old. He liked to watch and listen. He's just an introverted sort of kid. There's nothing wrong with that. Even now he's a quiet kid who observes more than he speaks. He's an excellent student and his choosing not to speak until later hasn't hindered him a bit. When he was little and he would say a word incorrectly, I'd gently say it correctly and ask him to say it back to me. That's just want you do when you're teaching them to talk. It wasn't long until he was off and running, repeating what I'd say and telling me all about what he saw.

My youngest spoke at 9 months old and still hasn't stopped talking (oy). He's a total extrovert in every way. Again, when he'd speak and his words were garbled I'd repeat it back to him and have him say it correctly.

I'd not focus or get so hung up on how many words and phrases he's saying. Work on improving. Work on adding vocabulary. Point out things and name them for him. Ask him to identify animals, colors, shapes and letters, and correct him when he's wrong.

Don't get so hung up on the milestones. Every child is different. As long as yours are developing and growing, just go with it. Enjoy.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, at 18 months they should generally have at least 8-10 words. At 24 months, they should have at least 50 words and be using short phrases.

I do remember that when our pediatrician asked us how many words DS had at his 18 month check up that we had already completely lost count. My mom could easily understand his speech at 22 months. My dad could not. DH and I could but there would be random phrases where we were completely clueless as to what he was saying.

Talking to him and reading are exactly what you should be doing.

I disagree with your pediatrician. Most people cannot understand 22 month
olds unless they are families with 22 month olds ;-)

there is a verbal explosion around their bdays.

My son was similar to "Fanged Bunny" below.
He didn't speak much. But understood everything and could express himself succinctly in other ways and he did sign language too. He was never frustrated about his lack of speech. Most everyone understood him.
But he had a speech delay.
Which was assessed by our local Early Intervention organization. It is free, so why not? It did help him and he enjoyed it very much. They came to our home.
Our home is also bilingual.
But nonetheless, at about 3 years old, he became the MOST talkative one in our home. But it is not just about how "talkative" a toddler is... it is also about the mechanics of "talking." ie: the mouth/tongue/throat/lips coordination per, speaking and sounds. And about enunciation. And that, at each age juncture, certain sounds or letters may or may not be developed yet, or is, but they have a speech delay.

So again, it is NOT about how many words a kid speaks or not. And that they have EXACTLY 10 words they MUST be saying by now.
It is also the whole mechanics about, speaking/talking and/or the understanding of words and expression.... both in terms of what is said to them, and what they say in response or initiate etc.

Mine didn't speak many words, much less phrases at that age. We enrolled him in early intervention speech therapy at 24 months. At 3 years old, he's a non-stop chatterbox.

(ours is our first and only, and ours is a bilingual home).

Best,
F. B.

My son is almost 3 now and has been EXTREMELY verbal since he was very young, all of my kids have. My nephew was not and is catching up now. I think I'd have him evaluated by early intervention. It varies by state but it is free - they come to your house and there's no harm in getting it checked out by a pro! We did early intervention PT for delays in crawling/walking and it was awesome!!!

I have two sons. At that age my older son was very articulate. He spoke in full sentences, had a large vocabulary and could be understood by anyone. My younger son at that age had only a few words and phrases.

A., if I read your post correctly, you are the person who understands him, but his words are not consistently understood by his Dad or others. This might be more important the the number of words or phrases. This may be a function of speech, physical development or hearing. Did the doctor suggest a hearing test?

I suggest you consider contacting the Early Intervention services in your area for a free or insurance paid evaluation. These professionals will be able to tell you how typical your son's development is and what skills might need improvement. Then, depending on whether there is a need, they may offer suggestions for home activities or offer direct services in your home. No matter what they tell you, it will only confirm the skills you know he has and put that knowledge into the context of typical development. It such a relief to have an indivdual assessment!

I could have written this post, when my son was that age. He said short phrases, but his enunciation wasn't terribly clear, and they were little word clusters, not sentences proper. When he was 2 1/2, I consulted with a naturopathic physician and got all dairy products out of his diet. Within a week, his speech just took off, though he didn't start having real conversations until he turned 3. Today, he's 7 1/2 and reads books that are assigned in high school classrooms. He's doing basic algebra. Still can't digest dairy to save his life.

This isn't to say that YOUR son has a dairy intolerance, but if he's not enunciating clearly, that could point to fluid/mucus in the ear canal.* It's more intended to say, the causes of a mild speech delay are incredibly diverse. It's often not what you first would think.

* This is a common symptom of dairy intolerance, but there are many other possible causes as well.

Our son said words but he was pretty quiet till just after his 2nd birthday.
And then it was fairly constant chatter chatter chatter!
Give it a few more months.

My son is 28 months. I am the one that mostly understands him. He does not say sentences or full phrases. I have requested an evaluation. There are some letters he does not say at all (like hard C or K). He is talking more now then he was just a month ago but we are getting him checked just in case. It is free as long as done before 3 yrs old and they come to the home. If they do not think he needs intervention, they would at least be able to recommend things to do.

Our littlest is 18 months old and does not speak one single word. He's plenty loud, and expressive and smiley, and communicative in other ways, but seriously, not.one.word.
I think he occasionally says mama or dada, but more in a mamamamamama kind of way, like just making an easy sound over and over again. I'm not worried. I had one speaking and reciting the alphabet letters at 18 months and one that didn't speak until after 2, but then it was in full sentences almost overnight.

my daughter is 19months old and she says more words/phrases than I can even count. Not everything come out clearly thought, there are quite a few words she says that only myself, my fiancé, and my parents understand immediately without her having to repeat it over and over because we all see her everyday.. for example she has trouble with G sounds, she calls her grampy "brampy" and instead of grapes she says "brapes" .. was your son an early walker/crawler? my daughter didn't walk on her own til she was 15 months, way older than my cousins/friends children, but she started talking a lot earlier

just a funny story I thought id add that happened this morning. My daughter was eating one of those squeeze pouches with yogurt in it in our room while she was sitting on the floor playing with one of her puzzles. Well she thought it was a good idea that once she didn't want anymore of the yogurt she would get up and squeeze the rest out in a puddle on our bed. Naturally I told her she was a bad girl and made a mess and she shouldn't do that. I run in the kitchen to grab some paper towels and I walk back in our room to see her standing there holding her little play cell phone to her ear and I hear "hello, dada... oh no made a mess... ok mama clean.... byebye" and she pushes the button on the phone and puts it back on the shelf. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants, I swear new things come out of her mouth everyday lol

My daughter and her son were both very verbal very early, but I've known kids who turned out just as bright and talkative who got a much slower start, including a neighbor's kid who didn't even try to speak for his first couple of years. But when he did, his grammar was perfect and enunciation clear.

Those benchmarks help identify kids who are having developmental problems so they can be helped early. But most children who fall outside the "normal" range are probably still normal, if unique. Ask your ped if he/she sees reason for concern, perhaps a further evaluation.

It really sounds like you're doing the right things; chatting and reading are wonderful ways to help a child's language abilities along. Singing, too, which allows information into the brain along different pathways that can help memory.

Sorry, I'm having computer problems smh

Of course after posting the same message 3xs it erased completely.

My 2.5 year old son is a big talker!!! When he was 2 he had his check up nd the doctors were checking his speech and listening comprehension levels when he clear as day identified an octagon. The doctors were not worried after that. I used to read to him daily (4-5 board books) and take him to the library's storytime weekly. My son is a TV kid and watches nick Jr and Disney Jr daily in addition to us putting him to sleep with his Disney movies. He's so funny, he likes to recite various scenes from his favorite movies and he also sings.

I also speak Spanish fluently and started teaching when he was one but he rejected it. Now with the help of Dora he is more receptive, he'll repeat what I say in Spanish. He can now count to 30 in English and 14 in Spanish. Yes I'm a proud Mama.

With all that being said, I think if you as the Mom feel concerned about your child's speech development look into early intervention. My cousin has a daughter the same age as my son and we used to compare their speech and I didn't really think her daughter had a delay. My cousin had a hunch and took advantage of the early intervention programs. I guess a mother knows.