When is it normal for a child to learn to speak?

speech delay

As we have seen on other occasions, the milestones that children must reach in their development do not have a set pattern. Each child according to their brain maturity and stimulation will begin to speak sooner or later. But generally children are able to reach certain milestones at certain ages.

 When is it normal for a child to learn to speak?

It is a question that greatly worries parents of children who still do not communicate as they should because of their age. From what age do you have to worry? When do you have to take them to a speech therapist? We will comment on this and more questions below.

There are children who start talking very earlyThey even learn to speak before they walk. On the other hand, other children with two years hardly say a word. It is important to know how to detect early signs that our child has a problem with speech to correct it when before.

When is it considered that there is a problem in speech?

There are a series of signs that we can detect that could indicate a problem:

  • If from birth to 12 months he does not make sounds, does not seem to flinch with loud sounds, does not babble, and does not use hand gestures.
  • If 12 to 24 months does not respond to his name, or use gestures to say hello or show what he wants.
  • From 2 to 3 years and has not said a single word (even if it is misspoken like tete to say pacifier), does not interact with others and has difficulty controlling drooling and chewing At this age they should say approximately 40-50 words, and form sentences of at least 2 words.
  • If at 3-4 years they cannot make simple sentences of several words and cannot be understood by people outside their environment. He does not use words such as adjectives and pronouns, and he is unable to express what he is doing.
  • If from 4 to 5 years old he does not pronounce most sounds well, he only makes short sentences without connections with reduced vocabulary.
  • If from 5 to 6 years the articulation problems continue, you make mistakes in sentence structures and have trouble keeping your attention on something.

when a child should speak

Delayed speech development or language delay

Speech is the verbal expression of language (articulation), and language is the system for receiving and emitting information, and endowing it with meaning. That is, a child with a speech delay can use phrases and words but not be understood, and another with a language delay can pronounce words perfectly but does not know how to say what he wants.

The delay in the acquisition of language can cause problems for the acquisition of other skills such as reading, comprehension, ... and it can also cause aggressive behaviors. Such is the frustration of not knowing how to express themselves well that they do not know how to express that anger in any other way than with bodily and gestural behaviors. They may bite or hit if they get frustrated.

To determine if there is a delay in language acquisition other possible causes need to be ruled out such as hearing problems or neurodevelopmental disorders.

Language delays are usually simple and fix themselves. But in other cases It is better to go to a specialist so that they know how to analyze your child's case well. It will analyze your expressive and receptive language, that is, your ability to make yourself understood and to understand.

Do not miss the article on How to stimulate speech in children. Parents can stimulate the language development of our children at home from when they are very young. Children learn to understand language earlier than to speak it. Their speech delay may simply be due to the fact that since they make themselves understood in other ways they don't need to speak. That is why it is convenient, even if you understand them in their language, to make them make an effort and speak.


Why remember ... when in doubt, go to your doctor who will know how to assess the situation and detect it as soon as possible.


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