From Cooing To Conversation: An interview with a speech–language pathologist

February 04, 2024

A redheaded toddler standing on a chair to reach a table and pretend to talk on an ornate white and gold telephone

By Kelly Patten

If your family are big Bluey fans like mine, you are probably familiar with the episode “Baby Race”. In the episode, Chilli, the mom in the family of four, reminisces about wanting her daughter Bluey to be the first baby to start walking. She eventually reminds Bluey to “run her own race” and not compare herself to others.

As the parent of a toddler, it's so easy to relate to the milestone race, especially with your first child. You go to playgroup and can’t help but watch other kids roll, crawl, walk, or chatter away in full sentences. Last year I took my daughter to music class each week, and every week I watched a little boy her exact age hold full conversations with the teacher, his nanny, and other toddlers. My daughter would happily shout “Bubbles! Ball! Book!”, but wasn’t close to approaching his level of dialogue. As it turns out, I didn’t need to compare—my daughter was running her own race.

Language development is a complex and often confusing topic, so I chose to sit down and chat with my good friend, Halie Peveto, an experienced speech–language pathologist (SLP). Halie has ten years of experience working as an SLP to support children’s language development. She has worked in the United States, Germany, and Thailand, and is currently based in Shanghai.

What communication and language milestones should parents be aware of at different stages of development?

Birth to one year: A lot happens in a child’s first year of life. Throughout the first year, your child will most likely engage in vocal play by cooing, babbling, and making or imitating sounds. Around one year of age, you might start to hear a few words such as “mama,” “dada,” or “hi.”

One to two years old: As your child gets older, you should see their language grow. By two years old, most children understand and use around 50 or more words. Some of the first English sounds children use are the p/b, m/w, and h sounds.

Two to three years old: By this time, your child is most likely putting words together to form phrases and short sentences. They’ll be able to answer basic questions such as “what” and “where”. Remember, pointing to items still counts as being able to answer questions.

Three to four years old: This is such a fun age because by now your child should be able to tell you a story and comment about their day. They will be using a variety of words and concepts such as prepositions, comparisons, and sizes.

Four to five years old: By age five, your child’s sentences will likely be longer and more grammatically correct. They can follow directions to play games and will be able to make connections about themselves and things in their environment.

What’s the difference between expressive and receptive language?

Receptive language is typically explained as the language we understand. Expressive language is often defined as the language we use to express ourselves and communicate. We express ourselves through various ways such as facial expressions, using words, pointing, using gestures, and signing.

A multiracial group of young toddlers sitting on the floor together and playing with blocks

Should I be concerned if my child uses word approximations, such as “wawa” for water or “ca” for car?

It depends on the age of your child. For example, these word approximations are typically observed from age one to two. However, I have encountered many children still using word approximations at age three who did not qualify for speech and language services. It would be atypical for a five-year-old to still be verbally communicating through word approximations only. Once a child reaches age three, it is anticipated that their intelligibility will increase to around 75%.

What should I do if I’m concerned about my child’s language development?

Some common concerns parents have are

my child is not speaking,
my child is only using a few words,
my child does not seem to understand what I say to them, and
my child is not able to express themselves when they feel angry or frustrated.

If you are concerned about your child’s language development, I would recommend contacting a speech–language pathologist.

Early intervention is important, so if you are in a position to get your child support at a young age, I would recommend it. During an evaluation, caregivers might be surprised that the SLP is not as concerned as they are. If your child qualifies for language delay, the SLP should provide models and strategies you can use at home to promote language development.

As parents we are the most important source for our children's language development. On the next page are some of the best, and most fun, things you can do with your children to support their natural process of language development.

Things parents can do to support language development

Model language	Talk to your child even at a young age. Narrate what you are doing, respond to their vocalizations, and interact with them. Modeling language is powerful.
Sing songs	Children learn language through multiple exposures and repetitions. Most songs are very repetitive and have fun melodies and intonations which help keep a child’s attention.
Read	Reading is essential! I cannot stress this enough. Reading together allows you to bond with your child and explore new vocabulary through books. Reading can create so many opportunities for language. You can ask your child to point to items, label pictures, describe what people are doing, make predictions about what may happen on the next page, or talk about facial expressions and emotions.
Give choices	I like to give children choices in activities. This can give them some ownership but also allows you to maintain some control. Giving choices is important if your child is still learning vocabulary and does not know the names of items. You could potentially avoid a moment of frustration by asking, “Do you want milk or water?” as opposed to asking, “What do you want to drink?”
Expand	Expand on the language that your child is using. For example, if your child says “bubble” you can expand and say, “bubbles go up” or “pop the bubble.”
Play	Play with your child at their level. It’s important to be face-to-face with a child so they can hear you and see your mouth and facial expressions. Play is a powerful tool as it creates so many opportunities for language modeling and building. I recommend cycling through toys as opposed to having all the toys out at one time.

As I write this, my two-week-old daughter is sleeping in my lap. Together, our family is beginning a new journey into the land of growth and development milestones. I’ve already tried to convince my husband she is smiling at us! While I am sure that I will have moments of doubt, I hope that this time I remember from the start that we are all running our own race and that my daughter’s achievements are cause for celebration and joy.

Photos from Canva.

About the Author

Kelly is currently a stay-at-home mom who has lived in Bangkok for over seven years. She previously worked as a primary educator and literacy specialist. Kelly loves reading fiction books, listening to podcasts, and exploring Thailand with her family.