Birth to 3 Months
- Reacts to loud sounds
- Calms down or smiles when spoken to
- Recognizes your voice and calms down if crying
- When feeding, starts or stops sucking in response to sound
- Coos and makes pleasure sounds
- Has a special way of crying for different needs
- Smiles when he or she sees you
4 to 6 Months
- Follows sounds with his or her eyes
- Responds to changes in the tone of your voice
- Notices toys that make sounds
- Pays attention to music
- Babbles in a speech-like way and uses many different sounds, including sounds that begin with p, b, and m
- Laughs
- Babbles when excited or unhappy
- Makes gurgling sounds when alone or playing with you
7 Months to 1 Year
- Enjoys playing peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
- Turns and looks in the direction of sounds
- Listens when spoken to
- Understands words for common items such as “cup,” “shoe,” or “juice”
- Responds to requests (“Come here”)
- Babbles using long and short groups of sounds (“tata, upup, bibibi”)
- Babbles to get and keep attention
- Communicates using gestures such as waving or holding up arms
- Imitates different speech sounds
- Has one or two words (“Hi,” “dog,” “Dada,” or “Mama”) by first birthday
1 to 2 Years
- Knows a few parts of the body and can point to them when asked
- Follows simple commands (“Roll the ball”) and understands simple questions (“Where’s your shoe?”)
- Enjoys simple stories, songs, and rhymes
- Points to pictures, when named, in books
- Acquires new words on a regular basis
- Uses some one- or two-word questions (“Where kitty?” or “Go bye-bye?”)
- Puts two words together (“More cookie”)
- Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words
2 to 3 Years
- Has a word for almost everything
- Uses two- or three-word phrases to talk about and ask for things
- Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds
- Speaks in a way that is understood by family members and friends
- Names objects to ask for them or to direct attention to them
3 to 4 Years
- Hears you when you call from another room
- Hears the television or radio at the same sound level as other
family members - Answers simple “Who?” “What?” “Where?” and “Why?” questions
- Talks about activities at daycare, preschool, or friends’ homes
- Uses sentences with four or more words
- Speaks easily without having to repeat syllables or words
4 to 5 Years
- Pays attention to a short story and answers simple questions about it
- Hears and understands most of what is said at home and in school
- Uses sentences that give many details
- Tells stories that stay on topic
- Communicates easily with other children and adults
- Says most sounds correctly except for a few (l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, and th)
- Uses rhyming words
- Names some letters and numbers
- Uses adult grammar
This checklist is based upon How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?, courtesy of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association.
