麻豆果冻传媒

Age-Appropriate Hearing, Speech and Language Milestones

An unborn baby's hearing starts to develop early. And at birth, a baby's hearing is fully functioning. The ability to hear is vital for correct speech and language development. Children do respond differently at different stages of growth and development. But hearing problems may be suspected in children who are not responding to sounds. They may also be suspected in children who are not developing their language skills correctly. Below are some age-related guidelines that may help to determine if your child is having hearing problems.

It's important to remember that not every child is the same. Children reach milestones at different ages. Talk with your child's healthcare provider if you think your child is not hearing correctly. Here are the age-appropriate hearing milestones for most babies and toddlers.

Milestones related to speech and hearing

Age

   Milestone

Birth to 3 months

 

  • Reacts to familiar sounds or voices. For example, calms down when hearing parent鈥檚 voice.

  • Reacts to sudden loud sounds. May blink, startle, or cry.

  • Makes vocal sounds other than crying.

3 months to 4 months

 

  • Looks in the direction of a sound to see where it鈥檚 coming from.

  • Makes sounds back when you talk to them.

  • Makes sounds, such as 鈥渙ooo鈥 and 鈥渁hhh鈥 (cooing).

4 months to 6 months

 

  • Laughs.

  • Takes turns making sounds with you.

  • Makes squealing sounds.

  • Blows 鈥渞aspberries鈥 (sticks tongue out and blows).

6 months to 9 months

 

  • Babbles, making repetitive sounds, such as 鈥渕ama鈥 and 鈥渂aba.鈥

  • Looks when you call their name.

  • Smiles or laughs when you play peek-a-boo.

9 months to 12 months

 

  • Understands "no."

  • Waves "bye-bye."

  • Calls a parent "mama" or "dada" or another special name.

12 months to 15 months

 

  • Tries to say 1 or 2 words besides 鈥渕ama鈥 or 鈥渄ada,鈥 like 鈥渂a鈥 for ball or 鈥渄a鈥 for dog.

  • Follows simple directions when given with both a gesture and word. For example, they give you a book when you hold your hand out and say, "Give me the book."

  • Looks at a familiar object when you name it.

  • Points to ask for something or get help.

15 months to 18 months

 

  • Tries to say 3 or more words besides 鈥渕ama鈥 or 鈥渄ada.鈥

  • Follows one-step directions without any gestures, like giving you an object when you say, 鈥淕ive it to me.鈥

18 months to 24 months

 

  • Combines at least 2 words into short phrases, such as 鈥渕ore cookie鈥 or 鈥渨ant milk.鈥

  • Points to at least 2 body parts when you ask them to show you.

  • Uses more gestures than just waving and pointing, like blowing a kiss or nodding yes.

  • Points to things in a book when you ask, like 鈥淲here is the fish?鈥

24 months to 30 months

 

  • Says about 50 words.

  • Says 2 or more words, with one action word, like 鈥淒oggie run.鈥

  • Names things in a book when you point and ask, 鈥淲hat is this?鈥

  • Says words like 鈥淚,鈥 鈥渕e,鈥 or 鈥渨e.鈥

  • Follows simple routines when told, like helping to pick up toys when you say, 鈥淚t鈥檚 clean-up time.鈥

30 months to 3 years

 

  • Talks with you in conversation using at least 2 back-and-forth exchanges.

  • Asks 鈥渨ho,鈥 鈥渨hat,鈥 鈥渨here,鈥 or 鈥渨hy鈥 questions, like 鈥淲here is my ball?鈥

  • Says what action is happening in a picture or book when asked, like 鈥渟wimming,鈥 鈥渆ating,鈥 or 鈥渨alking.鈥

  • Says first name, when asked.

  • Talks well enough for others to understand, most of the time.

3 years to 4 years

 

  • Says sentences with 4 or more words.

  • Says some words from a song, story, or nursery rhyme.

  • Talks about at least 1 thing that happened during their day.

  • Answers simple questions like 鈥淲hat is a pencil for?鈥

4 years to 5 years

 

  • Tells a story they heard or made up with at least 2 events. For example, a dog was lost and a friend found it.

  • Answers simple questions about a book or story after you read or tell it to them.

  • Keeps a conversation going with more than 3 back-and-forth exchanges.

  • Uses or recognizes simple rhymes (bat-cat, ball-tall).