Welcome back to our series, “Milestones: Navigating the Numbers”! This series was inspired by the release of the updated milestone checklist from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).Today we are focusing on what to expect from your little one between ages 2 and 3. Before scrolling ahead, be sure to check out our other blogs in this series here: By Age 1 and By Age 2!

Between 2 and 3 years old, children are able to express more of their wants, thoughts, and emotions. They’re able to follow longer instructions with details, engage in various forms of play by themselves and with peers, and have an increased interest in the world around them! In addition, they begin to have more independence in daily life skills, such as washing their own hands, feeding themselves, and getting dressed.

This rapid growth in development is so exciting for both you and your little one! Keep reading for additional information on specific speech, language and feeding skills.

Receptive Language Skills (the comprehension of language):

Answers questions like “What do you do when your hands are dirty?” and “Which one do you eat?”.

Expressive Language Skills (ability to communicate wants, needs, thoughts and feelings):

Asks “why” and “how” questions.

Why, why, why! For example, you may say, “We need to brush our teeth!” and your child responds with “Why?”. You may respond, “so they stay clean!” and your child responds, “Why?”.
For example, “How does it go?” when playing with a toy.

Says their name when asked, “What’s your name?”.
Begins to use various grammatical markers.

Some plural words: “cats”, “cookies”.
Uses -ing verbs: “crawling”, “playing”.
Adds -ed to the end of words to talk about the past: “walked”, “cooked”.

Uses various word combinations often but may occasionally repeat some words or phrases, such as: “I want….I want milk!”.

By 2 years of age, a child is expected to have at least 50 words and combine 2 words together, such as “more juice”.
By 3 years of age, a child is expected to have 250 words and combine 3 words together, such as “I drink juice”.

Tries to get others’ attention by saying, “Look at me!”.
Provides reasons for things.

For example, a child tells you that you need shoes to go outside or an umbrella when it’s raining.

Speech Production Skills (Sound Production):

Correctly produces the following sounds in the beginning, middle and final positions of words: /p, b, m, h, w, d, n/.
Correctly produces most vowels in words.
Their speech is becoming more clear to you. However, your child may not be as understandable to unfamiliar listeners (or people who do not know your child and their speech patterns as well!).

Feeding Skills:

Feeds self with spoon and fork- but still often uses their fingers!
Chews all foods with tougher textures without gagging or choking.

Manages most crunchy, hard, or mixed food textures.
Continues to require adult assistance in cutting challenging foods into smaller pieces to prevent choking.
Of note, parents should continue to avoid foods with higher choking risks (i.e. popcorn, hotdogs, grapes).

Drinks human milk and water.

Drinks from an open cup without spilling.

Are one or more of these skills challenging for your child? We’re here to help! At OWLS Therapy, we offer free phone consultations with a speech-language pathologist to discuss your questions and concerns further. We can provide personalized recommendations for your family and determine if there is a need for further evaluation.

Contact Us Here:

Northern Virginia

Email: info@owlstherapy.com

Phone: 703-470-6957

Main Line Philadelphia

Email: philadelphia@owlstherapy.com

Phone: 610-579-0914

Be sure to stop back for our next blog in the series- all about development from age 3 to age 4!

For more information on the milestones check out:

https://www.owlstherapy.com/new-blog/milestones-vs-averages

https://www.asha.org/public/developmental-milestones/communication-milestones-2-to-3-years/

https://www.owlstherapy.com/new-blog/2024/3/1/5-tips-to-increase-your-childs-vocabulary-from-a-slp