#Toddler Language Development

Comment “5STEPS” for my free class to help your toddler say more words 💫 Wondering why your toddler isn’t talking yet?

It usually comes down to the foundational skills that come before words. Let me explain. 👇
 As a speech therapist specializing in toddlers and late talkers, I always look at these 5 key areas first:
 🔹 Joint attention – Can your toddler share an experience with you (like looking at a toy and at you)?

🔹 Imitating – Can they copy actions, sounds, or words? (This is often a struggle for late talkers)

🔹 Understanding words – Do they seem to understand simple words or routines, even if they aren’t speaking yet?

🔹 Using gestures – Are they pointing, reaching, waving, or shaking their head to communicate?

🔹 Babbling – Are they experimenting with sounds (like “babababa” or “mamama”)?
 If these skills are still developing, it makes total sense that spoken words haven’t come yet—because the foundation isn’t fully in place.
 💬 Curious where your toddler stands?
 🎉 Join my free workshop and I’ll walk you through exactly what’s going on and how to help—without adding stress to your day. 
Comment “5STEPS” below to save your spot! 🧡 — 2 year old not talking, 18 month old not talking, toddler not talking

👶🏼 Here’s a simple and easy activity that can help your baby or toddler learn new words: ✔️ Repeat a simple play activity. For example, you can stack blocks while saying “up, up, up”, then knock them down while saying “down” and pairing it with a down motion ✔️ Repeat this activity over and over again ✔️ Be engaging and make eye contact with your toddler ✔️ After you’ve repeated the activity, start pausing before knocking the tower down and before saying “down” to see if your toddler will try to say the word or do the action! ✔️ Do this activity often! 🧠 Babies and toddlers benefit from short, simple repeated speech! Try to implement this in your every day routines! Comment “toddler” for a list of recommended development toys for ages 12-24 months! ✨ Follow @babblinbaby for more speech development tips! #toddleractivity #babyactivity #speechdevelopment #languagedevelopment #developmentalactivity

👶🔵 Teach Baby to Talk with Blocks: Fun & Educational Tips for Parents! 💡🗣️ #teachbabytotalk #blocks #babydevelopment #languagedevelopment #speechtherapy #babyactivities #playtime #learningactivities #babylearning #earlylearning #languagelearning #babyeducation #childdevelopment #parentingtips #motherhood #fatherhood #babytips #babyadvice #babyhelp #babyquestions #babyanswers

✨ the toddler language explosion is here! ✨ around 18–24 months, your child’s vocabulary can grow so quickly it feels like they’re learning new words every day. As a speech-language pathologist and a mom, here’s what I keep in mind— by 18 months, toddlers typically use 10–50 words & their vocabulary grows beyond nouns (like dog or apple) to include— action words (go, eat) social words (hi, bye) location words (up, out) describing words (big, hot) simple ways to support language at home— 🌼 repeat words in different contexts 🌼 make more comments, ask fewer questions 🌼 slow down and use short, simple sentences 💌 want more ways to support your child’s speech & language at home? check out The Talkfull Playbook—packed with language strategies and play ideas from birth to three years old that directly support language development 💛 linked in bio!! Hi! 👋🏼 I’m Carly (@talkfullofplay), a pediatric speech-language pathologist. I love sharing educational content, milestones, activities, and tips related to children’s speech & language development. — #slp #speechdevelopment #speechtherapy #firstwords #earlyintervention #babymilestones #firsttimemom #firsttimedad #toddler #howtoplay #baby #toddlermom #momcontent #toddleractivity #babyactivity #18monthsold #21monthsold #24monthsold

✨ This simple tip may help your little one imitate more words! You can use this tip with or without toys; baby dolls just happen to be one of my favorite toys for building language. ✨ Did you know that children generally imitate actions before they imitate words? We can pair the two together to help increase imitation of sounds and words. 1️⃣ Take an action that your child can imitate (in this case, patting the baby on the back) 2️⃣ Pair it with a fun sound or word 3️⃣ Model the action with the sound/word and then pause to see if your child will take a turn ✨ Remember that repetition is key. It may not happen right away, but keep modeling and pausing throughout play and your little one might surprise you! Will you give it a try? Let me know in the comments below! ⬇️ . . . . . #toddlertips #speechtherapist #slp #slp2b #slpsofinstagram #toddlermomlife #speechandlanguage #toddlertalk #parentingtip #parentsofinstagram #firstwords #latetalker

This looks like I am doing less for my toddler. I am actually teaching him to communicate. As a pediatric SLP, I intentionally do not anticipate every need. I give just enough and then I pause. That pause creates a reason to communicate. More. Help. Open. Again. I stay close, responsive, and supportive. The goal is not frustration. The goal is showing my toddler that communication works. This is called creating communication opportunities and it is one of the simplest ways to support language at home without flashcards or pressure. Follow for realistic speech and communication tips you can actually use with your toddler. #pediatricslp #toddlercommunication #languagedevelopment

Worried about speech delay in your toddler? Sometimes speech clarity doesn’t start with words — it starts with play 🤍 These simple blowing activities for toddlers help make the lips, tongue and jaw stronger, which supports clearer sounds and early speech development over time. No pressure. No forcing words. Just play-based learning — 10 minutes a day is enough. Save this for daily practice 💾 Share it with a mom who might need this 🤍 [speech delay, speech development, parenting tips, speech therapy, blowing activities for kids, play based learning, parenting] #speechdevelopment #speechdelay #playbasedtherapy #parenting

Early language skills that develop before baby’s first words are called pre-linguistic skills, and are the building blocks for developing speech and language skills! These are some simple tips you can incorporate into your day to help encourage the development of these early communication skills with your baby ❤️ 💫 7-9 month old speech-language milestones include: ✅Looks at you when you call their name ✅Stops for a moment when you say “no” ✅Recognizes names of some people and objects ✅Babbles long strings of consonant-vowel sounds (e.g. mamama, dadada, babababa) ✅Raises arms to request to be picked up ✅Looks for loved ones when upset ✅Pushes away unwanted objects 🌟 Follow for more early language tips from a licensed pediatrician speech therapist and toddler mom #languagemilestones #speechmilestones #newbornactivities #newmom #pediatricslp

Get those toddlers talking. 🗣️ This is great info from @thelatertalkerslp for parents who want to help develop their child’s speech & language! 👏 As she points out, kids are more likely to imitate sounds over words. 🔊 Give it a try and share this speech tip with a fellow parent. 🎥: @thelatetalkerslp #latetalkers #toddlertalk #toddlermom #toddlerlife #childdevelopment #tipsforparents #speechandlanguage

Are you making these common mistakes when playing with your child? 🚫🗣️ Here are some mistakes I see often as a pediatric speech therapist and what you can do instead! ❌ Pop quizzing them and asking too many questions instead of modeling the language they can use. ❌ Focusing too much on pre-academic skills such as colors, shapes, or numbers that do not provide them with language to meet their wants or needs. Put the focus on functional language so that they can communicate more successfully with you! ❌ Getting stuck in the “this/that” battle by not using specific language when modeling words to your child. Shape sorters are one of my staple toys because you can target SO much with them at once. Here are a just few different examples of what you can target: - Requesting - Turn taking - Naming - Prepositions - Following directions - Number concepts ✔️ If you want to learn more about play and how to use play to promote your child’s overall development, my “it’s not JUST play” guide is out! Comment “PLAY” for the link! #slp #speechtherapy #pedsslp #earlyintervention #babydevelopment #momtips #parenting #parenttips #toddlerspeech #speechdelay #playideasforkids #playideasfortoddler #toddlerlanguagedevelopment #toddlertoys #speechpathologist #speechpathology

If your baby/toddler isn’t copying words yet, try this! 👋 Hi! 👩‍⚕️ We’re Ilana and Kellie—a speech-language pathologist and a CDA (and moms!) We’re here to help you connect, play, and nurture your little one’s communication skills from the very beginning. Vocal imitation is a big milestone in your baby’s speech development—and it happens before they start using their first real words! When your baby imitates sounds like ‘ah-choo,’ ‘shh,’ or even a fun whistle (like in this video!), they’re starting to understand how to use their voice to communicate. 👶🎶 Vocal imitation shows that your baby is learning the connection between sounds and meaning. It’s a crucial step that leads to imitating words, which comes next on the path to speaking their first words! Here are 3 tips to encourage vocal imitation and speech development: ✨Be a Role Model: Make fun sounds or say simple words like ‘vroom,’ ‘yucky,’ or ‘ouch.’ Babies love to mimic the sounds and words you make! (Even if they don’t sound exactly like yours!) ✨Pause and Wait: After making a sound or word, give your baby time to respond. This helps them practice imitating, and it encourages back-and-forth communication. Wait up to 10 seconds. ✨Make It Fun: The more playful you are, the more likely your baby will want to imitate you. Keep the sounds and words exciting and engaging! No pressure! Respond to every sound (look, gesture, body movement) your baby makes—they’re learning how to communicate with you, and vocal imitation is an essential step toward copying words! 🙌 What sounds does your baby try and copy? Let us know in the comments! 👇 📌Save this for later! 💕Follow us for more early communication tips! *********************** #babydevelopment #toddlerspeech #toddlermom #parenting101 [baby milestones, baby development, toddler milestones, toddler development, funny baby, parenting tips, millennial parent, speech and language, help my toddler talk]

Are you making these common mistakes when playing with your child? 🚫🗣️ 
✔️ If you want to learn more about play and how to use play to promote your child’s overall development, comment “PLAY” for my at home speech strategies resource! 
 Here are some mistakes I see often as a pediatric speech therapist and what you can do instead! ❌ Pop quizzing them and asking too many questions instead of modeling the language they can use. ❌ Focusing too much on pre-academic skills such as colors, shapes, or numbers that do not provide them with language to meet their wants or needs. Put the focus on functional language so that they can communicate more successfully with you! ❌ Getting stuck in the “this/that” battle by not using specific language when modeling words to your child. Shape sorters are one of my staple toys because you can target SO much with them at once. Here are a just few different examples of what you can target: - Requesting - Turn taking - Naming - Prepositions - Following directions - Number concepts #slp #speechtherapy #pedsslp #earlyintervention #babydevelopment #momtips #parenting #parenttips #toddlerspeech #speechdelay #playideasforkids #playideasfortoddler #toddlerlanguagedevelopment #toddlertoys #speechpathologist #speechpathology