Child language is a beautiful thing. They are still learning the rules, the sounds, and structures of the language. Mistakes are often endearing at a young age, and help a child learn.

At some point, however, if errors persist they can be concerning or even interfere with being able to understand what your child is saying.

If you find yourself struggling to understand your child’s speech, two paths come to mind.

One – you could reach out to your pediatrician, your school district, or a speech-language pathologist in your area. Tell them your concerns and ask what they suggest. There are professionals ready and willing to help you.

Two – start taking notice of any specific details that make it hard to understand your child. Are there certain sounds that aren’t quite right? Are there situations in which he/she is harder to understand? When you do understand, what external or body language clues help you to figure out what your child is trying to say?

If there are specifics, write them down. Check this chart to see if you notice the listed sounds and patterns in your child’s speech.

By 3 months	Makes cooing sounds
By 5 months	Laughs and makes playful sounds
By 6 months	Makes speech-like babbling sounds like puh, ba, mi, da
By 1 year	Babbles longer strings of sounds like mimi, upup, bababa
By 3 years	Says m, n, h, w, p, b, t, d, k, g, and f in wordsFamiliar people understand the child’s speech
By 4 years	Says y and v in wordsMay still make mistakes on the s, sh, ch, j, ng, th, z, l, and r soundsMost people understand the child’s speech

If you still have concerns, please reach out! Your pediatrician, school district or local speech-langauage pathologist can help. Early intervention is best!

If you want more information on communication development, check this page from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association for more details.

You can also find me on instagram, where I share developmental milestones, resources, and things parents can do to support their child’s language development.