When should I worry if my child is not talking?

There is a wide range for normal speech development. Language delays are common in young children, especially boys. Generally, children begin cooing and babbling in response to their parents' speech by 2-3 months. A youngster will use "mama" or "dada" to mean mom and dad by twelve months. Two words sentences by age two and three words or more sentences by age three are considered normal. At their fourth birthday, a child should be speaking adult style sentences, although pronunciation may still not be perfect. When a child is not talking, it does not necessarily mean that something is wrong, especially if the youngster is a boy, has older siblings to speak for him or her, or lives in a bilingual house. I do not worry about "late talkers" if the child could get his or her wishes known without talking, can follow simple commands, and had achieved normal developmental milestones (such as sitting, crawling, walking, etc.) The first thing parents should do when worried that their child's delayed speech is to make sure he or she is hearing okay. Subtle losses of hearing in children are quite common, especially from past ear infections or fluid remaining in the middle ear. Therefore, if you think your child is behind in their speech, make an appointment to see your pediatrician or mention it at the next well-child checkup. A partial hearing loss can be severe enough to interfere with speech and language development.

As a reminder, this information should not be relied on as medical advice and is not intended to replace the advice of your child’s pediatrician. Please read our full disclaimer.