25 Words All Toddlers Should Know by Age 2
Some toddlers are very chatty, others are more quiet, and every kid develops at their own pace. I see this firsthand with my twins -- they don't hit their milestones at the same time. Often it's not something to worry about, but as the parent, you know your child best and your instinct will tell you if a missed or slow-to-come milestone should be mentioned to your doctor.
More from The Stir: Stephen Colbert Makes Me Want to Give My Kid Coffee & Cigarettes (VIDEO)
Speech and talking is a big one. Once our babies say their first word, it's exciting when they add more words to the mix either verbally or by sign, or both. By the time a child is 2, there are 25 words every toddler should be using say researchers from the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College. Twenty-five words is considered the minimum for late talkers -- the average is 75 to 225 words with phrases. These 25 words are considered to be the building blocks of a child's vocabulary.
all gone
baby
ball
banana
bath
bye bye
book
car
cat
cookie
daddy
dog
eye
hat
hello/hi
hot
juice
milk
mommy
more
no
nose
shoe
thank you
yes
More from The Stir: You Failed Your Kids by Speaking Only English
Dr. Leslie Rescorla is a director at the institute who determined what the words should be. She shared that if your child doesn't say all 25 of these words, it doesn't necessarily mean you should worry -- some kids have delayed speech and catch up by age 4 or 5.
Does your child say all these words?
Image via miss.libertine/Flickr
Written by Michele Zipp on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
More from The Stir:
Free Range Parenting Can Make Your Toddler Smarter
25 Best Mom Confessions of 2011
