How to help young children reach their communication milestones

Communication milestones are a significant part of any child’s life. From making their first sounds, to saying words and eventually telling stories, kids will typically develop their ability to communicate as they grow up.

Children learn to communicate throughout their early life experiences, by interacting with others. This may include early childhood educators, their family, and friends/peers at childcare.

What are communication milestones?

Children will always vary to some extent in the development of their communication (speech and language) skills. However, as a general rule, they follow a natural progression for developing and mastering their communication skills.

An example of a communication milestone is that, ’typically at 2 years, children can say approximately 50 single words.’ These milestones can be a helpful indicator as to if your child is on track with their communication, or if they may need some additional support from those around them.

Download the Communication Milestone chart.

Should I be worried if my child isn’t reaching all of these milestones?

It’s no secret that these communication milestones can create a lot of anxiety, for both parents and early childhood educators working with kids. It can provoke negative feelings of guilt, particularly for parents, such as ‘what if my child isn’t reaching these milestones? Am I doing something wrong? Will they ever catch up?’

Breathe! It is going to be okay.

You are not a bad parent. You are not a bad person! And you are not failing your child. And as for our amazing early childhood educators, please be kind to yourselves as well!

If you are worried about your child or someone in your centre not reaching communication milestones, there are a few steps you can take.

• If you are a parent - speak to their Doctor and/or Paediatrician

• If you are a parent - speak to their early childhood educator and facilitators – have they noticed anything at day-care or kinder? Sometimes, communication can vary across different environments. If you are an early childhood educator, speak to the parent about what they are observing with regards to the child’s communication at home and outside of childcare.

• Get a referral for a Speech Pathologist – the earlier, the better, as waitlists can be long.

One size does not fit all when it comes to both determining if your child may have a speech or language delay, as well as the therapy that can support them best. Evidence-based research indicates that a person-centred approach to therapies, meaning it is individualised to meet a person’s unique needs, will show the best results.

This means not always listening to ‘mum blogs’ and ‘Dr. Google’ when it comes to your child’s communication!

The waitlist to see a Speech Pathologist is so long

This is the unfortunate reality for a lot of parents at the moment, as the demand to see a Speech Pathologist in some areas is higher than ever before.

Whilst the most ideal scenario would be to seek individualised support (as mentioned above), this isn’t always accessible for everyone for a variety of reasons. This may include waitlists, costs, and time constraints when it comes to accessing Speech Pathology and therapy for your child.

We hear you! This isn’t easy pathway to access, and this can lead to further frustration and anxiety. OSCAR Care Group Speech Pathology team continue to grow and increase the number of children we can see.

With no waitlist for appointments within our Mount Waverley Clinic. To gain an appointment, reach out to our team to confirm detials.

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