Most children will:
- Follow two-step directions - "Go find your teddy bear and show it to Grandma".
- Use 100 to 150 words.
- Use at least two pronouns - "you", "me", "mine".
- Consistently combine two to four words in short phrases - "daddy hat", "truck go down".
- Enjoy being with other children.
- Begin to offer toys to peers and imitate other children's actions and words.
- Be understood by others 50 to 60 per cent of the time.
- Form words and sounds easily and effortlessly.
- Hold books the right way up and turn pages.
- "Read" to stuffed animals or toys.
- Scribble with crayons.
Toddlers like it when you:
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Let them touch and hold books while you point to and name the pictures.
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Use real words instead of baby talk - "give me" instead of ta ta or "bottle" instead of baba.
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Take the time to listen to them - they want you to hear all of their new sounds, words and ideas.
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Give them simple directions to follow - "Go find your red boots".
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Use lots of different words when you talk to them - opposite words like up/ down, in/ out; action words like "running", "splashing"; and descriptive words like "happy", "big", "little", "clean", "dirty".
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Encourage them to play with other children - at the library, play groups, park.
Source: Your baby's speech and language skills from birth to 30 months. Government of Ontario, 2007.