{
  "title": "Stages of children's language development (age table)",
  "url": "https://materlu.com/en/knowledge/resources/language-development-stages/",
  "inLanguage": "en",
  "updated": "2026-07-12",
  "tables": [
    {
      "caption": "Typical language-development stages by age",
      "columns": [
        "Age",
        "Typical language",
        "How reading helps"
      ],
      "rows": [
        [
          "0–6 months",
          "Coos, gurgles, reacts to voices and tone",
          "Hearing your voice and rhythm; simple sound patterns"
        ],
        [
          "6–12 months",
          "Babbling, first sounds like 'mama/dada', responds to name",
          "Naming pictures, repeating sounds, board books"
        ],
        [
          "12–18 months",
          "First words; understands more than they say",
          "Point-and-name books; labelling everyday objects"
        ],
        [
          "18–24 months",
          "Vocabulary grows fast; two-word phrases",
          "Simple stories with repetition; asking 'where is…?'"
        ],
        [
          "2–3 years",
          "Short sentences; hundreds of words; many questions",
          "Predictable stories; talking about the pictures"
        ],
        [
          "3–4 years",
          "Longer sentences; tells simple stories; 'why?'",
          "Story sequence; asking what happens next"
        ],
        [
          "4–5 years",
          "Clear speech; grammar improving; rich vocabulary",
          "Richer narratives; new words in context"
        ],
        [
          "5–6 years",
          "Complex sentences; early reading of familiar words",
          "Taking turns reading; sounding out words"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "charts": []
}