Communication Milestones 30 Months

Communication milestones at 30 months continue to expand. Toddlers begin to show how many words they understand by the way they respond to what adults say to them. They are able to answer questions meaningfully and accurately, and they can follow simple suggestions. Toddlers love being read to and participate during story time by pointing to pictures or commenting appropriately during the story. For example, seeing a cow and then mooing. At this age, toddlers also show increased understanding of basic concepts including position words: up and under, as well as descriptive time concepts such as: soon, after, and right now.

Expressively, toddlers this age are using words for a variety of purposes. They use words to express needs, make demands, and indicate possession. They also use words to comment about things in their environment or tell about something that happened a short while ago. During these months, some toddlers use primarily one to two words to label and make requests, while others say four and five word sentences.  Toddlers at this age also want to be included in family conversations such as those that occur at meal time or while riding in the car. They begin to express their own thoughts, even if these thoughts are not related to the current topic. Including your toddler in conversations encourages their language development and helps them to develop a sense of self.

By 30 months of age, toddlers should:

• Point to associated pictures as adults read to them
• Pass the salt shaker when someone asks for it
• Put lids back on markers after being reminded to do so
• Show understanding of position words, such as, “Put your chair next to mine,” or “Put your shoes under your bed”
• Turn pages at the right time of the story without being prompted to do so
• Understand more complex statements such as, “When we get home from our walk it will be time to take a nap” or “We have to clean up first, then you can have a snack”

Expressively, 30 month olds should:

• Use pronouns (I, he, she, me)
• Sing simple songs
• Include social conventions such as please and thank you into their speech
• Ask questions related to an activity or story
• Use words to describe the function or purpose of objects, for example saying “Talk to dada” when shown a phone or asked what we do with it
• Describe actions in pictures as easily as they are able to label/name objects
• Use action words including –ing ending to describe activities (running, washing, sleeping, etc.)
• Use sentences that are 3-5 words long

Your toddler may need additional support if they:

• Seem to not pay attention to requests or suggestions, such as picking up their shoes, or throwing away their napkin
• Do not point to associated pictures on the page when asked about them
• Do not show interest in listening to a story
• Only repeat words they hear instead of using their own words to create thoughts and ideas
• Avoid using words to express their wants and needs
• Mumble and run their sounds together making it hard to understand most of what they are trying to say
• Seem uninterested in the talk at the table
• Ignore questions people ask them

If you have questions about your child’s communication milestones at 30 months, check out MOSAIC’s speech therapy services here or call (406) 388-4988 for more information. Learn more about what your child should be doing from 2 months to 5 years of age by checking out Milestone Moments from the CDC.