Unlocking the Language EXPLOSION: Why Two-Word Phrases Matter Now

Two-word phrases are a significant milestone in language development, typically emerging around 18 to 24 months.

This period, often referred to as the "language explosion," is crucial as it marks a child’s ability to combine words to express more complex ideas, demonstrating an understanding of syntax and the beginnings of grammar.

Many new parents are indeed concerned about their toddler's speech and language milestones, especially as they approach the critical period for developing two-word phrases.

This concern is often driven by a combination of factors, including increased awareness of developmental milestones, comparisons with other children, and the pressure to ensure their child is on the right track.

Welcome to Talking Toddlers, where we dive into the essential milestones that shape your child's early years and set the stage for a lifetime of learning. I'm Erin, with over 35 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist, and today, we're talking about a critical moment in your toddler’s language development: the two-word leap.

Is your toddler ready for this milestone? 

If not... how can you support him through this exciting language explosion? 

Let's explore why these two-word phrases are so important, how to recognize when your child is ready, and practical tips to encourage this next big step in their speech development.

If you’re eager to ensure your child is on track or just curious about what’s coming next in their language journey, stay tuned.

This is one milestone you don’t want to miss!"

Building Vocabulary Guide - get it NOW!

CONNECT WITH ERIN
www.HyerLearning.com

contact@HyerLearning.com

Join the Waitlist CLICK HERE

Transcript

Erin: 0:00

It doesn't mean let him do whatever he wants whenever he wants. Remember the whole parenting is that you're his guide. You're his leader. And it's a dance, There will be times where you let him be. Of course. You find that balance. But it also means to look at Hello, and welcome to Talking Toddlers, where I share more than just tips and tricks on how to reduce tantrums or build your toddler's vocabulary. We're going to cover all of that, but here, our goal is to develop clarity, because in this modern world, it's truly overwhelming. This podcast is about empowering moms to know the difference between fact and fiction, to never give up, to tap into everyday activities so your child stays on track. He's not falling behind. He's thriving through your guidance. We know that true learning starts at home. So let's get started. So you've watched your little one go from coos to babbles you have seen that magical first word. And now he has 10, 20, 30, maybe even 50 single words that he uses independently. And with purpose. So now what comes next? In today's episode, we're going to talk about the powerful two word phrases or phrases in general. It could be three words or four words. But it's really putting two concepts together, such as more milk. Big truck. Daddy go. And I know they may seem simple to you, but trust me, this marks a huge leap in your child's ability to communicate. To demonstrate how he or she is thinking, and to truly connect with you and his or her environment. by demonstrating these two word phrases, or sometimes there are three or four word phrases. They are beginning to have the skill to tell you what they want to tell you. What's wrong. And what that means is then there's less emotional meltdown. There's less frustration in your everyday life. Because there are less tantrums. There's tends to be a less dysregulated little, little toddler, right? And then that means your transitions are easier and he's truly demonstrating that he's better. Able to learn through everyday experiences through play. Through your engagement. he's expressing literally how he is wiring his brain. So welcome to talking toddlers, where I dive deep into the essential milestones that shape your child's early years and truly set the stage. For a lifetime of learning. And if you haven't met me yet, I'm Aaron with over 35 years of experience as a pediatric speech language pathologist. And today, like I said, we're talking about the critical moment that your toddler's language development begins to explode. And we literally call this language explosion phase right between 18 months and 30 months So the big question is how do you, how do you gauge that your toddler is ready for this? A very, very important milestone. Are there clues that you can become better familiar with to help him build this language processing skill through 18, 24 and 30 to 36 months, of age. And if he or she isn't quite ready, how can you hone your skills to help guide and support them through this very, very exciting. Sometimes nerve-wracking language explosion. So today we will explore why two word phrases are so important and what that's telling you under the hood, right? If you had, x-ray visions and you could see what's going on neurologically And cognitively, then you can recognize when your child is ready and when he really is taking the ball and running with it. I will also share some practical tips to help encourage your child no matter where they are on this journey. If it's just beginning to emerge. Or if he has a handful of them, but it doesn't seem to be consistent yet. and the key here. Like many of the topics that I share with you is that it's not always looking at his chronological age, but looking at his developmental age. So say he is 24 months old, but he's not using two words then that would suggest that he's more. 16 or 18 months in development. And so you would still do the same processes. You would still do these practical tips each and every day. To help really merge. And marry his developmental skill with his chronological age. and that's what we refer to as closing that gap. So, if you're eager to ensure that your child is on track, or perhaps you're just curious about what's coming next in this language journey of ours. Stay tuned. You don't want to miss this milestone. And I know there's a lot of discussion out there these days about. Glossing over some milestones and I've referenced it before. That's not today's purpose, but what I try to do is pull out. These critical measurements that we have milestones are, just, uh, a snapshot of skill at that particular time. And then. dive deeper into it with you to share what are the subtle nuances and why do I recommend certain things during your everyday life experience to really hone and enhance these skills? And like I've shared before, and I've shared, hundreds of times, probably in my 35 year practice with all of my families, that what any good therapist does. And, uh, in a clinical setting, in, in a private one-to-one session isn't it magical. There isn't something that we really do differently. That. that separates us from what you can do at home. And what that means is that just because we understand the subtle nuances between these things and truthfully, there are a lot of therapists at don't, and that's another story, but. by having this background information, I can zone in on certain things, such as if a child only has 15 words or say he does have 50 wards, but they're all nouns. How do I get him or bridge him over to using two word phrases? We can't really talk or communicate or share. With just a bunch of nouns that doesn't demonstrate that he's understanding two different concepts. Like truck broke. Daddy go. Feet dirty. So by putting descriptive words, and action words with the nouns, then he's really communicating, a bigger concept. And so play therapy or play-based therapy is really just taking what we've learned about healthy growth and development with babies and toddlers and preschoolers. And really just honing in on very specific steps to the ladder, right, to moving forward in this. Very very dynamic growth period. Be those first 36 months. And that's one of the primary reasons why I I'm zoning in on that. Even though I've worked in, treated kids. of all ages, right? Any kind of pediatric age, but. my goal here is to prevent or to catch early, to close those gaps. To empower parents and give you. Step-by-step guide of how you can do what we do in a therapy room every day at home with ease and comfort and joy. He is in love with you most So he's going to take your lead. He's going to follow you. You just need to have the map to be able to navigate this. So again, no matter where you are on this journey, this particular milestone and say you're beyond it. And he's still perhaps struggling with this give and take dialogue, say he's closer to his third birthday. You can go back and reflect and say, okay, well maybe his phrases weren't as rich and dynamic, and it didn't give him the opportunities to practice. And that's what these kids need. Your kids, any kid? You know, anytime we're trying to master a skill, we need practice to hone that whether it's riding a bike or learning to tie your shoe or learning speech and language, or, learning math facts, we need to practice. So say he is closer to that third birthday. And he still struggling with that, with that higher, more sophisticated language, then go back and say, okay, how can I, Clean up our everyday experiences. And really. Exercise and practice and strengthen this phrase level. So we're going to cover some basic questions such as when should I expect phrases or two word phrases. Because there's some variants, but what kind of types. Can I count as a two word phrase, R thank you. Or all gone. Are those considered two word phrases? And should I put them in my, my word list. And if he does have say a lot of single words, is he ready then? Why isn't he starting to put words together? And how, how can I decipher that? We'll also answer the question. If he's not combining word yet, should I be concerned? And what can I do? What if he's only imitating me, does that count? And how does that present itself as something that we can measure. And then like always, I'm trying to give you tips and strategies and help him get going? Even if, like I said, he's 24 or 30 months. And he's not doing it. He's not demonstrating now. Okay. Back up. Right. Let's go to where he is developmentally. And give him is sort of like going to the gym and saying, okay, I really want a bench, a hundred pounds, but I can really only bench 25 on a good day. So I don't just keep trying that hundred pounds. I go back and really hone and master and strengthened my ability to, to bench, press 25 pounds. Right. And then I go to 30 pounds and 35 pounds. And you know what this metaphor means, right. So, on a side note, recognize that yes, milestones tend to be a big, hot topic these days with, early child development, pediatricians, school people, and you, new parents. And the recent changes in the CDC guidelines should in my best professional position. Should be taken with a grain of salt and that's just my humble opinion at this time. I will dive deeper and, and I've referenced this before, but for now I want to just outline what milestones mean and how sometimes we as professionals get lost in the semantics. Right. We kind of mix up our words sometimes, or we over-generalize, and then you parents. And non therapist. I think I E pediatricians because they're medical doctors, they don't necessarily know the nuances for speech and language development, or even the motor skills development that an occupational therapist or, or a physical therapist might know. Or what a pediatric nutritionist would know. So. I just want to outline this quickly. So as we move forward in this episode, and we talk about this very, very important developmental phase. that we don't, that we always stay on the same page. Right. And that I don't get confusing with my language choice. So. Let's keep a few things in mind when we talk about development. sometimes you'll look at the, Checklists or these guidelines and there's the word range. And what that typically means is that kids are different. So we are going to look at a range. across a certain window of time. So when I talk about two word phrases, they begin to emerge at 18 months. They really are showing more consistency at 24 months. And by 30 months there's mastery. And that there's that language explosion, but you need that that continuum, That things aren't developed on this perfect linear scale, that it's a process. But that range. Is there for a reason because we need to be able to mark. What is starting to perculate what, that's, what emerging means. And then. Where have they really mastered it? And so. When we use the term milestones then that's typically means that it's a conversation starter that it's not an isolation and that we don't diagnose. we're looking at this milestone of when was the first word, other than mama and dada, And I've mentioned that before, but. Now we're looking at how many words does he have say at 18 months? is he now ready to start putting concepts together. And that's what that two word or three word phrases mean is that they're putting two ideas together. And so we can go back and look at what constitutes a true phrase, But we, as speech, language pathologists have used certain standardized tests for dozens and dozens and dozens of years, we have thousands and thousands of children's that. Are part of the standardization that hasn't changed for us. And so when their guidelines move the expectation of 50 words from 24 months of age to 30 months of age, But at the same time, they kept. Two word phrases at 24 months. We know, because of the last 50, 75 years of study, that a toddler, your toddler needs at least 50 words. To be able to put two words together in phrases. And they need to be. A variety of grammatical structures, like I've mentioned before. they need to be nouns verbs, adjectives and prepositions in order to put these concepts together, even if they have, like I said, 50 words of nouns. You can say Daddy car. Right. So those are two nouns. you can say mommy cup, right? So it's, early. Possession. Right. And, Typically around 24 months, you'll start to see some of those possessions like daddy's car mommy's cup. Right. So those are two nouns, but you really need verbs. You need some actions, Daddy go cop broke. Cup empty. those kinds of. Concepts that are built together. So I'm only bringing this up because I want to minimize some of that noise. We have not seen. Research to suggest any differently that a typical, healthy average kid out there at two years of age. Has a minimum. Minimum minimum, minimum of 50 words. That crosses different grammatical structures can start to use phrases. And so that's why I've created a resource for you guys calling, Building Vocabulary: Single Words to Two-Word Phrases, and I'll have the link below, but it will give you some explanation, pretty much of what I've just shared and then also some ways to collect data. And I'm a data girl. I believe that that. Gives us a good. Measure. Of where's my child and where am I going? Right. How can I help them get to the next phase? So now let's answer the questions that I laid out in the beginning. The first question is when. And like I mentioned before, even if their chronological age is 24 months. And they're not there yet. They could be developmentally at 18 months. So you maybe perhaps see. These two word phrases coming up once in a while. Or maybe they're. imitating you. And so they're beginning to practice through imitation, right? But typically what that expectation is for this milestone is that at 24 months, That a toddler uses them fairly often. So there's consistency for you. And it's noticeable to family members and caretakers. And they're independent with it. And like I said, they begin to emerge around 18 months, which means that it's on occasion. It's more imitative, like. And that it really shows that he's practicing. And there there's some times that nonverbal communication where you could say. You know, fuzzy bear and he looks, he touches it. He looks back up at you and say, fuzzy bear. And he's putting it together that touch he's imitating, and then he's practicing and he's giving you eye contact to confirm, is this right? Mama? Is this what you mean? That this feels fuzzy. And this is a bear bear. I know. And perhaps fuzzy. I know. But now I'm putting it together. And through my actions I'm confirming with you. So that's, that's what emerging means. Note that before we can really see. Two word phrases or three word phrases expand. We need a really big, full, rich vocabulary. Uh, list and part of the resource, the building vocabulary. The link down below, we'll give you a sheet that you can just start to put out. Um, or, uh, write down the words that they use on a regular basis and think of words and you could put eye next to it. If this only imitative. But it will help you. And then once they get to say 200 words, you're going to stop writing. But you're really looking for that 16, 18 20, 24 30 month. Building that vocabulary op, and because we want, need, expect this language explosion. You want to get to the point where you can no longer track it. And so think of this language explosion between 12 and 18 months. A typical, healthy average. Little guy or gal will learn two words per week. Right once we've kind of break broken that, that initial barrier where say they have a handful of single words by their first birthday give or take, right. But those next six months. They will start to acquire two words per week. And then between 24 months and 36 months, this is where that language explosion is. They average nine to 10 words per day. So that's that contrast? That's that measurement that we're, we, we have looked at for, you know, my whole career, but at least 50, 60 years that this is what a typical. Child from the first birthday to the second birthday, to the third birthday. That's how we get them from a handful of words on their first birthday. 50 words on their second birthday. To a thousand or 2000 words on their third birthday. And that is language explosion are our little human brains. I don't. Ever experience, this type of growth. There is another big language explosion and, frontal lobe expansion around 15 years of age. And that's, something else to consider later on. So that's when, so look at what the expectations are. Through emerging to hitting that milestone to then taking the ball and running with it. Now the types and I've alluded to this. Is that we really need two words that build a different concept, right? That there were, they're pairing them together to make a new message. And so they are going to ask for something right. More milk. Right. Or they will tell someone what they want milk, please. Or they will share information. No milk. Like, it's all gone. Right. You're looking at the cup and it's empty. No milk. Or they'll comment on something. Like fuzzy bear. You know, they're going to comment. Maybe that's a new word and they're going to practice it. And they liked that. The sound of that fuzzy, fuzzy Bayer, right. And so they're commenting. So some other examples would be mommy, go truck broke. I use that often. Um, Daddy home. Bunny eat. You see how there's two concepts, more, anything, right? More apple, more jump, more song, more bath, you know, so it could be an activity or it could be an object that they're requesting. They could even. use the word concept with not nice. So this might be something that we're saying to them, but they're demonstrating that they're conceptualizing the understanding. You know, say that the kitty scratched them. Or somebody, you know, took their truck. Then you say, oh, not nice, not nice. You know, Um, Or daddy outside. You know, maybe he sees him through the window or they could even describe the sensation of something like yucky hand. Like my hands are dirty, yucky, yucky, right. Or. It's sticky. Say there. There are exploring different sensory perceptions and, It's like, Ooh, yucky, yucky. And you can play with that. But you're building that concept. And so. Chunks, what we specialists speech and language people say. Are not a two word phrase. those are things like, thank you. Bye. Bye. All gone. Night-night. Buckle up. Right, because we will say this as we're putting them in the car seat and say buckle up. to them, that's one concept. I see you, even though you, and I know that that's three separate words, but to them, they've heard it so often. That is one concept. Or even what's that as you point things out in a book. Right. Or as you're playing with them, what's that. to them is a chunk and it it's typically not a new idea. And it's very familiar to them. They've heard you say it over and over again. And now they're practicing or they're imitating, or they're using that one chunk concept. Right? And they're usually not independent ideas, right? They're not. Going back to what. A two word phrase, you know, to ask something or to tell or inform. Right or to share. Or to make a comment. They're usually it's more social. All gone buckle up, you know, like. Let's get in the car and get ready, buckle up. Right. So these are chunks and they're very similar. To compound words, such as cupcake or hopscotch, right. there are two single word. Put together as one. memorized social comments. So keep that in mind as you're making your word list. So a true two word combination will express two separate ideas. And then the third question, when is my child going to be ready? Say he has a ton of single words. Is he ready? To combine them. And I often say, well, that depends. Let's analyze. So you can use my resource that I have the link down below. And you can analyze What's his word count. And then what are those grammatical structures? again, I think visual data collection will often. Be much more. honest then our kind of assumption, right? So you want to look at the word count where they fall in the grammatical structures. Is he using 16 gestures. part of that developmental process, what kids have told us over, Decades and decades. Is, can I put two gestures together? You know, so I've talked a lot about 16 gestures by 16 months. And then can I put two gestures together, perhaps with an object? Showing you that I have two concepts, right? I feed the baby. I burp the baby. I put the baby to bed. Right. I drive the truck. I dumped the truck. I scooped the truck. So they need the gestures. They need the word count. They need different grammatical. Words, right? They use two actions with objects. And then they really also began to demonstrate how they can make believe with the objects and themselves or with me. And so it's like, They can stir something and then pretend to feed you. Or the baby Or themselves. And then we also look at what is their emotional regulation. Because that is also telling us not only the physiological development Of being able to understand the environment. And then self-regulate like, if they see you fixing some food, And they're hungry. They know it's going to come pretty quickly. Or if they see, if they really want to go outside. And they see you, getting the coats ready. Right or getting your person, your keys, then they, they can see that and communicate internally. And kind of relax and know that that, transition is happening. And then there's also. Looking at their independent play with intention. And so it's not just exploratory or repetitive play, but they're really, like I said, playing mommy with the baby doll or building. this Fort with the stump truck, or, in the sandbox there, digging a hole and burying the animals or whatever the imaginary play is. and so these. Steps toward development. Is demonstrating that they're putting concepts together. And that they have both. The understanding and, and the expressive vocabulary, right? At least minimum of 50 words. Now, there's some research and I've shared this before in a previous, podcast that. You could count up 35 words. And. Typically that's not enough, but if you use my resource and you put down the 35 boards and their different grammatical structures, then you know, there's nouns and there's verbs and there's. Prepositions and adjectives so they can describe things like hot soup. Right. Or. Ball under table, that those kinds of things. So they have enough concepts that there they can build together. And 35 is extra, extra minimum. Right. 50 words have just kind of been the hallmark. So again, Really, if you're concerned or just eager, then start collecting data and start looking at where they are. But. But they will show you through their actions and their play and their engagement. Are they building concepts? Are they putting two ideas together? To make a separate. Concept to do a separate activity. Now, there are some things that could be used as, other ways to measure. And that kids can express two ideas by using a word, a single word. And what we refer to as a supplementary gesture. So perhaps they're not putting two spoken words together, but they can add a gesture. Which then suggests to us. That they're putting these two concepts together, so they're right on the verge. So if I saw a child. And he says daddy, and he points to the door. That could be like, take me outside daddy. I want to go play. Right daddy. And instead of him being able to say daddy outside daddy outside, and he's just pointing to the door. or it could be, you know, daddy look. Maybe. The mailman is coming or the, dumpster garbage man is outside, or maybe, the florist is bringing flowers to the house. Right. And so they're, they're looking at you calling you by name and pointing out something. So they're putting these two concepts together. Um, even though he's only saying one word. He could also, gesture that, his arms sprayed out like, oh, it's big. Right. And he points to the truck or he looks at the truck, right. Or an apple, like. I remember distinctly. Picking apples with my daughter and she would. Line them up of what's really big and what's a little baby apple and those kinds of things. So, but they're putting a gesture with a single word. And so that is suggesting that he's on the verge, right? These things are emerging. You know, and, and symbol things like mommy and points, to the floor. Which means like, I want to get out of this high chair, right? Mommy. You know, down, put me down. Right. But they're not necessarily putting the verbal words together, but they're supplementing with the gesture. And that's a little bit different. And then, you know, there, these are nuances, right? So you really have to think about it, but it's a little bit different than just pointing and labeling right points to the cookie cookie or points to the door door or shakes his head. No, those are all single concepts where before he was using one single word and pointing to something like putting that together, mommy, get me out of this high chair. I want to get down. So all of this really does require some thought on your part and paying attention. And, don't be afraid to take some videos of him, hopefully, unbeknownst to him, but you can then analyze some of his behaviors. So when I look at this developmental phase, 18 months, 24 months, 30 months. And how they're using words to put together. It really does help me measure their cognitive development and remember cognition. Isn't necessarily. Quote, unquote intelligence or IQ score. Cognition is really. Taking their life experience, play and everyday activities. And building their understanding their awareness. Of how this world works. And so by demonstrating through putting two words together, putting ideas together, they're helping us see. Yeah. I'm beginning to understand this is my cognitive development. I know. Certain things feel different, right? If that's a fuzzy bear, A soft cushion. A bumpy road, then I'm being able to use my words to express my understanding. This is such a huge growth spurt. We sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Many, many things are happening at the same time, such as potty training and sleep changes. And perhaps. a new babysitter or a new baby in the, in the family, all kinds of possible. distractions that can help muddy the water. And I just want to bring it home zone in on this one particular milestone that really is illuminating. What's going on. Quote unquote, under the hood, right? So the next big question would then be, should I be concerned if he's not combining words he's hitting his, his second birthday. And he's not really putting words together. And so here in responding to this question, I want to set the stage with a word of caution. If there are gaps in a number of overall milestones, not just the two word phrase level. But especially if you notice. He's not interested in playing with you. Right. He just wants to do stuff on his own. Perhaps a lot of repetitive, like play. Or maybe he's not following your activities. He doesn't want to do what you're doing. If you're doing the dishes, he wants to be in the middle of it. If you're making the bed, he wants to help. Right. And so if he's not really following the daily activities, Then that is more of a concern or perhaps he's not really expanding his interest in different play or activities. Right. He's just doing the same thing over and over again. Those to me are, are much stronger red flags or markers to say, Hey, let's take a closer look. So, if you do notice those things, here's my word of caution. You want to talk to a speech language pathologist that you are confident in? Not just any old speech therapist. In my opinion, just like there's good and bad dentists. Good and bad teachers. Good and bad police officers. Good and bad coaches. You know, every field is the same, but speak to someone who really will listen to your concerns and give you a fair impression. Right. And that might be your pediatrician. And some people do find that that's a good referral source. But I have found that I think you, as the mom in the middle of it, Would feel more comfortable or get more honest feedback by say, you talk to friends that you trust, or a friend who has gone through this early child development or someone who has had a speech and language delay. Or perhaps a family member that you can be. confidential with, or perhaps a neighbor. Right. Or the other big thing is to discuss your concerns with a preschool director, not necessarily the teacher per se, but the director tends to have a deeper, richer education, but also background experience. Right. But they tend to be good, excellent referral sources to find a speech language pathologist. And the other key here is that you don't need a pediatrician's referral, so you can pick. Pick up literally the phone and call any. Speech language pathologist, office, and talk to them and you don't need a referral source. You do want to check with your insurance? That's a whole nother ball of wax, but if you want insurance to pay for it, but just to maybe pick someone's brain, you can also just for fun. shoot me a DM, shoot me an email. I love answering questions. In more of a personal level, right? The other thing that I will show share down below is that every state here in the United States has an early intervention. program, right. And so. If you click on the link down below and then click on your state. it's organized through the CDC. But there's early intervention, which means from birth to that third birthday. And I just went to their site and I just highlighted this one little paragraph, because again, I want to always, always be honest that what the CDC. Website says is quote. Unfortunately families may have to wait many weeks and sometimes months before they're able to get an appointment, to see a specialist or start intervention services for their child's developmental problem. This can be a frustrating time for parents who want answers and help now, unquote, that is what the CDC website stipulates. And so. That's why I suggest if you can go the private route, if you're really, really concerned. And you don't just have kind of this uncomfortable feeling. Talk to your pediatrician. Of course, talk to friends and family. And then look online and look for. You know, reviews. and it's, it's a very personal choice too. You want to be able to feel comfortable. and build a relationship with a therapist that you feel like you can be heard, right. And respected. so that's the, side caution. Meanwhile, you're asking yourself, how can I get going on this? How can I help him naturally at home? Or perhaps. You know, you're just beginning to see things emerge at 18 months or even 20 months. How can I foster it? So here are several things. Let's say 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 things that I kind of laid out. Follow his lead. And I always put an asterisk next to that phrase because I think some people think, oh, just let him be, let him figure it out on his own. Right. Um, it doesn't mean when I use it. It doesn't mean let him do whatever he wants whenever he wants. Remember the whole parenting is that you're his guide. You're his leader. And it's a dance, right? There will be times where you let him be. Of course. You find that balance. But it also means to look at what's interesting to him or her. And then you use that as the link. Right. Cause he's going to be more likely to pay attention to you. If you use things that are interesting to him, whether it's firetrucks or. Shovels or dress up or Teddy bears or Play-Doh, or water kind of sensory kinds of things. What. Does he, or she tend to gravitate toward, and then you can build your actions and words and engagement around those types of things. So follow his or her lead. With an asterick. Number two, like I've mentioned over and over again, and this is pretty critical is that you want to see a variety of word types. And so if. You do, collect a word list. He has 20 words or 50 words, and they're all nouns are predominantly nouns. Then build up the verbs, build up adjectives, build up prepositions. And there's so many, words out there to teach them or to, offer. That will help them. Become more interested. and I always look at verbs as very fun. because you can do it, you can have sound effects, you can role play it. You can share and take turns such as jump or pretend to fly or a scooch on your bum. Right. That's a good sounding wor word scooch, right? Boom, boom, boom. You know, had pushed the bear across the Ford scootch. Or snore. I know that sounds weird on an audio, but they love it. It draws their attention. It's interesting. Chomp, chomp, chomp. You know, make the cow chump the grass, right. Or the butterfly flutters flutter fly instead of just fly. but flutter or stomp look, look up. Action words Online, right. Um, do something gently or softly, right? Those are adjectives. Something's clean and dirty, rough and smooth. Those are pretty common, but then you, you do like, Ooh, stinky or smelly or stubby, right. You know, daddy's whiskers are stubby, prickly. Right. Um, how you can describe things and then prepositions. Because that will help them move in this three-dimensional world. Put it on or off. Goal around something. Sit next to or stand in front of, and you can do this through play and activity. But you're really enriching their vocabulary. So follow their lead. This is how you can get them going. See, what's interesting to them. Build a variety of word types that they have as a pool that they can pull from. You you short, grammatically correct sentences. And then. Expand his words. So if he or she is at the single word level and he says big, and you say, yes, the truck is big. Truck big or big truck. Or if she says, ouch, Oh, bump your knee. Ouch. Oh, or you can use AOCI as kind of a description, right? Like MI AOCI. Like I have a, a booboo on my knee and it's not going to be grammatically. Perfect. I know before I said always use short grammatically correct sentences. That's when your talking, but if you're trying to expand his words and put two or three words together for him, Like, if he says more, you say. More apple. I want more apple. Right. So you give them the F the two word phrase, you're putting more and apple together, and then you expand upon it even more. And so they're constantly getting that richer language as well as the functional words, right? If he, or she says doggy, and you say, You look around with your hands up, right. With a gesture, your shoulders up. Where's doggie. I wonder where is doggy? So you're putting gestures to make it interesting. And then you could perhaps then point he sleeping over in the corner. I see doggy look, look, I see doggy. Right. And so your making yourself more interesting. And I often say this to parents that being a parent of a baby or toddler. Especially during these first three or four years. You're a play actor. That's I mean, that's what I did for a living. Right. I played with kids on the floor. And I was in it a thousand percent advertise. I shut that door. I tuned out everything else. And I know that's really, really hard to do in a busy life. And if you have more than one child, of course, but you're going to really need and want to find those pockets where you can just. Figuratively or literally close the door and just be present for 15 minutes or 20 minutes. And I think in a future episode, I talk a lot about. How much time. And what do you do during those waking windows? And, and helping them and helping you use your time wisely. So some of the things you can do follow his lead, build a variety of word types. You short, grammatically correct sentences. Expand his single words. And then add gestures, like I just said. But don't only do it occasionally really be creative with it. Like. If you want to think or ponder an idea, right? You tap your temple. I wonder where his doggy or where'd. Where'd that orange ball go. Under the couch. I see it. Right. But you wander or you frown. Right. I'm so sad. I can't find the ball. Where'd it go. Or pants. Like a dog, right. You're playing outside and the dog is running around and then you pant after him or her that, you know, Those kinds of gestures really? Help them understand what the heck is going on, linking them to the words that you're using. And you're doing something to pull their interest. Right. So there's a, there's a wealth of just not the 16 gestures, by 16 months. But. Literally play acting when you're in it with them in that moment. And then the sixth point that I just always want to bring up because we use. Books for a variety of reasons, but reading and sharing books. Can can really give you structured simple language is often very helpful. If you're tired and you just can't be play acting or you can't think of stuff on the fly. Um, dad's rely on this a lot because it gives a script, but so do. mom's in the sense that it's like I'm spent, I can, walk through this book and give him. Good language, try to transition to being more calm or settling. If we're going to do something, take a nap or get ready for dinner or those kinds of things, but it can be used as a tool like that, but it can also expand your language. Again, looking at different grammatical structures, actions, and descriptions and, and things that you perhaps don't have at your disposal. Right. To sit and eat or look, the cow is chomping his food, like I said, or the farmer push. The cart. Or the horse drink? Out of the river, those kinds of things, or doggy chases, the cat. Or the fish swam. And you can take things that he's experienced. Once or twice, and then give them a visual cue. Like the fish swim. Maybe you went to the aquarium, maybe you went fishing the summer, those kinds of things. And then you can build that language. But the idea is that if you don't see. That he's following these milestones that he's a little bit behind, then these are things that you can do naturally and just bring it to your forebrain. Right. and then the fifth and final question that I posed in the beginning was what if he's imitating me in these phrases? Does that count? He's not doing it independently, but does that count? And the truth is yes. That is really saying to you. Especially if he's just not repeating them. Like, a parrot, That he's really like that whole bear is fuzzy. Or cup. Gone or milk gone, right? The cup is empty. And he's really. Giving you confirmation, like you made a statement to me, mama. I understand in real time and, and I'm confirming. And so that typically means, especially if he imitates often with you, these phrases, it typically means that he's right on the verge. So keep on imitating or sometimes give him. Those gestural cues, like. What's. Wrong with your cup. Or Hmm. Looking at the fuzzy bear and you're touching the bear. Hmm. The bear is. And then you give them that opportunity to fill in the blank. Right? So there's a lot of more play acting going on that you can help bridge that imitation to building into automaticity, right. Or independence. So the takeaways around this beautiful language explosion, right? These two word phrases or longer utterances. Is that we know. Through decades of study. Looking at children, diagnostic testing, measure, measure, measure. And real life on the floor, ORC that children who were late to combine words were more at risk for future problems in language and learning. Then children who were just late. To share their first words. So sometimes we look at, oh, his first words weren't till 14 or 15 months. But then, you know, by 1820 months, he was really. Putting words together. And so that's a better profile than if someone. has 50 words, but they're not putting them together in these 24 months. so the other big takeaways that, and I've mentioned this before, is that your little one must be doing two actions in play two different actions? Like if he has the doll, he feeds them, burps them, put them into bed. That's three. Or, driving the truck and then, bringing the people on the truck, or on the bus. I had. A little bus for the little people and, you know, be beep you honk the horn, come on, get a board and put the people on board, close the door driveway. So he doesn't necessarily have to be using words, but he's demonstrating how things go together. People go on the bus, the driver drives, right. Those kinds of things. So look at that. And keep that in the mind, in the back of your mind. A couple of bonus takeaway. and this is more along the side of caution. The goal here for my podcast and my work online is to help parents be more proactive. And to help you build your skills. So then you can guide language development naturally at home every day and feel confident in doing that. but. There is little to no risk. And I've always said this to anyone who's ever called my office, or I've talked to them, In a presentation or in a meeting forum. But there's little to no risk in scheduling an evaluation with a speech language pathologist. If you're truly concerned. Because of what I quoted with the CDC and that's true in private offices to that. It's not always easy to get in within a week or even two weeks. Often it can take months, especially nowadays where there are less and less service providers. There are more and more kids. To evaluate. And to provide service for. And so we can often take months. So setting up your appointment when you first notice potential concerns. Is a very, very good idea. Because then if the concern's processed or he, he kind of plateaus and you don't see, and 2, 3, 4, 6 months go by, then you at least have that appointment scheduled and you won't have to wait any extra time. and if you know, you jump on the bandwagon, things, start to rock and roll and the concerns go away. Then you simply cancel. There's no. Problem with that. Right. And so the other big question that I often get, and I've gotten this recently in some emails is do boys and girls develop differently, right? Do boys say less words than girls? And when I. Use your guide. And again, that link is down below. Building vocabulary. should I expect less than 50 words if it's a boy and the short answer is no, there's no difference. So we do find some resources that say, boys will talk less than girls. And that there might be a small difference in vocabulary size. Typically measured by the time they enter kindergarten. But if we look at that two year old mark and that three year old mark. so if the low average is 50 words, so maybe the average girl will have 200 words and the average boy will have 100 words. So. But they still have ample words to pull from. To start that two word phrases. so the bottom line is that research has been really, really consistent. And I remember back in the eighties and nineties answering this question over and over again, because pediatricians, unfortunately, repeat this myth and don't really dig any deeper, but the research has been consistent. That there's no real significant difference in the number of words that little boys say compared to your sweet little girls, right? and so therefore we use the same milestone than expectations for boys and girls. We simply do not have two different. Categories. We do have difference in age group, of course, but, but not gender. So now to wrap this up and I assure you, we will revisit this because things are interrelated. As I always say. But. In this episode, I covered those questions. I outlined in the very beginning of this episode, when should I expect two word phrases? What types should I look for? When is he ready or is he ready? If he has a whole bunch of single words? And should I be concerned if he's not combining he's 24 months or 28 months? Should I be concerned? Look at developmental skills versus chronological age. what if he's imitating me, does that count and how can I help? So that's what I covered in this episode. You might want to go back and relisten if you've missed any of it. I know I always share a bunch of deeper thoughts. it's not just always a checklist. But the key here regarding. Two word three word phrases that 24 month beautiful stage is don't rush the process. Especially don't rush. Before your toddler is ready. So go back and relisten if you're not sure. Make sure that you use my guide. I have the link down below building vocabularies, single words to two word phrases. That will help you. Gather data, And really analyze, see on paper in black and white in front of you, where is my child and, and meet him or her where he or she is. if you have specific questions, do not be shy. Email me. I have that link down below to contact@hyerlearning.com. Hyer my last name. H Y E R. thanks so much for spending your precious time with me. And I want you to know, I want you to really believe that you. Can prevent delays. And you can really close the gap to not create lifelong issues. If you are open and willing to become more informed and more knowledgeable about your role. And embrace it even with the uncertainty. If we as parents. I understand it by staying connected with our child, by looking at. How am I present? How do I show up? Am I purposeful in my routines and I have a, a future episode on the importance of schedules and routines. And then am I playful? Like I said, here, we're often. A little actress, right? We have to play act to bring in their engagement. We have to compete with all of this noise. And you can do this. I've seen it done hundreds and hundreds of times. So God bless take care and I'll see you in the next episode.