Communication Milestones: 4 to 5 Years
Curious what communication milestones your little one should be reaching? While each child develops differently and at their own pace, be on the look out for these skills. If you have a concern regarding your child’s communication development, contact us today for a free screening and consultation in the home.
Produce grammatically correct sentences and sentences are longer and more complex.
Include main characters and settings to tell stories.
Use at least one irregular plural form, like feet or men.
Understand and use prepositions, like behind, beside, and between.
Use more words for time—like yesterday and tomorrow correctly.
Follow simple directions and rules to play games.
Locate the front of a book and its title.
Recognize and names 10 or more letters and can usually write their own name.
Imitate reading and writing from left to right.
Blend word parts, like cup + cake = cupcake. Identifies some rhyming words, like cat and hat.
Produce most consonants correctly, and speech is understandable in conversation.
How can I support my child?
Try talking about where things are, using words like “first and last” or “right and left” and opposites, like “up and down” or “big and little.”
Introduce groups like fruits, furniture, or shapes. and practice sorting items by group. You can have your child tell you which item does not belong and challenge them to explain why.
Respond, praise, and encourage them when they talk. Try to gain their attention before you speak and pause after speaking, to let them respond to what you said.
Keep teaching your child new words! Define words, and help your child understand them. For example, say, “We are having veggies for a snack. These are carrots. Cucumbers are another veggie. So are broccoli and spinach.”
Teach your child to ask for help when they do not understand what a word means. Add a gesture to help them understand.
Try introducing the concepts same and different. You can talk to your child about what makes items the same or different. Maybe they are the same color, both fruit, maybe one is big, and one is little.
Pretend play is the best for language! Try acting out their favorite stories. Play house, school, and store using dolls, figures, and dress-up clothes. Have the dolls talk to each other.
Tell stories that are easy to follow. Help your child guess what will happen next in the story. Act out the stories, or put on puppet shows. Have your child draw a picture of a scene from the story. You can do the same thing with books, videos, and TV shows. Ask who, what, when, where, or why questions about the story.
Try games like “I Spy.” You can describe something you see, like, “I spy something square in the kitchen that you use to heat food.” Let your child guess what it is. Take turns and let your child describe something they see. This helps them learn to listen and to use words to talk about what they see.
Let your child be the teacher! They can tell you how to do something. Draw a picture that they describe. Write down your child’s story as they tell it. Your child will learn the power of storytelling and writing.
Games are so fun for social learning and bonding! They can learn to follow rules and have lots of opportunities to talk about the game.
Put your child in charge! For example, have them make a shopping list for the grocery store. Or, let them help you plan their birthday party. Ask their opinion, and let them make choices.
Talk to your child in the languages you are most comfortable using. There are many benefits and options for daily reading for children. Be sure to read books in your languages to promote multilingual language and literacy skills.
Source: ASHA Communication Milestones 2023
