Vocabulary and Speech Milestones at 30 Months
Learn the 2.5 Year Old Milestones for Communication
How many words should a 2.5 year old say?
At 30 months old, the number of words speech therapists expect to hear is far more than any parent could easily count!
Toddlers who are 2.5 years old say between roughly 350-650 words. The hundreds of words that 30 month olds can say consist of many different types of words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Because they have learned many different types of words, toddlers at this age begin to talk in short sentences to tell you about what they think, want, and need. For example, “Mama me want pancakes.” and “Go outside, play swing Daddy.”
If you are looking to support your toddler in expanding the number of the words your toddler can say, check out our Free Toddler Talk Assessment and Customized Lesson Plan which will teach you the most powerful things you can do as their parents to encourage your child to talk.
How do toddlers tell you what they want or need at 30 months?
At 2.5 years old, toddlers primarily communicate by telling you what they want.
That’s because their vocabulary has grown to have enough words that they can tell you specifically what they want and need using single words or short sentences. Listen for your 30 month old to also comment on the things they see and hear around them.
2 and a half year olds will continue to use non-verbal forms of communication like gestures (pointing for example) and facial expressions, but now their gestures are used secondary to talking.
How many words should a 2.5 year old know?
No matter how old your toddler is, they will understand more words than they can say. And at 30 months old it will be hard to actually calculate the number of words they know, or understand, because the number is so large.
If you were to calculate the number of words a 2.5 year old knows, you would count about 2,500 words.
Since you won’t be counting the thousands of words your 30 month old understands, how will you know if they are on track?
Toddlers at this age show you which words they know or understand by following directions, answering questions, and following along in a conversation.
2 and a half year olds will follow many different directions and they won’t need your help to understand them (although they might not follow your directions because they don’t want to).
2 year olds will also answer lots of different “Wh” questions, like “Who is that?” “Where are you going?” and “What is the dog doing?” And they will learn to answer new types of questions more quickly than ever before!
Because they understand exponentially more words than they can say, learning to answer new questions will likely require learning to say new words. While your child might understand the question, they still will need to learn to say the words to answer it.
Lastly, you will know your child is understanding thousands of words when they can follow along in conversation with you, other familiar adults, and their friends. When they make comments and ask questions of their own in conversation that are relevant to what you are talking about, you know they are understanding.
What if my child isn’t meeting their 2.5 year old milestones?
As a parent, you always want the best for your child. And it can be very challenging and worrisome if you feel like they might be falling behind.
If you feel that your child has not mastered some of the communication skills you might expect for their age, it's possible that they could benefit from the support of a speech therapist. Learn more about speech therapy for toddlers here.
You might also be worried because your 2 year old is talking gibberish (Let me go ahead and tell you this is an expected part of development!). You can read more about that here.
Speech Milestones at 30 Months: Checklist
Expression Skills
How does your toddler "tell" you things?
▢ Says more words than you can count; Seems to have a word for just about everything
▢ Has little conversations with you and their friends
▢ Puts 3 or more words together on their own; talks in little sentences
▢ Continues to learn to say new words regularly
▢ Asks some questions
▢ Uses the plural -s : cats dogs shoes blocks
Understanding Skills
What words does your toddler know?
▢ Answers different “wh” questions: who, what, what are you doing
▢ Answers yes or no questions: Do you want to play outside?
▢ Follows directions they've practiced before without your help (most of the time)
▢ Listens and responds to what other people are saying
▢ Continues to learn the meaning of new words when introduced to new things
Speech Skills
Which sounds should you be listening for?
▢ Pronounces most Consonant Sounds: P, B, T, D, K, G, M, N, H, W, F, V, S, Z
▢ Vowel Sounds: Is able to pronounce all the vowel sounds
▢ You can understand about 75% of what they say
▢ Tries to pronounce new words even if it doesn't comes out right
▢ Developmental Stuttering may occur at this age - read more here
Social Communication Skills
How does your little one play and interact with others?
▢ My child enjoys having conversations with familiar children and adults
▢ Pays attention for several minutes to something they like
▢ Has fun playing with other children
▢ Understands other people's tone of voice
▢ Laughs at jokes or things that are silly
Download a PDF version of the 2.5 Year Old Milestones↓
Get Started With a 2.5 Year Old At Home Speech Therapy Activity
Grow Your Toddler's Language on a Walk
When you are walking with your child, talk about what you see and what you hear.
For example, “Do you hear that airplane? Look the airplane is flying in the sky!” and your child responds, “It’s airplane! Mommy look!”
At this stage, your child is learning to say words for things outside of their day to day routine events. So practicing during a walk outside is a great way to expose them to new words and things they might not see everyday.
Simply having a conversation with your little one is a great way to practice. It allows you to repeat specific words for new things you both see. Then your child can try to repeat back new words and also begin to practice asking questions.
Toddlers are famous for asking lots of questions, like, “What’s that?” on repeat - or pointing to things and wanting you to tell them what it is. Conversing about what you see on a walk is the perfect time for them to practice this skill and learn new words all at once!
When going for a walk, look for your child to:
▢ Ask and answer questions
▢ Talk in sentences about what they are seeing while on your walk
▢ Listen and learn the meaning of new words for things that they don’t see everyday
Other commonly asked questions:
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The new 2022 CDC guidelines suggest that children should have a vocabulary of 50 words by the age of 30 months.
It’s worth noting that these new milestones were decided without the input of a speech therapist. It is my professional opinion that these new milestones which reduce the number of expected words can and will have a significant impact on early identification and early treatment of language delays in toddlers.
As a speech therapist, I would advise parents to listen for their toddlers to say well over 200 words by the time they are 30 months old.
If a 30 month old is saying less words my clinical experience suggests that supporting language skills early on can have a lasting positive impact on language learning and academic success.
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By 30 months old, speech therapists listen for toddlers to be talking in short sentences, say several hundred words, answer simple questions, and follow many directions during familiar activities.
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By two and a half years old, speech therapists expect to understand toddlers at least half the time. They are still learning to pronounce many sounds, so you wouldn’t expect to understand everything they say.
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Receptive language skills (or understanding skills) that are typically learned by 2.5 years old include: answering simple wh- questions, answering some yes or no questions, and following directions during familiar activities.
Expressive language skills (or talking skills) that are typically learned by 2.5 years old include: talking in sentences, learning to say new words quickly, and having a vocabulary of several hundred words.
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