Language development milestones refer to the language goals most children achieve by a particular age. While all children are unique and develop differently, language development milestones provide the framework for assessing their growth and development. Children exhibit unique communication skills at each stage of development.

Your baby will go through several language milestones in their first 12 months of life. This can include cooing, laughing, babbling, and their first word. Language milestones are successes that mark various stages of language development. They are both receptive (hearing and understanding) and expressive (speech).

Infants start learning in the womb, where they hear and respond to familiar voices. The fastest learning occurs from ages 2 to 5 years. Speech and language milestones help tell whether a child is developing as expected. Milestones are certain skills, such as babbling, saying "mama" or "dada," or putting two words together.

Speech and language development milestones relate to two areas: Receptive language. This is the ability to understand words and sounds. Expressive language. This is the ability to use speech and gestures to communicate meaning. Most 1-year-olds start to understand the meanings of words.