Speech & Language Milestones: What’s Typical, What’s Not, and When to Seek Support

As parents, we often wonder if our child’s speech and language development is on track. When should our little one be saying their first words? At what point should we be concerned if they’re not speaking clearly or putting words together? In the week of this year’s Children’s Day, let’s talk about one of the most important parts of growing up: speech and language milestones. Join Beatrice Teo Shu Mei (Co-founder and Consultant Speech Therapist at Peive) and Moona Islam (Co-founder and Consultant Speech Therapist at Peive) as they share expert insights on: ✨ What’s typical in your child’s speech and language development ✨ What may signal a delay and when to seek support ✨ Practical tips for parents to encourage confident communication 📅 1 – 7 October 2025 📍 Exclusively in theAsianparent app 💬 Got questions about your child’s communication journey? Drop them now and get guidance directly from our experts! This session is brought to you in collaboration with Peive, Asia’s first online early intervention programme that empowers parents to check, support, and track their child’s development every step of the way. Let’s empower ourselves with the right knowledge, because every child deserves to find their voice. 💕 #AskTheExpert #theAsianparent #SingaporeParents #SpeechDelay #ChildrensDay2025

Speech & Language Milestones: What’s Typical, What’s Not, and When to Seek Support
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hi... thank you so much the asian parent for having this topic My son is 2 years 2 months old. I’ve not counted exactly how many words he can say, but so far he doesn’t seem conversational yet. He can call ‘Mommy’ and ‘Dadda,’ count from 1–10, and repeat after me clearly. But if I ask him questions like ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Whose toy is this?’, he doesn’t answer. He can, however, follow simple instructions like ‘put the clothes in the laundry basket,’ ‘give it to Dadda,’ or ‘close the door.’ He often calls ‘Mommy, Mommy’ like he wants to tell me something, but when I ask ‘Yes dear, what is it? What do you want to say?’, he doesn’t say anything, just continues calling ‘Mommy.’ Is this normal?

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My son is 2 years and 2 months old. He can say words, but not full sentences yet. He still has tantrums quite often, and sometimes his speech isn’t very clear. But he can count from 1 to 10, and he’s very good at imitating whatever I say. There’s a friend’s child who’s just two months older, and he can already talk so fluently... it’s really nice to see. I’m not trying to compare, but sometimes I can’t help worrying… what if there’s something I did wrong that’s affecting my son’s speech development?

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My cousin’s son is 5 years old, but his speech is still very unclear only his mum can really understand him. We’ve told her a few times to bring him for therapy, but she seems to be in denial. He also tends to shout or scream quite often. He spends most of his days with his grandparents because both parents work. I’m not blaming anyone, but maybe his grandparents don’t talk to him as much. they’re older and probably get tired easily. Is this still considered normal for his age?

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Oh thank you for this session!!!! My daughter just turned 3, and while she can sing songs and recite parts of her favourite stories, she doesn’t really talk to us. If I ask “Do you want milk or water?”, she just repeats “milk or water” instead of choosing. She’s very affectionate and understands instructions, but the lack of back-and-forth conversation worries me. Should I be concerned at this stage?

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Hi , my child is turning 2 years old and she understands the instruction very well. Just that she didn't speak much and use actions/ body language most of the time especially in school. At home, she speaks a bit more but one word by one word. I would say she can speak around 15 words now. Would that be a sign of speech delay? What can I do to make it better?

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Do we really need to count how many words our child can say? I haven’t been doing that… but I noticed something, there are a few words my daughter used to say often, but now she rarely says them anymore. For example, a few months ago she could count from 1 to 10 fluently, but lately she doesn’t say it much anymore. Is that normal

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A friend from Indonesia told me that her child went for regular massage therapy specifically around the mouth and jaw area to help improve speech. She said it helped her LO start talking more clearly. I’ve never heard of this before. Does oral or facial massage actually help children speak better, or is it just a coincidence

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My mother-in-law can be quite naggy sometimes, but she’s right.. kids really do need stimulation from the people closest to them. But honestly, I often run out of ideas and don’t really know how to stimulate my child properly. Do you have any suggestions or ideas I can try at home?

doc my daughter is 18 months and only says “Mama”, “Papa”, “no” and “uh-oh” she cmmnicates mostly by pointing or pulling my hand I know some kids talk later but I can’t help feeling anxious when I see others her age chatting away should I take her tp asses?

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During my work-from-home days, my son watched quite a bit of youtube... mostly songs and nursery rhymes. now he can sing along perfectly, but doesn’t really talk to us. I feel like it’s my fault. but i didnt really have a choice. pls help what to do :(