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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He speaks in short phrases like “want water” or “go playground”, but not full sentences yet. His pronunciation also isn’t very clear, especially words with “s” and “r”. At home we speak English and Mandarin could that be affecting him??

Is it true that kids who spend more time with friends their age tend to start talking faster? I’m starting to think of enrolling my son in a regular class so he can meet kids his age at home, all his “friends” are adults! Haha.

My daughter teacher mentioned she might have a mild speech delay because she doesn’t answer open-ended questions in class. But at home, she’s talkative and sings a lot. Why such a big difference between school and home 🙄😫

oh my... my 2 yo still mostly communicates with gestures. he’ll pull my hand to the fridge when he’s hungry, or bring me his bottle, but won’t say “milk” or “eat.” how can I encourage him to speak instead??

Hi doc i’m a bit anxious about my 2 yo... He doesn’t say many words yet, and sometimes he doesn’t look when we call his name. But he knows all the alphabets and numbers! Is it something to worry about?

HI... My 20-month-old babbles a lot and it sounds like he’s having a full conversation, but there are no real words yet. Is this still considered speech development?

Hi Doc... My little one used to say a few words but suddenly stopped. I’m really worried is this something serious? Like he forgot some of the words he used to say

doc my daughter is 3 now... but she still doesn’t speak in full sentences, only says short phrases. Is it too late for her to catch up?? how do we help

Every time someone says “don’t worry lah, he’ll talk when he’s ready”, I feel torn… I want to believe that, but what if he really needs help?

At home we speak both English and Mandarin. My 3-year-old mixes the two when talking. Will this confuse him or slow down his speech?