3 year old speech milestones

3 Year Old Speech Milestones

What speech and language skills should a 3-year-old child have?  What does speech therapy for a 3-year-old look like?  This page includes the 3-year-old speech milestones as well as 3-year-old language milestones.

Keep in mind that these milestones are based on research about typically-developing children but this information is not meant to diagnose a speech-language delay or disorder.  There is a wide range of “normal” and just because a child is slightly delayed in a few of these areas, doesn’t necessarily mean he or she has a speech or language delay.  Please contact a speech-language pathologist or professional in your area for a screening if you are concerned about your child’s speech and language skills.

speech therapy kits and activities for three-year-olds

Speech Therapy Kits & Activities for 3-Year-Olds

Easy activities to teach speech/language skills ~ Included in The Hub

3-Year-Old Speech Milestones (Sound Production)

3-Year-Old speech milestones refer specifically to the sounds that a child is able to speak.  We use the term “speech” to refer to how a child pronounces words, whereas “language” is used to describe how children use those words to create sentences and communicate with those around them.

  • Intelligibility: A 3-year-old’s speech should be understood at least 50% of the time (source: Hustad et. al, 2021)
  • Speech Sounds Correct: A 3-year-old should be able to say the following sounds correctly: /b/, /n/, /m/, /p/, /h/, /w/, /d/ (source: Crowe & McLeod, 2020)
  • Phonological Processes: A 3-year-old should no longer be using the following speech error patterns (phonological processes):
    • Velar Assimilation: Changing non-velar sounds to velar sounds in order to mirror another sound in the word (kack for tack, or guck for duck)
    • Nasal Assimilation: Changing non-nasal sounds to nasal sounds in order to mirror another nasal sound in the word (money for funny, or nunny for bunny)
    • Stopping of /f/ and /s/ Fricatives: Replacing /f/ and /s/ sounds with a stop (short) sound like /t/ and /p/ (pun for fun, or tee for see)
    • Final Consonant Deletion: Deleting the ending consonant off of a word (bu for bus, or no for nose)
    • Source: ASHA Resource Page

3-Year-Old Language Milestones

When we look at 3-year-old language milestones, we are looking at how a child is using words and putting those words together to communicate with those around them.  A lot goes into language skills.  Here is a checklist of the 3-year-old language milestones:

  • Sentence Length: A 3-year-old should be speaking in sentences that are, on average, about 3 words long.  Some should be shorter and some should be a big longer than 3 words as well. (Source: Rice et. al., 2010)
  • Grammatical Markers: According to Brown in 1973, a 3-year-old should be beginning to use some grammatical markers, including the following:
  • Pronouns: Uses some pronouns (such as “I”, “it”, “me”, “my”, “mine”, “you”, “your”, “she”, “he”, “yours=”, and “we”) (source: Vollmer 2023)
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  • Asking Questions: Asks basic “who”, “what”, “where”, or “why” questions (like “where is Mommy”) (Source: CDC)
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  • VocabularyA 3-year-old should have a word for almost everything (Source: ASHA) and should be able to use action words like “running” and “eating” to describe pictures when asked (Source CDC)
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  • Following DirectionsA 3-year-old should be able to follow 2-part directions like “get the spoon and put it on the table”.  (Source: ASHA)

3-Year-Old Social Skill/Interaction Milestones

Another aspect of 3-year-old speech milestones is how well they can interact with others.  Here are some milestones related to social skills and interaction.

  • Notices other children and joins them to play (Source: CDC)
  • Talks with a familiar caregiver in “conversation” with at least two back-and-forth exchanges (Source: CDC)
  • Says first name when asked (Source: CDC)
  • Can play with 1-2 peers, with turn-taking play and joint goals (Source: Malik & Marwaha, 2022)
  • Begins to use imaginative/fantasy play, such as pretending to be a cat (Source: Malik & Marwaha, 2022)
  • Uses attention-getting words (Source: ASHA)
  • Clarifies and Asks for Clarification (Source: ASHA)
  • Understands that others may feel differently than oneself (Source: ASHA)

For more resources on teaching social skills to children, click here.

Activities and Ideas for Boosting Language Skills in Children:

If you are looking for therapy ideas or home activities to boost a child’s language skills, check out all of our resources inside The Hub:

speech therapy kits and activities for three-year-olds

Speech Therapy Kits & Activities for 3-Year-Olds

Easy activities to teach speech/language skills ~ Included in The Hub

Non-Speaking Children Course

Non-Speaking Children Course

How to Do Speech/Language Therapy for a Non-Speaking Child

Free Therapy Materials for Working with Children with Language Delays:

Check out the freebies that we have inside our Free Therapy Material Library!

Speech Therapy for Echolalia Cheat Sheet

Echolalia Cheat Sheet

Vocabulary Flashcards with Questions

Vocab Flashcards and Question Cards

Where Questions Speech Therapy Activities

Where Questions File Folder Game

Carrie Clark, Speech-Language Pathologist

About the Author: Carrie Clark, MA CCC-SLP

Hi, I’m Carrie! I’m a speech-language pathologist from Columbia, Missouri, USA. I’ve worked with children and teenagers of all ages in schools, preschools, and even my own private practice. I love digging through the research on speech and language topics and breaking it down into step-by-step plans for my followers.

Fun Fact: When my son was three, he once got mad at me and told me he was going to send me to Antarctica in nothing but a t-shirt.  He had an overly large vocabulary for a 3-year-old….along with an overly large amount of sass.  He still has both to this day.

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