What are the language and communication milestones of a preschooler?

By: Ms. Lace, Preschool Teacher

Language and communication are prime areas of a child’s development. Most children begin to make communication sounds enthusiastically a few months after their birth, some start to say their first words at about 1 year of age. Children use this stage to learn how to communicate with others. As they grow older, they will develop elaborate vocabulary and know the basic grammar rules. 

How do we know if a child is developing these important skills according to their age? Skills such as taking the first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act, and move (crawling, walking, etc.).

Communication, vocabulary and language development in children at 4-5 years

• Knows some basic rules of grammar, such as correctly using “he” and “she”
• Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus” 
• Tells stories clearly and tries to use full sentences
• Can say first, last name, age and address
• connecting words, like ‘when’ and ‘but’
• words that explain complicated emotions, like ‘confused’, ‘upset’ and ‘delighted’
• words that explain things going on in their brains, like ‘don’t know and ‘remember’

The list I shared above are only general skills of some of the things you might see in a preschooler. These are NOT precise guidelines. Please note that every child is UNIQUE and there are many different normal paces and patterns of development. All children develop a little differently and that is okay. If you are concerned about your child's development, feel free to talk to your child's teacher or health care provider.
Reference: https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/development/language-development/language-4-5-years