Grammar 101: Developing Language Skills

When your child is 3 to 5 years old, her language skills are developing incredibly fast.

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When your child is 3 to 5 years old, her language skills are developing incredibly fast. Her vocabulary is expanding, and she’s able to put together more complex sentences. This is a sign that her cognitive abilities are in full development. She’s beginning to become a more complex thinker, and that shows in her language skills. She will now start relying on language more to tell you what she wants or needs.

At three years old, your child will begin to engage in conversations, and the word “why” will show up very often. At this age, she likes to talk and she likes to be heard. She’s engaging in conversations to talk, not necessarily to get information.

Now’s the time when she starts to understand and apply grammar rules, though negative sentences are still a bit complicated for them. Within a year though, her vocabulary would have quadrupled to about 5000 words, and her sentences now contain about 5 to 6 words, though she might still confuse words that sound the same.

Your 4-year-old loves to talk, and she’ll talk through everything by describing what she is doing. She loves to talk, but is not so good at listening yet. Now is also the time when she starts to learn what is socially acceptable and what is not, like the word “poopoo” and how to use it as an insult.

Every day, she will learn knew words, new grammar rules, and new meanings. Her brain is working constantly, and soon enough, your conversations with her will be richer and more understandable.