The Average Words in an 18 Month Old's Vocabulary

Every parent wants to know that their child is developing on schedule and is "normal." Chances are, your child is perfectly normal. Eighteen-month-old toddlers have 10 to 50 words in their vocabulary, with an average of 20 words at this age, according to KidsHealth. These numbers vary significantly depending on each child. Some children are focused on walking and running, so communication falls on the back burner. Others walk later but are stringing together sentences before they are 2 years old. As long as your child is learning new words, he's doing it perfectly, regardless of the rate.

  1. Family Members

    • Your toddler's first words will be of familiar things, and nothing is more familiar than family. They typically learn Mama and Dada right away. Dada is a little easier phonetically for toddlers to say, so they tend to say it a little earlier than Mama, much to the disappointment of mothers. They will also know dog, cat, fish and any other pets that you might have. For their siblings, they will probably make up nicknames if their given names are too hard to pronounce.

    Body Parts

    • Babies are fascinated with their bodies and this continues into the toddler years. Hand, nose, eye and toes are quickly picked up by 18-month-old toddlers. Play games with your baby and she'll learn them even quicker. Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes is a good one for learning body parts. Toddlers also love to high-five, so you can teach them the word hand and five at this point.

    Objects

    • Car, cup, spoon and other objects will soon be in your toddler's vocabulary if they aren't already. In fact, she'll probably quickly pick up any one-syllable item that is easy to pronounce. From 18 months and beyond, she will continue to learn the names of objects. By 2 years old, she'll be stringing simple sentences together using these words. She may already be saying two-word sentences like "want ball."

    Directions and Desires

    • At 18 months, you probably didn't think your child would be bossing you around. But, she probably is. Toddlers know what they want and they are determined to get it. That's why they know words like that, there and go. If your toddler points at something and says "that, that, that," you know what she wants and what will happen if you don't respond. She'll also tell you she is ready to do something else by saying "go, go, go" and pointing at the car or taking you to the stroller.

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