Length of a Toddler’s Sentence

Have you ever wondered how long should a toddler’s sentence be? For some parents we can’t get them to stop talking and for others, getting your little one to say anything can be like pulling teeth. If you need a refresher about expressive language before we delve in, feel free to read about it.

So, is there a “right” number of words that your little one should be stringing together? There is certainly a minimum threshold that speech pathologists look for when they interact with children. As always, keep in mind that each child develops at his or her own pace! In addition, if you ever have doubts about your child’s sentences, please take your child to see an SLP!

What is this threshold that is used? In the world of speech therapy, we utilize a measurement called MEAN LENGTH OF UTTERANCE – I will be referring to this as MLU from here on out, which is what we call it in the speech world. As you will come to find through this blog, there is an acronym for absolutely everything in our field, haha!

What is MLU?

As stated, it stands for “Mean Length of Utterance”, which means that it quantifies what your child says in a numeric manner. When MLU is utilized, the content is not taken into consideration in the numeric representation (though it can be analyzed separately); rather the number of words spoken is of utmost importance. In other words, it is a ratio of total words spoken : total utterances. Think of it as a simple mathematical equation:

Total number of words spoken
————————————————
Total number of utterances

How can I obtain MLU?

The best way to obtain MLU is through a language sample. What does that mean, exactly? It’s really just a fancy way of saying: sit down and play with your little one. Engage in an open-ended language task and record what goes on. For some ideas of toys that you can use to instigate play with young children, check out this list. I know that it is labeled for itty-bitty’s, but some of the toys can be motivating for 2-3-year-olds as well. If none of those are intriguing, then sit back and follow your child’s lead. You know him the best and should give him space to explore and find something that excites him!

Think about what excites your child and makes his face light up. Find a motivating toy, game, or book and let the conversation flow.

Try your best not to ask simple “yes/no” questions, as this type of question does not invite your toddler to share his or her thoughts in an expansive manner. In addition, asking your toddler to label objects will box you in as well. What kinds of questions can you ask during this time?

• “What” questions that elicit more than a label. Ex: “What is the cow doing now?”; “What should we do with the sandwich next?”
• “When” questions. Ex: “When do we wear shoes?”
• “Where” questions. Ex: “Where should we put the car?”
• “How” questions. Ex: “How do we play with this toy?”
• Make comments that your child can piggy-back off of. If you close off the conversation, then your child won’t be talking to you. Try to keep it light and natural. Remember to maintain a balance of asking questions, making comments, and of utmost importance, give your child space to come up with commentary.

For an accurate representation of your child’s MLU, try to play and record your exchanges for 20-30 minutes. Of course, you know your child best and if your child is moody or not quite themselves, then disregard the language sample and try again another day.

For what age-range does MLU apply?

This is a measurement that is not relevant to all ages. It is only a useful tool for 1-4 year olds.

• A 1-year-old should have an MLU of at least 1
• A 2-year-old should have an MLU of at least 2
• A 3-year-old should have an MLU of at least 3
• A 4-year-old should have an MLU of at least 4

After age 4, a child will speak in varied sentence length and MLU no longer becomes an accurate way to measure language output. Children begin to tell stories and answer more complex questions than before and use lengthy sentences, similar to adults.

If your child is over the age of 4 and is not speaking in at least four-word phrases or sentences consistently, then you might want to talk to an SLP about this. There is a lot more that goes into examining expressive language, of course, and this is just one measurement, but it is something to keep in mind.

Here is a sample MLU from myself and my 2 1/2 year old son:

Context: I was in the playroom with my infant and toddler, we’ll call the older one “Adam” and the younger one “Patrick”. The toys of interest were some xylophone toys (a dog one, which is similar to the one Adam loves; and a smaller one for Patrick). The following is a transcription of a 2-minute audio-clip, as well as information about the number of words spoken in each utterance. At the end, I will show how to derive the MLU from this clip.

PERSON	UTTERANCE	# OF WORDS SPOKEN
A	“Hi-ho.”	1
ME	“Hi-ho, Hi-ho.”
A	“I’m going to…going to get the hammer on this one.”	9
ME	“You’re going to get the hammer on this one?”
	Adam proceeds to bang on the xylophone.
ME	“Wow! That sounds great!
A	“How about….How about…” trails off.	2
ME	“Now what are you going to do?”
	Adam taps the hammer and bone together.
ME	“Cool. I like how you’re tapping those together.”
A	“Tapping those.”	2
ME	“Tapping those.”
A	“Here. Here’s your hammer.”	1, 3
ME	“Yeah Patrick, here’s your hammer. Maybe he doesn’t want the hammer anymore.”
	Adam speaks some nonsense consonant/vowel combinations (“You-oh-oh-oh.”)
ME	“What are you saying?”
A	“I’m saying ‘only.'”	3
ME	“You’re saying ‘only?’ Only what?”
A	“I’m saying that’s my xylophone.”	5
ME	“I see. Well, but we can share toys.”
A	“We can’t share toys.”	4
ME	“Yes, we can. Look, Patrick.” (Demonstrates how to play on a xylophone.)
A	“Can I have a (unintelligible)?”	4
ME	“Can I have a what?”
A	“A dooma song. I want a dooma song.”	3, 5
ME	“A dooma song? What’s that?”
	Adam sings nonsense jargon (“nana-none-nana”).
ME	“What? That doesn’t make any sense.”
	Adam laughs.
ME	“That doesn’t make any sense.”
A	“That’s my…that’s my xylophone.”	3

Notice that I am only counting the number of words that Adam said, as we are collecting his MLU, not mine. Also, whenever Adam speaks using more than one sentence, I separate his words out per sentence, as we are counting each sentence as an “utterance”, not a turn.

Time for some math! Total number of words spoken: 45; Total number of utterances: 13.

Total # of words spoken = 45 = 3.46
———————————— —
Total # of utterances 13

In this scenario, Adam’s MLU is 3.46, which is considered to be age-appropriate as it is greater than the target MLU of 2.5. Read below if you have questions regarding how I counted what a “word” was in this sample.

What counts as a “word” and what doesn’t?

This is a tough one to answer! I think the first thing to tackle is pronunciation. If your child says a word incorrectly, does it count? If he or she says it that way all of the time and uses that pronunciation for that one word, then yes, it counts.

For example, my toddler cannot yet say the “l” or “r” sounds (which is developmentally appropriate.) So when he says, “Hewo” for “Hello,” his “Hewo” counts as a word. For the sake of the sample above, I simplified it. I decided to make it easy to read as this post is not covering articulation.

Next up are fillers. If your child says “um” or “like” (not as a comparative), then these words do not count.

How about stuttering? If your child repeats the first sound or syllable, such as, “s…s…s…star” for “star“, then just count the word “star” as a singular word. If he repeats words and says, “then I, then I, then I, then I…“, just count the phrase “then I” once as two separate words. Do not count it as eight words as that will skew your results. (See the sample above, as Adam did that a couple of times.)

Finally, what about contractions? If a child is saying “it’s” then is it technically one word or two? Since the words “it” and “is” are grouped together to form a singular word, “it’s”, this word is counted as a single word. However, there are ways in which to analyze the language sample to give the child credit for their knowledge of complex sentence structure.

How can we improve MLU? (Let’s Water the Sponge!)

Now you’ve taken your language sample and obtained your MLU! Nice work! If your child is lagging behind based on the above information, don’t panic. Here are some simple ideas that you can do at home with your child in order to build his or her expressive language skills:

1. Speak in utterances that add one word to what your child currently says. For instance, if your child currently speaks in nouns, then try adding a verb to that. If he says, “Pig”, then say “Pig go”; “Pig oink”; “Pig eat”; “Pig roll”; etc. By breaking language down like this, your toddler has the opportunity to take in the sentence structure as well as new vocabulary words.
2. One of my favorite methods of teaching language to little ones is to “tap it out.” This method is fantastic because it offers auditory and tactile feedback so it appeals to kiddos who need a different kind of sensory input in order to learn. It is a simple method: when you say a phrase, tap your hand lightly on the desk or countertop in front of you each time you say a word. So if you said “Pig eat,” then you would tap once when you say “pig” and tap again when you say “eat.” Alternatively, you can try clapping for each word or tapping gently along your child’s arm depending on what he or she responds best to.
3. Invest in toys, games, and books that maintain your child’s attention and interest. This is something that, while it seems simple when its spelled out in black-and-white, can actually be a challenge for parents to accept. Sometimes I have bought toys that my boys, especially my youngest, are not interested in (but these ones are hits!) If he doesn’t like it, he won’t want to talk about it. It’s that simple. Figure out what your child is passionate about. To be perfectly honest, some of the best opportunities to teach language arise outside of playtime/reading time and when we are eating, taking a spontaneous walk, or grocery shopping. Just watch for your little one’s reaction to the world around him and you’ll know when to capitalize on that excitement! You’ve got this – don’t be afraid to follow your instinct!

Have you tried taking a language sample at home? Do you have questions about a specific utterance or sentence your child said? Feel free to share your results below!