If you've compared your bilingual toddler's word count to a monolingual cousin's and felt a flicker of worry, the comparison is measuring the wrong thing. Here's what the research on early vocabulary actually shows.
1. First words arrive on the same timeline either way
Bilingual and monolingual children reach early milestones, babbling, first words, first word combinations, at comparable ages. Most children say a first recognisable word around 12 months, regardless of how many languages are in the home.
💬 QUOTE
A bilingual toddler isn't behind. They're building two vocabularies at once and being judged against a ruler built for one.
2. Count both languages together, not just one
Researchers measuring bilingual vocabulary size get very different pictures depending on whether they count words in a single language or across both. Counted separately, a bilingual child's English vocabulary alone may look smaller than a monolingual peer's. Counted across both languages, bilingual children often have equal or larger total vocabularies.
💡 PRACTICAL TIP
When you're tracking your child's words, keep one list, not two separate, competing ones. A word for "dog" in either language is a word your child has.
3. Around 50 words by 18 months is a reasonable combined benchmark
Clinical guides commonly use roughly 50 words by 18 months of age as a general benchmark, counted across all languages a child is learning. It's a broad guide, not a strict pass or fail line; normal variation is wide.
📖 A NOTE FROM US
If you have genuine concerns about your child's speech, a GP or speech pathologist is the right call, not a milestone chart. This is general guidance, not a diagnostic tool.
4. Progress over time matters more than the count on any given day
What clinicians actually watch for is steady growth, not a specific number at a specific age. A rising word count, in either language, is the reassuring sign.
FROM THE CARDS
Our alphabet flashcard sets in Serbian, Greek, and Albanian, and the Lingo Club Serbian Playbook, are designed around exactly this kind of steady, repeated exposure that builds a combined vocabulary over time.
Parent Q&A
Q: Should I be worried if my bilingual toddler has fewer English words than other children their age?
A: Not necessarily. Researchers find bilingual children's single-language vocabularies are often smaller when measured alone, but comparable or larger when counted across both languages combined.
Q: At what age should a toddler say their first word?
A: Around 12 months on average, for bilingual and monolingual children alike, though there's a wide normal range.
Q: How many words should a bilingual 18-month-old have?
A: A commonly used general benchmark is around 50 words total, counted across all the languages a child is learning, not just one.
