There’s no greater pleasure than when your toddler starts talking, and no greater stress than when your toddler doesn’t speak and you have no clue why. Thanks for joining me today as I address a concern from a Facebook community mom, Moretlo Mokone, about when children should start to speak fluently and clearly.

Is it normal for my 3-year-old to not be talking fluently?

I’m no doctor, but I have tried to read up on the topic as much as I can so that I can try to help you. Luckily, I came across this piece from Parenting.com on appropriate language development for toddlers. Rest assured, parents—if your 3-year-old is not talking clearly yet, that’s perfectly fine! According to the article, it’s normal for 3-year-olds to speak in choppy, labored language. Somewhere between age 3 and 4, your child’s thoughts should start to flow in more complete sentences with far less effort than was needed when they just turned 3. At this point, your child shouldn’t have to stop and think about what they’re saying; they should be able to tell simple stories.

If your 3-year-old is still not talking and you are truly concerned, I’d say that a trip to the pediatrician would be the best course of action. You’re pediatrician can refer you to a speech therapist who can evaluate and diagnose your child, and they can also offer the best course of treatment for your child (if there is in fact an issue). Many speech issues, when addressed early on, are completely treatable. The key is to intervene early on so that you can find the right method of treatment for your child.

I hope this helps, Moretlo! Thanks so much for writing in, I know that this can cause a lot of stress with parents.

Parents, did you have to deal with delayed speech with your toddlers? Did your child have a speech issue? If so, how did you fix the situation? Please share your experiences with us, I’m sure that your story would make me-as well as other parents-feel better!