How soon should a toddler begin to speak in proper sentences, and how quickly should a 2½ yr-old's vocabulary be growing? Raisingkids.co.uk's guest expert, speech therapist Claire Dorfan, advises.

Raisingkids member's problem
My son is nearly 2½ but still only says basic words like 'mummy', 'daddy' and 'car'. He has just started to put 'my' before most words and can say 'what's that?' Should I be worried that he is not developing very quickly, and should I seek help from a speech therapist?

Claire's advice
At this age, children can differ quite dramatically in their speech and language ability. What is important, however, is that steady progress is evident: vocabulary should be increasing and sentences becoming longer, more complex and varied.

Has your son passed his routine hearing tests? Have you had any concerns about his hearing, or has he had any ear infections? Many speech and language therapists will request routine hearing tests where any concern about speech and language development has been expressed (ask your Health Visitor).

Make sure that someone (yourself, your partner or another carer) is spending short periods of time with him each day - looking at picture books, playing together, and chatting about your/his daily routines. Perhaps make a note monthly (or weekly!) of new words and sentences to monitor his progress. If you still feel concerned in 3 months' time, ask your Health Visitor to refer your son for a full speech and language assessment, and for further advice.