Does your child have a speech delay? Here's how to get them talking

For most children, things really get going from 18 months onwards: this is when the vocabulary explosion occurs. Photo: Pixabay

Some three-year-olds love to talk, while other children of the same age sit around silently, saying a word or two every now and then - or just pointing to what it is they want. At what point should parents worry that their child isn't speaking enough?

A late talker is defined as a child who speaks less than 50 words at the age of two and doesn't form two-word sentences ("Mummy ball!"). A hearing disorder or other disability needs to be ruled out, says speech therapist Milena Hagemann.