Sometimes uses I and me

Your toddler is now able to say a lot more words and may have started to put two words together. They are starting to understand key phrases such as ‘all gone’ and can use them in context. They are starting to communicate for different purposes, such as requesting information and expressing feelings/attitudes. 

The third person 

When you have been chatting with your toddler, it is quite likely that you will have engaged in conversation by saying their name. You may have been saying their name when it is their turn to do something, or when narrating your day and talking about your toddler and their things. You may have also talked about yourself in third person when talking with your toddler, for example, ‘Daddy is going to take you to the park now’ or ‘Mummy is going to get your coat’. It is likely that your toddler is imitating this pattern of speech and calling themselves by their own name when they have a conversation or talk with their toys. 

Your toddler most likely talks a lot about themselves! It is common for toddlers to choose themselves as their favourite subject. This is due to their lack of exposure to the outside world, which Piaget dubbed 'egocentricity.' This essentially means that young children do not have adequate exposure to other people's beliefs and thoughts and can only see the world through their own eyes, which is common at this age. As your toddler acquires a better comprehension of language and how to use it, strands of language-based egocentricity will continue for some time. 

Pronouns 

Pronouns are words that are used as an alternative for a noun. They are words that function by themselves as a noun and refer to a person, someone, or something, such as I, you, she, we, me, him, us, them. [1] You may find your toddler uses pronouns when talking about themselves, for instance ‘me do it’. At this stage your toddler has probably had less exposure to the use of pronouns and this why they still get mixed up.  

The first pronouns that toddlers often use are most likely, me, mine, my, and it. They may be used infrequently and incorrectly saying things like ‘me do it’ or ‘my want play’. 

What next? 

Over the next months, your toddler will gain more exposure to pronouns. They will need guidance and support from family members in how to use them correctly and this could take a couple of years to master. Your toddler may also start asking lots of questions, the most popular question they ask is typically, ‘why?’ 

References: 

[1] Gotzke, C. & Sample Gosse, H. (2007). Parent Narrative: Language 25 - 36 Months. In L.M. Phillips (Ed.), Handbook of language and literacy development: A Roadmap from 0 - 60 Months. [online], pp. 1 - 8. London, ON: Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network. Available at: Handbook of language and literacy development