Can You Tell What Your Toddler Understands?

Parents of 2-year-old children and their children. You will need access to a touchscreen tablet or iPad.

You will need a touchscreen tablet, for example an iPad (a cell phone is too small for this study). There are three activities in this study, two for you and one for your child. First, you will fill out a questionnaire with questions about your family, such as your child’s birth weight and who your child lives with. Then, you will complete a language game while PRETENDING to be your child, answering how you think they would answer. After that, you will have your child actually do the language game for real. The language game involves tapping and dragging pictures on the screen, for example a voice might say “The apple is in front of the table” and you would tap the picture that shows that.

Many researchers and clinicians ask parents to fill out questionnaires about their child’s language. Parents are experts on their children, especially when it comes to the words they say. But understanding language is harder to observe because toddlers don’t always show what they know. In this study, we’re exploring how well parents can guess their child’s understanding of vocabulary, grammar, and early learning skills. By comparing parent guesses with children’s responses, we hope to learn how parent insights can best support language research and clinical practice.

About 45 minutes total – 30 minutes parent participation, 15 minutes for the child, at your convenience.

Parents of children who complete the BabyQUILS screener will receive a norm‑referenced language comprehension report, including percentile ranks across vocabulary, syntax, and fast‑mapping domains. BabyQUILS demonstrates strong psychometric validity, and all results are reviewed by a certified speech‑language pathologist to ensure accurate interpretation and recommendations.