4 ways to help your child learn body part vocabulary

Research shows children may be able to identify as many as 13 different body parts by the age of 2. If your toddler can already point to their nose or show you their hands, they may be ready to move on to trickier terms. Toddlers typically learn the names of their basic facial features, stomach, hands, and feet, before less commonly talked about parts, like their eyebrows, fingers, and elbows.

Here are some ways to take your toddler’s body part vocabulary to the next level:  

1. Play a mirror game

In front of a full-length mirror, take turns making silly poses or moves and describing what you see: “Your elbows are bent!” or “My hips are wiggling!” Your child will connect new body part vocabulary with both the sensation and sight of their moving body. 

2. Help them find body parts on other people

Learning the names of their own parts tends to be easier for children than learning the names of another person’s. To help bridge the gap, try labeling their body part (“Where are your eyebrows?”) and then someone else’s (“Can you point to Daddy’s eyebrows?”). 

3. Use humor to get them talking

Your toddler likely knows many more body part words than they can actually say. To work on their expressive vocabulary, put a shoe on your hand and say, “Wait, does this go on my hand? Where does it go?” Or place their pajama pants on your head and ask, “Why doesn’t this hat fit on my head?” Your toddler may test out new words—“That’s for legs!”—or point to where it should go. 

4. Do “The Hokey Pokey” 😉

Sing songs that use body part names, like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” or “The Hokey Pokey.” You can change up the lyrics to incorporate body part labels your child may not know yet. For “The Hokey Pokey,” this could include parts like elbows or specific fingers, like thumb or pinkie.

Learn more about the research

Moore, C. (2007). Understanding self and others in the second year. In Brownell, C. A. & Kopp, C. B. (Eds.)

Socioemotional development in the toddler years: Transitions and transformations, 43-65. The Guilford Press.

Waugh, W., & Brownell, C. (2015). Development of body part vocabulary in toddlers in relation to self-understanding. Early Child Development and Care, 185(7), 1166–1179. 

Witt, A., Cermak, S., & Coster, W. (1990). Body part identification in 1-to 2-year-old children. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 44(2), 147-153.

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