When should a toddler stop having problems with personal pronouns?

Question

My son (35 months old) speaks fairly well, but is consistently confusing his personal pronouns.

Examples: "Her is eating her food," "me is going to my room", etc..

Sometimes he gets them right, but it's about 50/50 at best.

I'm assuming this is normal, because it seems like this would be a harder concept to pick up than simple association of a single word with a concept (a duck is always a duck, but keeping track of whether it is her/him/he/she, based upon the context of usage, is more complex).

Is there anything I should (or should not) do to help him? How long does it usually take for a toddler to master pronouns?

Answer 1

Yes, it's completely normal. My 3 1/2 year old daughter has her pronouns pretty much down already, but my 6 year old son was still mixing them up at age 5, if I remember correctly.

It's anecdotal evidence, but the main difference I see is my son talks your ears off, and doesn't stop to listen, so it's tiresome to correct his grammar every single time. We let maybe 90% of his grammar mistakes go uncorrected. My daughter is introverted, thinks things through before speaking, and is a careful listener. She makes fewer mistakes in the first place due to her good observation skills, and she also leaves gaps in the conversation where it's easy for us to correct her.

As far as how to help, the only method I'm aware of is to make him repeat it correctly. Some parents see that as "stifling creativity" or something, some just enjoy the cuteness factor, and some are reluctant to do it because correcting an adult's grammar is generally considered rude, but there's really no faster way for children to learn.