Children's Speech Sounds
When do speech sounds develop?
Children's speech sounds develop at different points along their early years. You should expect to hear the following sounds accurately at these ages :
2 - 3 years
- /p/ (pie)
- /b/ (ball)
- /m/ (mug)
- /d/ (dog)
- /n/ (no)
- /h/ (he)
- /t/ (touch)
- /k/ (car)
- /g/ (go)
- /w/ (win)
- /y/ (yes)
- /ng/ (sing)
- /f/ (fish)
4 years
- /l/ (love)
- /j/ (jam)
- /sh/ (show)
- /ch/ (chicken)
- /s/ (soap)
- /z/ (zebra)
- /v/ (vegetables)
5 years
- /r/ (red)
- /zh/ (treasure)
- /th/ (this)
6 years
- /th/ (thing)
Why is my child's speech unclear?
A child's speech clarity increases with age.
A non-familiar listener should understand your -
2-year-old: 50% of the time
3-year-old: 68% of the time
3 1/2 year-old: 78% of the time
4-year-old: 86% of the time
5-year-old: 94% of the time
Factors that may cause unclear speech include:
- Oral motor difficulties (difficulties coordinating and controlling the muscles involved in talking). A speech therapist can assist improvements in this area.
- Hearing difficulties (hearing difficulties can affect a child's ability to accurately perceive and produce sounds). Along with a hearing test, speech pathology support can assist with optimising communication.
- Speech sound disorders (difficulties in areas of articulation and/or phonology can lead to unclear speech). If you are having difficulty understanding your own child, speech and language therapy is recommended.
- Structural issues (structural abnormalities such as a cleft lip/palate may affect speech clarity)
- Developmental delays (if your child experiences delays in development, it may affect speech clarity)
How can I help my child talk clearly?
Some tips to assist your child to speak clearly include:
- Model clear speech (you may help your child by speaking clearly and slowly when conversing with them. Children can learn by imitating the sounds of people around them)
- Rather than correcting your child or asking them to repeat it again, model the word, emphasising the correct production e.g., Child says,'wabbit'. Adult says, 'Yes, that is a rabbit!'
- Minimise distractions and chat in a quiet area
- Praise efforts