Spoken words are made up of speech sounds, which are different in each language. Children learn speech sounds by hearing and seeing people talk and have conversations.
There’s a pattern to how children learn speech sounds. Children make mistakes as they are learning, such as leaving out or changing sounds. As your child gets older, they will make more and more sounds correctly.
Speech sounds
Use the table below to keep track of your child’s speech sound development for English.
|
Age
|
Sounds
|
Example
|
|
By 3 years
Your child is understood by parents and caregivers most of the time, and about half the time by unfamiliar people.
|
p
b
m
d
n
h
w
vowel sounds, like ah, ee, oh and oo
|
pop
bee
mom
dad
no
hat
we
|
|
By 4 years
Your child is understood by parents and caregiver almost all the time, and most of the time by unfamiliar people.
|
All the sounds listed above and the following sounds:
t
f
k
g
ng
y
Vowel sounds are correct almost all the time.
|
top
foot
kite
go
sing
yes
|
|
By 5 years
Your child is understood by everyone almost all the time.
|
All the sounds listed above and the following sounds:
s
z
l
sh
ch
j
v
|
so
zoo
like
she
chin
jump
van
|
|
By 6 years
Your child is understood by everyone almost all the time.
|
All the sounds listed above and the following sounds:
r
zh
th
|
red
treasure
the
|
|
By 7 years
Your child is easily understood by everyone all the time.
|
All the sounds listed above and the following sounds:
th
|
teeth
|
Find out more about your child’s speech and language development by visiting the Talk Box.
Help your child learn speech sounds
To help your child learn speech sounds:
- Face your child and say words clearly and correctly.
- When your child makes a mistake, repeat the correct word back to your child.
- Try to repeat the difficult word a few times in the conversation. You can emphasize the sound they missed by saying it a little louder or slower.
- Avoid repeating the error back to your child, asking your child to copy you or giving your child instructions.
Where to get help
To learn how speech-language pathologists and audiologists can help with speech, language, and hearing concerns, contact your child’s healthcare provider or visit Pediatric Rehabilitation.
