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Early Speech Sound Development- A Parent’s Guide

“My son can’t say the “r” sound.”

“We can’t understand what she is saying.”

As parents, we understand that babies don’t come out speaking clearly in full sentences, but what is appropriate? What is expected in early speech sound development? When to be concerned?

(See the GLP Blog’s Early Language Post for a straightforward summary and some key characteristics to look for in Language Development)

Summary of Speech Sound Development

The Baby Phase

Sounds that are the easiest to make- such as vowel sounds (ah, ee)- are typically made first. Babies first cries and purposeful sounds include lots of vowels.

Babbling also begins around 4-7 months. When babies babble, they make so many different sounds! They produce every sound in every language spoken in the world- including different tones, clicks, etc. As they learn their families’ language, they begin to drop the sounds they do not need.

The Toddler Years

Soon after, children begin to produce more consonant sounds purposefully. These new sounds tend to develop front to back. Meaning sounds produced with lips and tongue toward the front of the mouth, e.g., m, b, t, d, develop pretty early. This may be the reason that in languages around the globe the names children use for their parents, such as Mama, Papa, Maman, Mami, Dada, all use early developing sounds. There aren’t many languages where the word for “Mama” begins with an “r” sound for example.

Later sounds to develop include sounds that are produced further back in the mouth, such as “k” and “g.” These sounds are a little more challenging- perhaps because there is less visual information for a child to gather about the sounds. Try making a “k” sound and a “p” sound. The “p” is a lot easier to see how to produce the sounds.

Preschool & Beyond

Then more complicated sounds such as s, z, sh, f, & v (the “fricatives”) start to emerge. Fricatives are more challenging to produce for most children because your tongue, lips and teeth have to be held in a precise position while maintaining air flow. Try to make an “s” sound then switch to an “sh” sound- there is a lot going on! That adults can link sounds that are so different so easily takes really developed fine motor skills and it takes our littles a while to master such dexterity.

Find a great sound development visual resource for parents from Chatterbox here!

As children develop, they often use certain patterns to make words easier to say. For more information on Speech Patterns in Littles, see the GLP Blog Post here!

Top 6 Questions for Reading with your Preschooler

Where to Start

Asking questions about the story and having discussions about the books are incredible ways to develop a love of reading. While it can be tempting to delve into why Gerald wouldn’t recognize his best friend in My Friend is Sad, as parents of little ones, we may have to start a little more simply. Our littles may not be ready to examine moral issues about the characters’ motivations. On the other side of the coin, just reading the story as if you’re reading a grocery list may not spark that passion either.

Here are a few questions to use as you read with your little ones.

Who is this story about?

This may seem pretty basic to us as adults, but children do not always pick up on story grammar, such as who the characters are. And some stories can have unusual characters, such as animals or vehicles. Typically, stories center around the actions of the characters, so it’s good to start at the baseline. I think sometimes, as parents, we do a lot of telling, but given the chance, our kiddos have a lot to share and may surprise us with what they know. This not only builds their prereading skills, but also their confidence in adding to the interaction.

“Who is making the pancakes? I see a mama, but she is sleeping. Is the dog making them?”

Where does it take place?

Again, this may seem pretty obvious, but often children’s books do not explicitly state that the characters are in a specific place. By helping them to label where the characters are and how you child knows this, you’ll be expanding language and comprehension. If the characters are outside, are they in a yard or at a park? Downtown or in the mountains? Then bridge the location to something your child knows, “Oh, that’s a park like the one we go to!”

What is the problem?

Children do not always notice there is a problem, sometimes it seems like a series of events to them. By starting to see a story as including a problem that can be solved, this can help their own creative thinking to solve problems in their own lives. In a book like Llama Llama Time to Share, the problem is one they will probably encounter and it could help them in their daily experiences The Problem is another piece of story grammar they will learn about as they get older in school and it’s helpful to their comprehension if they can name it. 

What will happen next?

Prediction can help children develop their critical thinking and help them with their own problem solving. “Uh-oh! The toy is broken- what should they do?” It’s really cool when they guess what will happen. It’s also really cool when they have a different idea. 

How do they feel?

This is great to do after a major event in a story. As in Llama, Llama Time to Share, when his toy breaks, how does he feel? Lots of times, our littles will comment “Mad” or “Sad.” This is an awesome opportunity to expand specific language (I’m a language nerd:) but also to help increase empathy and emotional intelligence. Is the character sad? Or disappointed? Or devastated? 

Does this remind you of something?

At first you may have to suggest what the event in the story reminds them of: “Remember the time we had ice cream at the park?” but after a few examples, your child will start to make connections on their own. It can be pretty crazy the information they pull together. More often than I’d like to admit, my children made a connection to an event that was really important to them that I had almost forgotten about.

Enjoy!

One last note, just savor! Ask questions, don’t ask questions, do what’s right for the day! There may be days when just reading the story is enough. These questions are just suggestions of ways to expand the experience.  Be present and enjoy the time with your child- really interacting and connecting.

For some ideas on selecting books to read with your little, check out the GLP post here!

Happy reading!!

Choosing Books for Your Little

Encouraging children to fall in love with reading is a noble goal. Often, we think that people either love to read or they don’t.  I think that’s kind of nonsense. Author James Patterson said, “There’s no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books.” But how to find the “right” books?

Such an overwhelming topic! There are so many books- so many amazing, beautiful, thoughtful stories! So many crazy adventure stories! So many exciting, deeply interesting characters!

And so much crap. For real, so much junk out there too.

Find a Balance

When choosing books with your preschooler, I think it can be a tricky balance. In our family, we read the beautiful Newberry and Caldecott Award winners. We also read a lot of trash.

In my opinion, the goal is to inspire a love of reading and build your connection with your child. A balance, as with everything, is your key to success. Sometimes, your kid wants to read the book about a race car that says, “Vroom! Vroom!” again, again and again!

I remember a Cinderella book I had as a child that I made my parents read over and over. I came across it as an adult when my parents were moving- it was not a literary masterpiece. It was pretty bad, but as a child, I remember being enthralled by Cinderella’s dress and the holographic picture on the cover. I call these not-great-books “Gateway Books.” There may be something that really interests your child, or something they’re trying to figure out. Or an image or idea that they are imagining so much better than they can describe with the language they possess as a preschooler. These books that seem not great may actually be doing more to encourage their language, imagination and love of reading than we understand. 

Don’t Forget the Classics

Also, expose them to the really great stories- the classic picture books- Where the Wild Things Are, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Strega Nona, Snowy Day. Try to find books that will be interesting to both you and them. If your child loves superheroes, find some books about superheroes.

Use Your Library

Libraries are just the best. Your child can explore books and figure out what he likes. You can take a few home and see what sticks. Then you can grow your home library with all the favorites. 

For some ideas about great questions for the books, see the GLP Blog post here!

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