If you hear differences in the way your child is producing one or more sounds when talking, then consider trying the following:

1. Provide a good model for your child 

e.g. Child – “I had tate for my birfday and I dot wots of pwesents!” 

Adult – “You had cake for your birthday! And you got lots of presents! Lucky you!” 

2. Describe how to make the sound 

e.g. Child – “It’s my birfday on Thunday!” 

Adult – “On Sunday? Great! Listen, Sunday has a /s/ sound on the front – like a snake. Can you make a snake sound? … “ssss”…that’s it, try and keep your tongue behind your teeth, keep your teeth together! Good try!” 

3. Give a visual model to help your child make the sound

e.g. Child – “There’s a pider over there!” 

Adult – “A what? Oh a spider! Have a look at me……spider” 

4. Give specific praise when they try to fix their error sound 

e.g. Child – “It’s a big dip… sh…ip” 

Adult – “It is a big ship! Good try! You put the /sh/ in front. You remembered to round your lips and make a long sound! Excellent!” 

5. Be positive. Don’t use ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sounds when talking to your child about their error. Use ‘new’ and ‘old’ sounds instead. 

e.g. Child – “I’m sitting on a tair”

Adult – “You are sitting on a chair! ‘Chair’ has the new sound we’ve been talking about at

the start ‘ch’. Let’s practice saying our train sound ‘ch’, instead of the old sound ‘t’. Round your lips, ‘ch’.”

If your child is making errors not expected for their age or you’re not sure whether the errors they are making are expected, then call and make a time to see us at Active Speech Pathology. We will assess your child’s speech sounds and provide the information you need to have a clear understanding of their speech sound profile and plan for how to approach therapy, if that is indicated.