Speech Development: What sounds should my child say and when?
Are you curious if your child should be able to produce certain sounds? Does your child say he is “free” years old when trying to say that he is “three” years old? Should your three year old have developed the “th” sound? Let’s cover some speech sound milestones: what sounds your child should say and around what age. If your child is not able to produce the sound by the age listed, a speech therapist can help!
The norms described below are derived from McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). It should be noted that not all school districts follow these norms and will often pick children up at later ages than the norms described below. This can elongate a child’s timeline in therapy which can be avoided by an evaluation by a private speech therapist.
2-3 year olds
If your child is 2-3 years old, they should be able to produce the following sounds: p, b, m, d, n, h, t, k, g, w, ng, f, y. You can probe these sounds by asking your child to say words that contain them. Do they accurately produce the target sound? For example, have your child say “kiss”, do they produce an “k” sound or do they say “tiss” for “kiss”? Have your child say “pat”, “ball”, “mom”, “dog”, etc. If you are unsure or feel overwhelmed assessing your child yourself, contact a speech therapist for a trained ear to listen!
4 year olds
If your child is 4 years old, they should be able to produce all of the 2-3 year old sounds listed above as well as l, j, ch, s, z, v, sh. Does your child accurately produce these sounds? You can have them label items around your house, “lamp”, “chair”, etc. or say words after you that contain these sounds. Unsure if your child can produce these or not able to fully assess them on your own? Contact a speech therapist for a trained ear to listen!
5 year olds
If your child is 5 years old, they should be able to produce all of the sounds listed above for 2-3 and 4 year olds as well as r, zh, voiced th (example: “they” - the voice box is on for the “th”). If you feel like your child might have distortions on any of these sounds or aren’t quite sure, contact a speech therapist and ask for a speech screening or evaluation!
6 year olds
The last sound to develop is the voiceless th, the voicebox is “off” for the /th/ sound, for example, thunder. At 6 years of age, your child should have developed all of their speech sounds. If you notice errors in their sound productions, reach out to a speech therapist to put together a plan!
If you feel that your child is not producing all of their sounds, contact a speech therapist, they can perform a quick screening to determine what errors your child might have and develop a plan to help! If you are in the Pittsburgh area, contact Berry Speech Academy to set up a free consult today!
