Sound development

Between birth and age three, children should be able to say:

Sucking, learning to bite and chew, and putting objects in their mouths are also important. These behaviours help children become aware of their mouth parts and control their movement and positions.

By four and a half years, children should be able to say:

Usually children at this age can be understood most of the time. Their speech may become less clear if they are tired, unwell or excited.

Songs, rhymes, books, playing, talking and listening to other children all help them learn correct sounds and word patterns.

At seven and a half, children should be able to say:

Some children take extra time to blend sounds together. For example, ‘tree’, ‘plane’ and ‘desk’.

Children in bilingual families, or those learning more than one language, may need extra time to learn sounds. This is because each language has its own unique sounds.

Children make errors when they begin to talk. They may:

Sometimes children make several mistakes in one sentence. For example, ‘let’s go to the park’ may sound like ‘we do t u part.’

Here are some effective ways to help your child in their sound development: