Speech Development - What Sounds at What Ages?

Parents often worry about their child's speech from an early age. I was concerned about my oldest son at the age of 5 when he said "f" instead of "th". Our friends, the Thatchers, weren't to excited to be called the "Fatchers", either. Here's a list of what sounds should be present and when.

3 Years:

• "p" as in pike and up
• "m" as in me and am
• "n" as in no and on
• "h" as in hi
• "w" as in want

4 Years:

• "b" as in bye and tub
• "d" as in do and had
• "k" as in cow and book
• "g" as in go and big
• "f" as in four and off

5 Years:

• "ng" as in sing
• "t" as in toe and hit
• "y" as in you

6 Years:

• "l" as in like and ball

7 Years:

• "r" as in run and car
• "s" as in see and bus
• "z" as in zoo and nose
• "v" as in van and have
• "sh" as in shoe and push
• "ch as in chat and watch
• "j" as in jump and page
• "th" as in thin, both, that, and mother

As you can see, I had no reason to worry as he wasn't expected to develop that sound for a couple more years. If you are concerned, contact your pediatrician or local public school for a referral to a Speech Language Pathologist for an evaluation.