Hello friends!
Casey and I have absolutely loved the past few months of creating and sending this newsletter. Our goal is to make this the most valuable email in your inbox!
That being said, as we head into the new year, we have a few new ideas and resources headed your way very soon, all aimed at providing value to parents and caregivers of young kiddos.
So make sure you mark this newsletter as “important,” “star” it, or whatever you need to to keep us out of your spam folder, and follow our new-ish IG account right here.
Reed
Here’s this week’s newsletter ⬇️ 👋
The Christmas season has brought a lot of joyful chatter from my now-3-year-old… which, I’ll admit, can take a lot of effort to process and respond to the way he wants, especially with my brain already full of Christmas list details, work tasks, and the new question:
Did I remember to pack his snowpants and boots for daycare?!
That joyful chatter can be hard to interpret on its own, and even harder if your kiddo has speech patterns that make their words trickier to understand.
This week, I’m highlighting common toddler speech patterns, how they might show up during the holiday season, and gentle, practical ways you can support your child’s speech development at home.
Many of these patterns are completely typical at certain ages.
I’m including age ranges for when children usually master each sound so you’ll know what to expect; and when it may be time to check in with an SLP if an error is sticking around longer than it should.
1. Dropping Final Sounds
(Final Consonant Deletion - typically resolved by ~3 years)
Young toddlers may leave off the last sound of a word. By around age 3, children should be steadily adding those ending sounds.
What you might hear:
“ha_” for hat
“so_” for sock
“slee_” for sleep
“presen” for present
Example:
“I want to open the presen!” instead of present.
How to help:
“Let’s add the ending sound. It completes the word!”
Say the word slowly and tap your finger on the final sound: “pre-sent.”
2. Fronting
(t/d for k/g - typically resolved by ~3½–4 years)
Children often replace “back sounds” (k, g) with “front sounds” (t, d).
What you might hear:
“tookie” for cookie
“doat” for goat
“tandy tane” for candy cane
Example:
“I want a tandy tane!”
How to help:
“Can you use the back of your tongue for that word instead of the front?”
Gently touch under their chin as a tactile cue: “The sound comes from back here.”
Open your mouth wide when modeling the word so they can clearly see that your tongue isn’t lifting in the front.
3. Stopping
(p/b/t/d for f/s/sh - typical mastery: f & s by ~3–3½, sh by ~4)
Kids often swap long, “windy” sounds for short, “stopped” ones.
What you might hear:
“pish” for fish
“tun” for sun
“pire” for fire
Example:
“The pire is warm!”
How to help:
“Your air stopped at the beginning of your word! Can you keep your air going?”
f: “Bite your lip gently and blow… ffff.”
s: “Smile with your teeth closed, put your tongue against the bumpy ridge behind your teeth, and let your air slide out the front.”
sh: “Round your lips like ‘oo’ and whisper shhhh.”
4. Gliding
(w for l/r - typical mastery: L by ~6 years, R by ~7 years)
It’s very common for preschoolers to swap “w” for “l” or “r.”
What you might hear:
“wed” for red
“weindee_” for reindeer
“wight” for light
Example:
“Wudolph the wed-nose weindee_!”
How to help:
For L:
“Lift your tongue to the little bump behind your teeth.”
Use a mirror so they can see their tongue pop up.
For R:
“Curl or pull your tongue back like it's making a tiny bowl.”
No pressure on this one; these sounds come in later!
5. Cluster Reduction
(Dropping part of blends like st-, sp-, cr- - typically resolved by ~4 years)
Blends can be tricky for little mouths.
What you might hear:
“poon” for spoon
“top” for stop
“tocking” for stocking
Example:
“Can I hang my tocking?”
How to help:
“Let’s stretch out the first sound.”
Say the blend slowly: “ssss-poooon,” “st-t-top.”
A Final Note
Your child’s speech may be full of adorable quirks, which is a natural part of toddlerhood. But if a pattern sticks around past the typical age range, or if something feels “off” to you, it’s never a bad idea to check in with an SLP.
Have a great weekend!
Casey
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