Speech Development

Learning to talk is a difficult process! There are a lot of sounds that are a challenge to figure out, and sometimes we really don't give our kids credit for the hard work they are doing. As parents we are very eager for our children to speak well and clearly, and it makes us anxious when it takes too long for them to learn new sounds. Does your 4 year old say "pot" instead of "spot"?  Are you worried about his speech development?  Well here is a nice chart that can help you know what's normal, and when to worry!

Speech Sound Developmental Norms

Below is a chart reflecting speech sound acquisition. The upper range indicates when 90% of children have learned that sound. For example, 90% of children have acquired the “n” sound by the time they are 4 years old; 90% of children have learned the “s” sound by the time they are 7 years old.

2 years	3 years	4 years	5 years	6 years	7 years	8 years
p
m
w
n
	b
	k
	g
	t
	d
	ng
	f
		r
		l
		s
		ch
		sh
		z
			j
			v
				th (thumb)
				th (that)
				zh (measure)