How normal is it for a child's speech to be a tad off when they are starting kindergarten?

Question

My daughter starts school this fall and while she is ready in every way, I worry about her speech. I don't want her to have to go to a speech therapist during the school year. Anyway, she has issues saying R's for some reason and TH occassionally bothers her. Other than that, she will sometimes baby talk but I think that's due to her being the oldest kid at daycare (all the rest are under 4).

I'd love to know how I can get her to understand these sounds better. I've watched her mouth and she forms it incorrectly on R's. I'm not sure what to do. Sometimes her speech is 100% on and she sounds way older than she is too. Is she just being lazy?

Advice?

Please and thank you!

Answer 1

Frankly, I'd ask a speech therapist. It's not a stigma, it doesn't mean that you are a bad parent or that your child is a failure. It just means she could use a bit of help talking.

My son's been seeing a speech therapist this year because he stutters. She's lovely and he actively enjoys going because she plays Top Trumps with him :)

Answer 2

the school should help with that + its completely normal. speech therapist are excellent i wasnt able to really speak properly until i was around 6 but i got a therapist at around 4-5 and my parents tell me it helped immensely. these sounds should develop over time. and if there are problems with mouth movment ect the school should pick this up

Answer 3

No one is going to be able to give you a good answer on here.   We need to hear your child speak to make a judgment.   We can make judgement on how "off" her R's really are.  Get what I'm saying?

If you believe there is a problem, talk to your pediatrician.  It doesn't hurt.   It's better to be safe then sorry.

Answer 4

My child had a slight lisp at that age.  She grew out of it.

Answer 5

totally normal for a 5 year old to have some difficulty with letter sounds entering kindergarten.

my daughter just finished kindergarten and was also have issues with her "R" sounds and "SP" for spaghetti, and "TH" as well!! This is pretty common. She grew right out of it once she started learning her letter sounds in class.

don't worry mom, she'll be just fine. Kids are usually taught their letter sounds and don't practice them on a normal basis until school time. you'll be amazed at how quickly she turns around and how much new stuff she'll learn in only a year.

If the school thinks she's having difficulty above her normal education level, they'll let you know and assist you in getting the proper intervention. but I'm sure she'll be fine.

hope this helps!!

Answer 6

it is very normal for children to have problems with those letter sounds and others.  i know its hard not to stress out over it but you need to try.  when you see your daughter forming the sound wrong take her aside and show her the proper way to hold her mouth when using those sounds.

Answer 7

It is actually normal for some speech delay going into kindergarten.  I know my son is 5 1/2 and I had him tested with a speech therapist and they said while he does have speech delays he is within normal range for a child his age.  He also has troubles with R's and the TH sound as well as the K sound at the beginning of words like KEYS for example he says Tees instead but they said that he will catch up.

Answer 8

Absolutely,....If you have a concern about her speech, why not get her in speech therapy?

Maybe u don't know, but your school (public) will offer speech therapy for your daughter.  Make sure you look for it....

As for the speech patterns of the family.. the worst thing you can do is speak in her "language".  Make sure you repeat the things your daughter says in "the right" way.  Make her say things the right way, as best she can.  This is how you can reinforce good language patterns.

Answer 9

I can't understand why you wouldn't want her going to a speech therapist if she has a problem.  My son is 7 and has been going to speech since he was 2.  He goes during the school year and he loves it.  They play games and practice on certain words.  They make it fun for them.  The only thing he has problems with now is TH and certain BL words.  Every now and again I will hear something way off but for the most part he is speaking very clearly now.

Answer 10

Not to worry, it is perfectly normal.  LOTS of kindergardeners have the some form of speech problem.  My 6yo daughter has/had problems with her th's also.. and with a th in her first and last name it was very noticable.  But she is growing out ot it and I'm sure your daughter will too. Good luck and have fun with kindergarden!

Answer 11

It is normal to not get the R's, S's and Th's correct at that age.  In fact, when I was a bit older than that (maybe 3rd or 4th grade) I had trouble with some letters and did speech therapy during school.  It is NOT a big deal.  They do the therapy for a hour or less 1x a week.  My daughter (who has taken speech therapy from 2-4 yrs old) still says eat-ed-ed, instead of ate.  Speech isn't perfect at this age. Your daughter may grow out of it.

Answer 12

Typically R's TH's are difficult for child. My daughter went to speech before she started kindergarten. It helped a great deal but the speech therapist said R's and Th's  will come with time. She still goes to speech for stuttering whole phrases, it is only a 1/2 twice a week and does not interfere with her instruction time.

Answer 13

I think she'll get much better when she starts school and is talking much more with children her own age. She's only four, which isn't a massive age to have this problem, my own daughter couldn't pronouce THs till she was 8, and I never went to a speach therapist, but if she gets to 6, and you're still worried about it, that would be the thing to do.

You can also talk to her really pronouncing the words, and correct her in a nice gentle way so she can see your not cross with her if she gets it wrong.

Good luck.

Answer 14

Don't stress about it...it's perfectly normal for children to have some pronunciation difficulties at kindergarten age.  She should grow out of it in time.  It's not laziness, there is just a lot to learn when speaking any language.  One of my boys is very intelligent, but still had some difficulties with pronunciations at this age.  He grew out of it quickly and speaks quite clearly.  Just don't make a big deal out of it with her, because making her self-conscious will cause problems in itself.