2.7yo can't pronounce certain letters

[EarnestDullard]

DD (2.7yo) has a really good vocabulary, but has trouble pronouncing certain letters. For example, F and S become D (so she'll say 'dish' for 'fish', and 'dun' instead of 'sun'). It only seems to be letters at the beginning of words that cause a problem; word with an S or S sound in the middle (like dance) are fine.

Is this normal for her age? Any advice appreciated.

[EarnestDullard]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like it's not anything to worry about at the moment, but I'll keep an eye on it as she gets older.

[defineme]

The only thing I would add to this excellent advice is that make sure hearing is ok if you're worried. A friend's child had similar speech and needed grommits. He went from garbled to excellent speech in a matter of weeks after he'd had them.

[glasscompletelybroken]

Don't worry at this age - my son used to start all words with a "d" or an "n" - tricky to understand if you didn't know him! he grew out of it before he went to school.

My DGD is 3 and says "tuggle" instead of cuddle - it's gorgeous and I will miss it when she can say it properly!

[Shaiandbump]

Sorry silly phone sent it when I wasn't ready.... Continuing from my post,
When she says 'dish' instead of FISH, ask her did she mean dish or F F F FISH

1. For F SOUND, put front teeth on bottom lip like a bunny and say FFFFFFFFF
   
2. Make a sound ladder for two letters e.g SP,
   

On one step u have a S And the next P (obviously sound it out) do this a few times and then have SP and the top of the ladder so your saying. S P S P S P... SP

[Shaiandbump]

My DS Is 4 and half now and when he went into nursery aged 3, they had trouble understanding what he was trying to say. They asked me if I was happy to see a speech therapist I said yes and they set it all up, he had a few weeks of playing games
To do with F S and SP, the tips I can give you are

1. When the child says 'dish' instead of s

[VintageRainBoots]

It's normal. I was told that it only becomes a concern when a child is 6 or 7 years old and still unable to make certain common sounds.

[EarnestDullard]

Thanks, that's good to know.

[lorisparkle]

It is really common for 2.7 year olds not to be able to say their f and s (so I have been told!). We saw the speech therapist for DS1 a lot and when DS2 could not say his f and s she was not concerned until he was still doing this at pre school age. At that point he went for an assessment and some group sessions (he was 4 yrs old at that point) He is still not consistent in using f and s and we are going for a review in November when he will be 4 1/2 yrs.

When he was little she just suggested lots of appropriate modelling. (He said 'dish' and I would say 'yes a fish' - emphasising the 'f' sound). You could also do some fun activities blowing bubbles, sucking through straws, sticking your tongue out whilst looking in the mirror, etc