Mr 4 year old ds is dropping his "T's" all the time when he speaks.

[pepsi]

My 4 year old who up until now has prounced words properly, well since his grommets were put in anyway. About 6 weeks ago he started dropping the T in water, I pretended I couldnt understand him and asked was it waTer he wanted, its gone on and now he is dropping the T in lots of words, ie. dirty, better, butter. I like to think we speak well at home, certainly prouncing T's. He goes to a private nursery and from my contact with the other children all of them speak very nicely. Is this a phase or very common with this age group. I expected problems when he started school but not this early. Any advice appreciated.

My dd 6 has always spoke nicely, until she went to school and it was just the same words you have mentioned. I know one of her friends talks like it, and maybe your son has a friend that does too that you havent noticed yet?
Just repeat the word properly and hope it stops soon!

My daughter did this ALOT after watching Dora the Explorer!!! It grated on me and she doesn't do it anymore (she's 3.5), so i think maybe they are just experimenting???

Ds has seen Dora the Explorer, surely theres not a kids programme on TV where the characters dont speak properly, that would be crazy. Sounds like it might just be a phase and something they do but its bloody irritating. This week my SIL has had problems with her 5 year old at school, ie. calling her sister a slag! and she tells me that the langauge and speech in the playground is awful and its just the way of life these days and basically we have to accept it. I dont feel I can and hope others feel the same.

I have this problem at home too - I don't want to offend anyone, but my dh's accent means that the T is not pronounced. My dd and ds keep missing out the T's, I am forever telling them and my dh that there is no point putting T's in words if you don't pronounce them.

To make matters worse, every time we go and stay with my IL's, my MIL makes the point of teaching my children to miss out T's and talk like they do and not like where we live now. (old bag) - she never forgave me for taking her precious son away.

I think all you can do, is keep correcting him, that's what I do.

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pepsi, Dora speaks with a very broad Spanish aceent but she spakes American!!!(That made No sense but i hope you get it!!), so she says 'cur'ain + wa'er' I actually told dd she wouldn't watch it anymore if she didn't stop copyiny Dora as i couldn't understand her