DD (2.8) still says 'f' instead of 'th' - when does this change/should I worry?

[TheMightyToosh]

To explain - she says 'free' instead of 'three', 'fank you' instead of 'thank you', etc.

She's been talking for about a year now, so it's not a brand new skill.

I know it is probably just how they learn at first, but I'm keen to correct this as soon as is reasonable and not let it become too engrained.

Any tips?

I have DS who is just 6 and DD who is 4.3.

DD says f instead of th almost all the time. DS does it sometimes but I know that at school they have been reinforcing using th instead of f so I presume it is quite usual for it to be still there then (he is in year 1 so in a class with children ranging from 6 and a bit to 5 and a slightly larger bit).

I really wouldn't worry - model the use of th yourself but there is no need to "correct" your DD

This is really common and often nothing to worry about. I found that the older they got, the easier it was to correct - so with my 5 year old, I consciously picked a word at a time and just reminded her when she said it to use 'th' rather than 'f'.

You'll find it really gets better when they start reading though, and therefore practising the 'th' sound at school and then sounding out words like 'thing' and 'thank you' themselves.

my dc3 did this, try giving her a mirror so she can see how the tongue has to come out for the sound.

we would make it into a game singing words such as feather, father, mother etc.

don't worry she will get there

Completely normal When my ds started school his teacher was concerned that he said thive and thix as we had spent a lot of time correcting fs to ths...

I used to do that until a teacher at SECONDARY SCHOOL pointed it out and got my to correct myself, dont worry your dd will once she is a bit older.

Practice 'sticking your tongue out' with her and making a noise. DD2 loves this - she still says f most of the time, but at least I know she can say th. She loves that it is a bit cheeky to stick your tongue out...

Aaah, I'm afraid your DD has caught the Roto-chavvus Virus. Other symptoms are an inability to say "ing" (saying "ink" instead) and pronouncing H as Haitch.

Count yourself lucky you have spotted it - in many families, it goes undetected for years until it becomes incurable.

I prescribe a DVD of My Fair Lady, and ban all trips to the chip shop/Greggs bakery/funfair until it passes.

My 2 and a half year old DS does this. I had read that some kids don't get the "th" sound until they're 7.

Am determined that DS will get it though as DH's Mother put it down to a problem with DH's tounge and never corrected him. Now he's 32 and getting the mickey taken out of him at work!!

DH can say "th" but has to concentrate as he's had many, many years of not doing so and it's ingrained now. But as we've decided to name our about-to-be-born daughter Catherine - he'd better get over it fast!!

Thanks everyone - I did suspect that it might be a while yet, but didn't want to leave it too late.

@ GoldenSnitch - hope your DH is practicing fast, otherwise you might have to resign to calling your new DD Cate to be on the safe side!

If you live in Sarf London it may never go away.

My DS is 5.5 and has been speaking like an Eastenders cast member since he was at nursery. It's starting to wear off a bit now but he does still say 'f' for 'th' even if I correct him, I think it's just a difficult thing to do. He also forgets to put 't' in the middle of words like water although he does it easily enough when reminded.

Oh yes Bran, we have the missing T syndrome to deal with too, and the lack of G on the end of 'ing' words... Not from Sarf London but we have our own local dialect to contend with (not even as nice as London!)

Ah well, I will keep trying, and BEAUTIFUL I will definitely get a copy of My Fair Lady! Actually, Mary Poppins is on the Christmas list, so hopefully that will be a start

I fought I was the only one bovvered about this but bit my tongue putting it down to lower-middle class pretensions and not being down with Radio One djs (who all seem to suffer).
In our house, 18 year old Stepson can't pronouce the "th" sound and merrily teaches my DC to talk, "One, two, free". And they have also learnt to say "I done it" which always seems connected to botty-bots if you care for my opinion.
Not only will I buy a copy of "My Fair Lady" but will ensure there are plenty of marbles around. It's time for Movver to take charge of this ghastly situation.

I have this with DS 1 (5). He is fank you and free instead of three, left right and centre. I do fink/think it will get better as his reading does. I have the added problem that this is how his father speaks, bless him, so I have the horrible feeling that I am trying to correct my DH's speech at the same time as our son's. Which I am not, he's a grown up and can speak any which way he chooses.

My 4 year old can't say either F, V or TH yet so please don't worry.
Our speech therapist has shown me a table of projected sounds/ages and, as someone has laready mentioned, so are not expected til children reach 7 or 8.
Also, is does depend on where you live as the local accent will dictate how they speak.
AAlthough me and my DH don't really have accents, we live in Yorkshire now so the kids are picking up a nice local twang!