Here is a guide to how speech usually develops in tamariki (children) Speech development may vary across languages.
Early, middle and later speech sounds help us think about the order that tamariki learn to say speech sounds.
Here is the approximate order that speech sounds develop in tamariki. They develop from the time a child starts using words until the early years at school. Although the age range extends to 8 years, most children will be using these sounds earlier than that1.
m n y b w d p h
t ng (talking) k g f v ch j
sh zh (measure) l r s zth (think) th (that)
Children's speech generally gets easier to understand as they get older. Here's a guide2:
Show your child that you are interested in what they say, not how they say it.
Help your child to learn how to say tricky sounds by repeating them correctly as naturally as possible. For example, if your child says "bish", you say "yes it's a big fish, isn't it?"
Get face to face with your child so that they can watch the way you say words.
If you would like to look at anything in more detail, this list of references [1] might be a good starting point.
The content on this page has been produced in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and adapted from Much more than words | Manuka takoto, kawea ake (2014) [2].
This page last reviewed 08 December 2023.
Email us [14] your feedback
Links
[1] https://kidshealth.org.nz/communication-development-references
[2] https://seonline.tki.org.nz/Educator-tools/Much-More-than-Words
[3] https://kidshealth.org.nz/node/1900
[4] https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/our-role-and-our-people/contact-us/regional-ministry-contacts/
[5] https://kidshealth.org.nz/node/1584
[6] https://kidshealth.org.nz/node/1583
[7] https://www.plunket.org.nz/plunket-near-me/
[8] https://kidshealth.org.nz/node/1582
[9] mailto:special.education@minedu.govt.nz
[10] https://speechtherapy.org.nz/find-a-therapist/
[11] https://kidshealth.org.nz/node/1586
[12] https://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29:admin&catid=11:admin&Itemid=117
[13] https://kidshealth.org.nz/node/1587
[14] https://kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fkidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F363