Daughter aged 3 can't pronounce R's properly | Mumsnet (2025)

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27 replies

SnackBitch2020 · 20/08/2020 18:24

My 3 (almost 4) year old daughter has really clear speech and a good vocabulary, but can't pronounce her "r's" properly. The R sound comes out as W e.g. she says tweat instead of treat.

Is this something that she will likely grow out of?

Thanks!

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Smallsteps88 · 20/08/2020 18:27

Hi, my son had this too. He has some speech therapy as his speech had other issues too and the speech therapist says it’s one they usually grow out of by 7ish. DS is 11 now and occasionally still makes a W sound instead of R but he’s very much improved.

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tywysoges · 20/08/2020 18:27

Yes! When DD was about that age, I came across a sounds charts and R was the last one on the timeline, IIRC children can take up to 5 or 6 to get that one right. I’ll see if I can find a copy.

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Aquamarine1029 · 20/08/2020 18:28

This is very common and very likely she will grow out of it. My daughter had this with the letter H. She would say Sudson instead of Hudson, for example. When she was about 4.5, it just magically stopped. I really wouldn't worry!

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NeedToKnow101 · 20/08/2020 18:29

DS used to say Doy Dauce for Soy Sauce etc. He grew out of it.

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BlusteryShowers · 20/08/2020 18:30

I think R and S and some of the last ones. My just 3 yo lisps the S and says w for R.

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aToadOnTheWhole · 20/08/2020 18:31

Hopefully, my three almost four year old is exactly the same Daughter aged 3 can't pronounce R's properly | Mumsnet (1) tweat, wabbit etc. He also can't pronounce his C/K sound, that comes out as a T. Tat, tabbage, toat etc.

I do a lot of phonics with him and I generally correct his mispronunciation. He'll either grow out of it or it's a speech impediment and we'll deal with it if it's raised at school and we'll go down the speech and language therapy route.

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Enchantmentz · 20/08/2020 18:31

She will most likely grow out of it, I remember vaguely that children's brains don't finish learning to speak properly until something like between the age of 7-9.

My dc had similar impediments but we were never concerned and she has grown out of them

Like some young children say lellow instead of yellow as an example and it is because they are still learning where to put there tongue to make the right sound.

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tywysoges · 20/08/2020 18:34

It was something like this. I obviously forgot about the other sounds Daughter aged 3 can't pronounce R's properly | Mumsnet (3) or maybe the one I saw was in my mother tongue.

Daughter aged 3 can't pronounce R's properly | Mumsnet (4)

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Chezacheza · 20/08/2020 18:35

Did they have a dummy for a long time?

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derxa · 20/08/2020 18:49

childdevelopment.com.au/resources/child-development-charts/speech-sounds-developmental-chart/
This is a very good developmental progression.

My 3 (almost 4) year old daughter has really clear speech and a good vocabulary, but can't pronounce her "r's" properly. The R sound comes out as W e.g. she says tweat instead of treat.Is this something that she will likely grow out of? There is nothing wrong with your daughter's speech sound development. /tr/ as in treat is a consonant cluster which is quite advanced. No SALT will see you for this. It's not something you grow out of. It's just that she doesn't have the r sound in her phonological system. If she says tweat then just repeat the correct version in a sentence e.g. Yes it's a lovely treat.

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SnackBitch2020 · 20/08/2020 18:54

Thanks for all your replies, it's good to know she'll likely grow out of it! I'm not worried about it all, just curious to see if this was common or not, thanks!

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Scarby9 · 20/08/2020 18:58

I, aged 59, still can't pronounce my 'r's properly!
Not as obvious as eg. Jonathan Ross, but definitely tending more towards a 'w' sound.
I am also otherwise articulate and intelligent. I basically talk for a living.
It has not held me back...

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TroysMammy · 20/08/2020 18:59

My 2 years younger than me sister couldn't say sh. Shoulder was sole der. Fish was fis. My bossy 5 year old self made her say the words over and over again. At 50 she now says them the way they are pronounced.

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ItsReallyOnlyMe · 20/08/2020 19:09

By son couldn't pronounce his R's until he was at least 7/8. He never had a dummy so it was nothing to do with that. It certainly led to a bit of embarrassment when he was talking to my brother about cricket and the players' 'rankings'.

I spoke to a speech therapist about it and she advised me to repeat the word prior whenever he said it wrongly but using the right pronunciation.

And also to make up games so he had to repeat with r in the sentence - like 'The robin called Richard ran away to Redcar'

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Gulsink · 20/08/2020 19:11

It was "Bish Bingers" when my son started reception, thought he might get speech therapy recommended, but didn't. I think he'd sorted it by the end of the year.
He still can't do R's properly (he's 6 now). We're not particularly concerned, neither are his teachers. I think it's because he's got a slight tongue tie.

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Figgygal · 20/08/2020 19:14

My ds couldn’t pronounce c, g, t when he started school

There was a few of them in the year who had some in school support through their SENCO and he was fine by end of reception

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mammato5 · 20/08/2020 19:28

My youngest who is now 6 couldn't pronounce the letter L properly at that age. Lollipop was pronounced wowipop and he called smarties fartmies. One day when he was around 4 and a half he was able to. No worries now at all.

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mammato5 · 20/08/2020 19:31

I too used to get my son to repeat words beginning with L. Just a couple of minutes at a time of this 'game' and it seems to do the trick.

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mathanxiety · 20/08/2020 19:32

This is completely normal.

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mathanxiety · 20/08/2020 19:34

There's no need for any intervention.

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HappyPunky · 20/08/2020 19:34

DD can't pronounce letter L properly. It sounds a bit like letter Y. I know a lot of kids say "lellow" for yellow but she says "yeyoh" I asked at pre school when she was still there and was told its not anything to worry about.
I think that the further south you go, less people pronounce the letter R properly. It's really common.

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SnackBitch2020 · 20/08/2020 19:41

Glad to hear it's normal! I wasn't considering any intervention and don't have any problem with how she speaks, just curious.

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Cuppaand2biscuits · 20/08/2020 19:50

My DC is 7 and just noticing the change from saying w for r to most commonly using the r sound correctly.
I did speak to a speech therapist who said it is something they grow out of without help and he has.
To reply to the previous poster, he never had a dummy, not sure that is relevant?

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muckypuppy · 20/08/2020 19:53

Say the word arse one time and no doubt she'll copy it perfectly Daughter aged 3 can't pronounce R's properly | Mumsnet (5)

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SnackBitch2020 · 20/08/2020 19:59

@muckypuppy

Say the word arse one time and no doubt she'll copy it perfectly Daughter aged 3 can't pronounce R's properly | Mumsnet (6)

Haha yes!

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