Exercises to Help a Toddler with the S Sound

The Mechanics of the S Sound

• To make the S sound, according to Chicago Speech Therapy, you must place the tip of your tongue behind your front teeth while the sides of your tongue rest on the sides of your teeth, which should be held together, such that you have a passageway in the middle of your tongue for air to pass through. Your lips should also be parted slightly and the corners of your mouth and turned up. These directions will likely be too much for your toddler to handle, but you can demonstrate making the S sound and point to mechanics, such as your mouth being turned up like a smile. Encourage your toddler to make the same movements.

Naming Games

• The old adage that practice makes perfect applies to speech, so use every opportunity to name objects that contain S sounds with your toddler. Play an ̶0;I Spy̶1; game in which you see objects that start or end with the letter S. While you go shopping with your toddler, point out foods that have S sounds, name them and ask your toddler to repeat the words. Pick words that start or end with S. Using plurals is a concept toddlers start to learn around age 2 1/2, according to Chicago Speech Therapy, so don̵7;t neglect S sounds at the end of words.

Singing S Sounds

• Some toddlers find it easier to sing words with correct pronunciation than to speak the words. Pick familiar tunes with plenty of S sounds, such as ̶0;Shake Your Sillies Out,̶1; ̶0;The Wheels on the Bus,̶1; or ̶0;Mr. Sun.̶1; Even while singing, some toddlers might make more of a TH sound, according to Chicago Speech Therapy. Model proper pronunciation by singing the S sound slowly. Practice adding a vowel sound to the S, such as saying ̶0;sa̶1; or ̶0;so.̶1; Tackle only one S word in a song at a time.

The Snake Sound

• Perhaps the most common exercise to teach the S sound is to ask your toddler to pretend he is a snake. Let your toddler move his body on the ground or even just his hands in a slithering motion, and ask him what sound the snake makes. Practice just saying an elongated ̶0;Ssssss.̶1; By focusing on the S sound for a few seconds, your child realizes it is the target sound, according to Chicago Speech Therapy. This technique also gives you a chance to properly model the S sound. With practice, your toddler can move on to using the S sound in single words and eventually full sentences.

Oral-Motor Exercises

• In addition to practicing verbal speech, you can use oral-motor exercises to strengthen your toddler̵7;s mouth and tongue muscles. Give those muscles a workout, and your child will have better strength to make words and sounds. Let your toddler drink through a straw and avoid sippy cups and pacifiers, according to "Teach Me to Talk." Also practice opening and closing the mouth or smiling and relaxing the lips with your toddler. Instruct your toddler to stick her tongue out as far as she can followed by putting it back in her mouth, or tell her to reach her tongue to her front or side teeth.