08/18/2026
🍎 Heading to Kindergarten… How Clear Should My Child’s Speech Be? 🎒
As kindergarten approaches, parents sometimes wonder:
“Should my child be able to say all of their sounds by now?”
The short answer: not necessarily! 😊
By kindergarten, we expect children to have developed most of their speech sounds and to be understood fairly easily by people outside of their immediate family.
Some sounds are typically well established by this age, including sounds like:
👄 p, b, m
👅 t, d, n
🐶 k, g
☀️ f, v
🌊 sh
🧀 ch
🐝 j
Other sounds can still be developing during the early school years. Sounds such as r, th, v, and z may take a little longer for some children.
So when should you consider checking in with a Speech-Language Pathologist?
You may want to reach out if:
⭐ Your child is difficult for people outside the family to understand
⭐ They leave out or change many sounds in words
⭐ Their speech frustration is affecting their willingness to talk
⭐ They are avoiding certain words because they are hard to say
⭐ You simply have a feeling that their speech sounds different from other children their age
And remember — you don't have to wait until a difficulty becomes a big problem to ask a question.
At Comox Valley Speech Therapy, we can assess your child's speech, let you know what is age-appropriate, and help determine whether therapy is recommended or whether it is something we can simply monitor.
📍 Serving families in the Comox Valley and surrounding communities
📅 Appointments currently available within the next few weeks
If you've been told there is a long wait elsewhere, you're welcome to give us a call or book online to see if we can help.
💬 Have a speech or language question you'd like us to cover in a future post? Leave it in the comments!
