Has Your Child Had Trouble Pronouncing Yellow?

and I couldnt say purple...and the I know a few children who wouldnt even speak at that age..
she will be fine.. there is always that funny word for a child.. :)

My 3 yr old grandson can't say yellow correctly. It's an adorable stage they go thru as they learn to speak. My oldest grandson use to day des instead of yes. My son couldn't say the tr sound combination. Pronounced it as f. Of course that wasn't quite as adorable since my hubby drove a pick up truck at the time and when my mil asked him where his daddy was my son responded, "On *uck" Isn't it a good thing that we mom's don't actually die of embarrasment?

There are lots of kids who have trouble with that. Ask your pediatrician if this is a problem. I would say that if this is the only word (or one of a few words) then it's not a big deal and she will probably grow out of it within the year, but if there are lots of words she still has trouble with, then I would ask your pediatrician to recommend a speech therapist.

Very normal. I would say that yellow is one of the more common words that children have difficulty with. They usually say yeyow or lellow. It must be something with those letter sounds. I am not a speech therapist or anything but I did teach preschool and have heard this quite commonly. If this is all she is having difficulty with I wouldn't worry at all.

Absolutely developmentally appropriate. Yellow will be lellow or something similar for about another year or 2 and it is perfectly ok. However, if there are other discrepancies with speech and language, you may want to seek a professional opinion.

A.

T.,

My son pronounced yellow "lellow" for quite a while. He pronounces it correctly now, but does have trouble with some words...not because of oral functioning, but because he just doesn't hear the difference. So I would recommend you keep an eye on it because my son is 8 and has had problems with learning to read (phonics...kind of hard if you can't hear the differences in letter sounds!). It may just be that normal stage most kids go through, but it may also be an auditory processing problem, and you want to be sure. If you are not noticing anything else, I wouldn't worry too much about it, but do be aware.

D.
mom to five amazing children (One with Sensory Integration Disorder)

Hi T.,

I am a speech-language pathologist and the word "yellow" has both the /l/ and /y/ sounds which often are developed later than 4 years of age.

Don't make a big deal about it. Instead, model the correct pronunciation in your speech. So if she says, "wewo" you would say, "Yes, Yellow." I like "yellow" too! Use it correctly in several short sentences so she can hear it correctly.

If she becomes self-conscious about her speech, or isn't understood by peers and teachers, you may want her checked by a speech-language pathologist. But for now, things sound fine!

If you want more ideas on enhancing your child's speech and language, visit my website at www.playonwords.com.

Good luck! S.