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Which sound is your child still growing into?
Take the Sound Check tonight. It's a quick, no-pressure way to notice which sound your child is still working on, and which story to grab off the shelf. Not a test. Not a diagnosis.
Most children say F by about age 3, S by 4 or 5, and L and R by 5 or 6. The two "th" sounds can take until 6 or 7. Every child is different, and if you're wondering about a sound, you don't have to wait. A speech-language pathologist can check, and reading together at home fits right alongside that.
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Here's how it works
1
Say each word
For each of five sounds (F, R, S, Th, and L), ask your child to say a few easy words out loud.
2
Circle what you hear
Circle Clear or Still Growing for each sound. There are no wrong answers and nothing to score.
3
Pick tonight's story
The sound with the most Still Growing circles tells you which Chatter Batter story to read together tonight. If your child is past the usual age for a sound, that's a good time to ask an SLP.
You'll also get a page to try tonight
Along with the Sound Check, we'll send Try It Tonight: real pages from Richard and Rosco, our story for the R sound. Every practice sound is bold, red, and boxed in yellow right inside the story, so the practice happens while you're just reading a book together.
Why we made these
Chatter Batter started with my mom, Cindy Judd. She believed a child should feel loved, never tested, so she wrote stories with the practice tucked inside. I'm Jed, a dad of seven, and I've been remastering her books so more families can read them together. Along the way we've been learning from speech-language pathologists and updating the books to match current practice. One sound at a time, one story at a time.
The Sound Check is a fun, informal activity. It isn't a screening or a diagnosis, and it doesn't replace a speech-language pathologist. If you have concerns about your child's speech or hearing, please talk with your pediatrician or an SLP. Typical ages are based on Crowe and McLeod (2020), a review of 15 studies of US English-speaking children.