Speech Therapy - How to Teach the F and V Sounds

Does your child have difficulty with the F and V sounds? F and V are fairly easy sounds to teach because they are produced at the front of the mouth, making it easy for the child to watch and imitate. Children who have trouble with these sounds commonly substitute P for F and B for V, although other errors may also be made. The F and V sounds should be mastered by age four.

F and V are produced by touching the upper teeth to the lower lip. F is produced by passing the breath between the teeth and lip. V is produced in the same way with the voice "turned on."

Teaching Tips:

1. F and V are easy sounds to teach because the placement is so easy to see. Instruct the child to "bite his lip and blow" to produce F. After the F is produced, instruct him to "turn his voice on" to produce the V. Use of a mirror may be helpful.

2. Work on auditory discrimination between the error sound and F or V. ("Is this a pig or a fig?")

3. If V is not being vocalized, thereby sounding like an F, have the child feel the vibrations on his neck while saying the sound. Produce V before or after a vowel ("Va, Vee, uh-V").

Once your child can imitate the F and V sounds, have him practice words that contain these sounds. With lots of practice you should see improvement before long! If your child continues to struggle with articulation, especially if he has many errors, an evaluation by a speech-language pathologist is recommended.

Deborah M. Lott is a speech pathologist who has published the Super Star Speech series of books to help parents correct their children's articulation errors at home.. She blogs about speech and language topics and provides additional information and free speech therapy resources at http://www.superstarspeech.com/