Teaching Your Child to say 'SH'

SH


How can you teach your child to say the 'SH' sound correctly?

Well, if she can say the 'S' correctly, you're halfway there.  First of all, you can tell her to smile as she holds out an 'S' sound, and while she is doing that, have her start to pucker her lips.  You can tell her to put her finger up to her lips and become a librarian, who says, "Shhhhhhhh!"  Puckering her lips should naturally cause her tongue to back up a bit in her mouth, which is where we want to make the 'SH' sound.  So to make a good 'SH' sound, make an 'S' sound and slide your tongue back just a little bit.  Also let your tongue be a little looser.  

Imagine what you do when you put your thumb over a garden hose -- The closer your thumb is to the end of the hose and the tighter your thumb presses down, the faster and skinnier the water stream shoots out.  So compare your thumb to your tongue and the water stream to your air stream.  When your tongue is tight and close to the top of your teeth, you can make a good 'S' sound.  When your tongue backs up and relaxes a bit, it makes a good 'SH' sound.



It may take your child some practice to train her tongue to go where it should, but practice makes perfect!