Many of our English sounds come in groups called Minimal Pairs. These are sounds that we create with the same placement in our mouth but are either voiced or voiceless. Your child will know these are green and red light sounds (go for the voice, stop for the voice). These pairs are: f,v; p,b; t,d; s,z; sh,ch; and g,k. If your child is going to have difficulty creating one of these sounds, they will almost always have difficulty pronouncing the partner in the pair. So if your child says "tate" for "cake" it is also very likely that they will say "date" for "gate". The further back in our mouth that a sound is produced, the harder or more complex it is to make. Therefore, children often do something called "fronting". This means they will replace the sound they can't make with a sound that is made the same way but closer to the front of the mouth. Common fronting mistakes are:

Using "t" and "d" for "k" and "g"

Using "th" for "s" and "z"

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