woahw!

Surprise will be five in just two months. As you may have guessed from some of my written accounts of conversations with Surprise, he has some speech issues. I think this is probably normal, but now that one child is being called "at risk" I'm getting a little worried. He's gotten the L sound down, but still can't do the R. It comes out W. He also has a strange accent, which is not quite Philly, not quite New York. I don't know where he got that.

His brother grew out of the W thing when he was pretty much exactly four and a half. I remember it, because I used to make him practice in the backseat on the way home from daycare - I'd tell him to say "roar!" One day it was "woahw!", the next it was "roar!" just like that.

I've been working on the roar with Surprise, but although he's past 4.5, it's not happening.

"Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Yike yis." I show him. It's hard to tell exactly where his tongue is, but I think he's got it.

"OK, now go grrrrrrr!!!"

"gwwwwwwwww."

"No, grrrrr. grrrrrrr."

"grrrrrr!" He sort of gets it!

"Great! Now, say rrrrrrrooooaaaarrrrr! Like a lion! RRRRRooooooaaaaarrrr!"

"wwwoooooooaaaaaahhhhwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwww!" he growls, really loudly.

"No no, rrrrrrrrrr, Surprise. Say 'rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr'"

"wwwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!"

Ugh.