Children begin to develop “s” blends (e.g., “sp,” “st,” “sw,” “sn”) at around age 4. It is tricky for kids to make a consonant blend, because it contains two sounds. We find that slow modeling of a word (e.g., snack) and a reminder to add the snake sound “s” is often necessary. Sometimes, kids have greater success when they break up the word (e.g., ssss..... nack). Please be aware that it is age appropriate if your child produces a lisp (e.g., sticks their tongue out during “s”).