How To Teach The B Sound
To make the /b/ sound bring the two lips together with tension, allowing air to build behind them. Then release the lips quickly with an exhale allowing the air to explode out. Turn your voice on. This voicing and puff of air creates the /b/ sound.
Tip- When helping your child say this sound don’t add a vowel after the /b/, “buh”. Make the /b/ sound by itself with a short and quick movement.
At What Age Should a Child Say the B Sound?
Most English speaking children can say the B sound around age two.*
What is the Difference Between b and /b/?
The written symbols, B and b, refer to the name of the letter “B”. When you see the b between diagonal lines /b/ that refers to the sound the letter b makes, /b/.
B is a letter name.
/b/ is the sound it makes.
What Are B and P Sounds?
B and P are paired together because they are made the same way, with one difference, our voice. The muscles in our mouth move the same way to make both sounds except our voice is “turned on” for the B and not the P. This means we vibrate or move our vocal folds as air passes through them to make a sound.
B is voiced.
P is unvoiced.
Try it!
Hold your hand to your throat and say /b/. Can you feel the vibration?
Now say the /p/ sound. Just air, no vibration.
(Learn more voiced and voiceless pairs of sounds here.)
How Do You Practice the B Sound?
It depends.
Understanding why your child is having difficulty making this sound is important. A speech therapist can do an evaluation to make a diagnosis. What words you choose and activities will vary depending on the cause.
Click here to read more about types of speech sound disorders and treatment
Initial B Word List
back
bad
bake
balloon
banana
bath
bear
bed
bee
big
bike
bird
bite
boat
bone
book
boot
bounce
bowl
box
bubble
bug
bunny
bus
Medial B Word List
above
baby
baseball
cabin
elbow
goodbye
ladybug
mailbox
peek-a-boo
rabbit
ribbit
ribbon
robin
robot
strawberry
table
Final B Word List
bib
cab
club
crab
crib
cub
cube
grab
job
lab
rib
robe
sub
tub
tube
web
Activity Ideas for Practicing the B Sound
Practice Common Words
Write down a list of words with B that your child uses. Think of as many things (nouns), actions (verbs), and descriptive words (adjectives) as you can.
Nouns: ball, banana, book…
Verbs: bite, bounce, beep…
Adjectives: big, busy, bad…
Games and Toys
Look for games and toys that include a lot of B words.
Balls
Balloons
Babydolls
Beanbags
Books
Find books that have B words in them.
Think about characters, places, and objects (nouns)
What B action words does it have?
Does the book use descriptive words (adjectives with B words?)
Make your own B word book!
Speech Therapy Materials
Check out the resources on the right side of the page for ideas.
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* Resource
McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100. Available from: https://ajslp.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2701897
