Ship or Sheep?

by Leeraary

My two year old baby confuses similar words such as Bath and bus, ship or sheep etc. How can I help my baby with this? Thanks. Leeraay

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Hi Leeraay,

First of all, how old is your baby? When you say baby I think of a child under 2 years old.

If they are 3 and they are confusing these words, don't worry. Just keep correcting them and encourage them to use the words properly. Repeating the words correctly will help them to learn the difference.

When children get older,4-6 years old, you might want to try associating sounds of words with images or actions; so that it is easier for your child to remember the difference.

For example: bath.

You could make a hand action like you are turning on the tap (the water) and at the same time make the "th" sound.

Then whenever you say bath just make that hand gesture and say "bath". Do the same for bus, connecting sounds with gestures or activities.

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The best thing to do is to make learning into a game.
Make learning fun and children will learn so much more.

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Also, depending on how old your child is, confusing words will happen. Ship/sheet/sheep etc is much more common than you might think.

Even adults have problems with the pronunciation of these words.

If you would like an easy, fun and effective way to help your child, there is a great book that you could read together.

It is called Sheep on a Ship by Nancy E. Shaw.

It is a fun story about some sheep that go sailing on a ship. What makes this story so effective is the wonderful pictures and illustrations.

These pictures will help create many different activities that you can do together with your child:

1) Reading the book together will help greatly

2) Comparing the pictures

3)Talking about what the sheep are doing in the pictures

4)Asking questions to get your child to use the two words

For more information and testimonials from other parents, click the image to the left.

There are lots of other sheep stories too, like "Sheep go out to Dinner", "Sheep in a Jeep" and "Sheep in a Shop".

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Learning Tip: Create an English story time and read fun stories together on a regular basis.

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What Other Parents Have Said

- The Sheep books are a treasure. The rhymes and alliteration combined with terrific illustrations make this book a wonderful addition to any child's bookshelf. Highly recommended.

-Nancy Shaw sheep books are fun to read to your child and are great books to buy as a gift.

*Reviews from amazon.ca customers

If you are looking for a fun way to demonstrate the difference between ship and Sheep, and help your child remember the difference then this is the way to do it!

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Diana,
I'd like a more structured and methodical approach to helping my child. What can I do?

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If you are looking for a more methodical approach to helping your child, then I would also recommend the Ship or Sheep? Book and Audio CD Pack

This package (book and audio CD) is for more advanced learners but provides great explanations, exercises and even audio to help support your efforts.

My Advice

If your child is young...keep it fun. Sheep on a Ship can help you.

If you child is older or you have concerns in general about their pronunciation I would suggest the Ship or Sheep? Book and Audio CD Pack

I hope that helps Leeray!
Have a wonderful day!

- Diana