Latest news with #ChloeConrad
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Speech therapist details the names she would NEVER give her baby
A speech therapist has revealed the monikers she would always avoid when naming a baby. Chloe Conrad, the founder of Spunky Speech Therapy in San Diego, recently took to TikTok to delve into the names she wouldn't give her own child. 'Rory, Rowan, Aurora,' she listed in a recent video. 'They're so hard to say.' In the caption she explained it is best to avoid 'basically' any name with the R and O next to each other. 'I LOVE the way they sound but struggle teaching a child to say them,' she explained. 'That being said… I have a Rory in my life that I love, thankfully she has been blessed with an emerging R and won't need my support with that,' she added. Chloe explained 'most' kids will substitute a W for a R - assuring parents that it is 'completely developmentally appropriate.' 'That substitution usually starts to resolve around age six,' she added. Chloe told the Daily Mail that children saying W instead of R or L is a common developmental error called 'gliding,' when they are learning how to say sound. 'As a speech therapist, I joked about avoiding [those names] because they are hard to say and hard to teach children how to say accurately, especially if they end up having a speech sound disorder,' she explained. 'W is a sound that requires your lips to round in a circle when you say it,' she added. 'The O vowel also encourages lip rounding.' Chloe added that when a child is working on saying R or L in speech, speech therapists will always avoid words that have O or other rounded vowels in them. 'Because the rounded O makes the child more likely to use a rounded consonant like W resulting in Wowy, Wowan and Awowa,' she added. However, there are some names that are easier for little ones to say, suggesting that if it is a worry to opt for names that begin with with the first sounds kid's make. 'As speech therapists we use our research to determine the expected age of acquisition for certain sounds. 'We know from extensive research the first sounds to come in are B, N, M, P, H, W, D which are acquired between two to three years of age,' Chloe explained. 'G, K, F, T, and "Y" as in "you" are acquired before the age of four,' she added. 'If families want to consider how difficult it may be for the child to say their names, I might recommend easier to pronounce names like: Kai, Noah, Emma, Hannah, Adi, Juan, Mateo,' the speech therapist listed. Nonetheless, the expert reminded parents not to be discouraged entirely and to still use a name if they love it. 'Speech therapists exist for a reason, we are always here to help if you need it along the way,' she reminded parents. 'If you have concerns about your child's speech or language acquisition, talk to your pediatrician about getting a referral for a speech and language evaluation.' In 2023, a TikTok clip went viral after sharing what to avoid when teaching toddlers how to talk. Moira, a mother-of-two and speech therapist explained that parents' instincts to use baby voice when talking tot heir kids can often hinder a child's ability to 'quickly learn a lot of words.' First, Moira advised against saying, 'say this, say that.' She explained that when telling a baby to say a certain word, such as 'mama,' it dials up the pressure and 'your child is much less likely to say a word when you're demanding it of them.' Moira added that when one says 'say this word' to a child, it's out of context and devoid of meaning. 'Children learn words better when they're contextualized and meaningful to them', she added. Instead, parents should just aim to use the desired word a lot in daily language, rather than pressuring them to say repeat the word on demand. Next, Moira warned: 'Stop the baby talk.' She defined baby talk as: 'The purposeful misarticulation of sounds to sound like you're a small child.' The expert warned that it 'actually hinders a child's ability to learn age-appropriate words and sounds.' The third piece of advice that Moira offered was: 'Stop only repeating the single word your toddler says.' When parents respond to a baby with the very word they said, the conversation ends, meaning the interaction is over without the child learning any new words. Moira added: 'Instead, when your toddler says a word, expand their verbalization into a full phrase with more meaningful words.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Speech Therapist Breaks Down 6 Hard-to-Pronounce Names She Would Never Give Her Baby (Exclusive)
Chloe Conrad, a speech-language pathologist, tells PEOPLE which sounds are difficult for young kids to say — and which are the easiestNEED TO KNOW Chloe Conrad, a San Diego-based speech-language pathologist, tells PEOPLE which sounds are difficult for young kids to say — and which are the easiest She adds that parents shouldn't be afraid to pick a name that's difficult for young kids to pronounce if it has sentimental value 'If your child then has difficulty saying that name, that's OK,' says Conrad. 'Speech therapists exist for a reason'For many kids — and especially those who have trouble pronouncing certain sounds — learning how to say their own name is an important developmental milestone. 'It can get super frustrating for them when they go to soccer or camp and everyone just misses it,' Chloe Conrad, a San Diego-based speech-language pathologist, tells PEOPLE. But not all names are built the same, and a couple of name-selection tips can help set kiddos up for success, even if they struggle with pronunciation, says Conrad. Her main suggestion? 'If there's an 'R' or an 'L,' I would try to avoid an 'O' sound,' she says. That includes names like Rory, Rowan, Aurora, Laurel, Ariella and Lorelai. (She admits it's "really ironic" that she's a fan of the 2000s show Gilmore Girls, given the names of the two main characters.) The reason these names might be difficult to pronounce for young kids, explains Conrad, is that many kids pronounce the 'R' or 'L' sounds as a 'W,' which becomes tricky when it is paired with another rounded 'O' sound right after. On the flip side, several names are especially easy for kids to pronounce because they include the sounds many pick up first. 'Any name that has earlier developing sounds, like 'P,' 'B,' 'M' and 'N' — so 'Mimi,' 'Hannah' and 'Anna' are pretty easy,' says Conrad. But Conrad wants to be clear: 'At the end of the day, if you love a name, you should still name your child that name,' she says. She even admits that she has a name in her family with three 'R' sounds that she'll 'probably use.' 'I'm going to be setting myself up,' Conrad laughs. And even when kids have names that they struggle to pronounce, there are other tricks they can use to increase their confidence while they're in the process of learning to say those difficult sounds. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'Kids can have a little bracelet with their name on it for backup, so they can not be so frustrated,' she says. And if they're struggling to pronounce an 'L' sound, Conrad adds, they can make an 'L' with their fingers to make sure the sound is getting across. Several months ago, Conrad launched her private practice, Spunky Speech Therapy, where she meets with young patients who struggle with the pronunciation of certain sounds. In addition to her clinical work, though, she aims to reach a broader audience of other speech-language pathologists through her social media pages, where she shares a bit of her expertise. "I'm just hoping to be someone that, I, as an SLP, would've really wanted — to give those tips and tricks," says Conrad. But her most viral video — which notched over 700,000 views on TikTok — "happened to fall into mom land," she adds, grabbing the attention of parents-to-be who wanted to avoid giving their children names that are difficult to pronounce. "It's been fun to break down some of that information for parents," says Conrad. "For moms who have kids in speech or who don't — they can have access to that information and even see if the therapist they are working with is a good fit." 'My advice to a parent who's still deciding on a name is to pick whatever name feels the most important to you or that you like the best,' concludes Conrad. 'If your child then has difficulty saying that name, that's OK. Speech therapists exist for a reason, and somebody can help support your child to help [them] say their name.' Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I'm a speech therapist and these are three common names you should never give your baby
A speech therapist has urged parents to avoid using three popular baby names — and for a specific reason. Speech-language pathologist Chloe Conrad, founder of Spunky Speech Therapy in San Diego, shared the trio of names that she would never consider using for her children in a video on her Instagram last week. 'Rory, Rowan, and Aurora,' she said in the clip. 'They're so hard to say.' In the caption, she further explained why those three names are a no from her, as a speech therapist. 'Basically any name with R and O in it next to each other. I LOVE the way they sound but struggle teaching a child to say them,' Conrad wrote. During an interview with Today, Conrad said certain vowel-consonant combinations, like R and O, are trickier for children to pronounce. 'Most young children substitute a W for a R, which is completely developmentally appropriate,' she told the publication. 'That substitution usually starts to resolve around age six.' But when combined, R and O pose a bigger articulation challenge, Conrad said. She noted that other names like Laurel and Axl can also be difficult for children for similar reasons. In the comments of Conrad's viral Instagram video, many people agreed her, noting that they'd also avoid those three baby names because they're not easy to pronounce. 'My guess was Aurora before I ever heard it!' one person wrote. 'I have the hardest time saying it! We had a little girl on our soccer team last season and even the parents yelling it sounded off to me! Lol.' 'I have a hard time saying Aurora, I always will,' another agreed, while a third wrote: 'Said Rory in my head before you started talking.' A fourth shared: 'Oops. My almost two-year-old son is named Rowan. He can't say Rowan and refers to himself as 'Ro Ro.' But glad that I now know it's a hard one to pronounce for kids. Lol.' However, in 2025, most parents are going for other baby names. According to data released in May by the Social Security Administration, Liam and Olivia remain the most popular baby names in the U.S. This marks Liam's eighth consecutive year at the top of the boys' list and Olivia's sixth time on top for girls. The data, compiled from Social Security card applications, also revealed that Noah and Emma held onto their second-place positions for the sixth year in a row. After Liam, the most common names for boys are, in order: Noah, Oliver, Theodore, James, Henry, Mateo, Elijah, Lucas, and William. After Olivia, the most common names for girls are Emma, Amelia, Charlotte, Mia, Sophia, Isabella, Evelyn, Ava, and Sofia. However, this doesn't mean that parents won't experiment with baby names. Baby naming consultant Taylor A Humphrey previously told The Independent that parents are inspired by meaningful names within their family. As such, one popular trend she's witnessed is parents giving their surnames as first names to their babies. 'In many cases, these are familial names that are being used to honor a passed loved one,' she explained. 'It's a fun way to modernize the honor-name tradition. For example, if your beloved grandmother was named Ethel Taylor, but you fear Ethel being a little too outdated, you could choose the more modern, androgynous Taylor for your son or daughter.' Solve the daily Crossword
