How to make the /p/ sound:

• Bring both of your lips together to stop the airflow.
• Turning off  your voice ( voice is the rumbling in your vocal folds.  Have your child/client place their hand on their/your neck during the production of /p/ and /b/, and have them feel the difference between the two.  In the production of /p/, there should be no rumble or voicing.  While in the production of /b/, there should be a rumbling or voicing.)
• Let the air that has been stuck inside your mouth out!
• Typically children will learn the /p/ sound before the /b/ sound because there is no voice required.

Tricks and Tips for producing the /p/ sound:

• Have the child pretend they are about to go underwater diving.  Have them take a big breath in and then close their lips together.  Once they have the airflow stopped and lips together, have them release the air out in an explosive manner.
• Tell the child that their mouth is a balloon.  When you/they poke their cheeks, the balloon is going to pop and release the air!
• Have the child take a deep breath, and then have make a bunch of small bursts of air like they are trying to imitate a bag of popcorn in the microwave!
• To visually show the child how we explosively release air from our mouths to produce the /p/ sound, hold a piece of string in front of their mouths, and have them try to move the string with the release of air.
• If you have a board game that uses a spinner, have the child see if they can move the spinner using the explosions of air from their mouths.