My 3 year old daughter all of a sudden started to stutter. Now, it is always on the first word of a sentance then she is fine.

Is this something that she has picked up from someone at her daycare, or is this an issue with her personally? What should we do about it?

Frederick

 

There are several things that can cause stuttering. Nervousness is a usual cause. Is this a new daycare for her, someone new at the daycare, etc. As you said in your post, it can also be something that she has picked up from another child that stutters. My son does that after playing for long periods with his cousin, who stutters. Excitement can also cause temporary stuttering. I' wondering if maybe at the daycare there is so much activity and excitement that she isn't sure if she starts to say something will she have a chance to finish it?

Also, something that may or not be a cause, is someone changing her dominant hand when writing. If she is left handed and is made to write right handed, this can cause temporary stuttering due to this shift in which side of the brain is trying to do the work (right hand works left side of brain and visa versa). This hasn't been proven, but in studies it has been shown to be a probable cause.

My older brother stuttered so badly as a child that he needed speech therapy. The biggest rule of thumb that we as the family members had to go by was to NEVER finish a sentence for them. The only comment we could make was to remind him to 'glide' (notice how Mel Tillis didn't stutter while singing!?) over the troublesome word.

Kay

 

my oldest (now 5) would stutter alot starting at the age of 4. it would appear that it was merely from excitment, as when you are that age you have so much going on and so much to say etc. she has since "outgrown" the habit although it still happens from time to time. use your judgement, see if it seems to happen dueto as Kay said nervousness or excitement. Chances are she is still learning how to effectively express herself at this young age.

 

Thanks. Now that I think about it, she is excited about something when she starts. That might be the case.

What can I do about it? Should I just let her stutter, or should I say for her to slow down when she talks? My mother in law gets mad at her when she does it. I asked my wife to talk to her (my mother in law) about it. Getting mad at my daughter when she stutters will only make it worse.

Thanks for the advise.

Frederick

 

as Kay said previously, dont finish her sentences for her, we would just give her our undivided attention till she got it out, although once and a while i recall telling her to calm down and tell us slowly. with any luck she will learn to control her excitment and the stutter will go away. im no expert, mind you, im just a dad trying to figure all this out for myself, all i can give you is my experiences and observations(for whatever that is worth)

 

Disfluency is speech is common among pre-schoolers. Do not call attention to stuttering behaviors. It is important to focus on what the child is saying. Be patient and let the child finish speaking. Don't call attention to the child's speech by saying "slow down," or "take a deep breath." Place no pressure on the child when speaking. Excitement is, indeed, a cause of disfluency, so reduce levels of excitement at home. Have uninterupted conversations with the child. Always speak calmly and in a slow manner to the child. Avoid complex language and sentences. This will reduce the pressure on his language system
Do not place your child in speaking situations that are stressful or uncomfortable. When you think your child is stuttering, slow down your own speech rate. Model relaxed speech and respond calmly without calling attention to the situation.

 

My nephew has begun stutturing, too. He started this about the time his mom and dad divorced. Its hard not to ask him to slow down a little, or to take a breath. After a year of watching him struggle and people jumping in to either finish the word for him or tell him to hurry up, I talked to him a little about it in private (it appeared after talking with him that he is either told to be quiet mid-sentence or is interupted/ignored). Now, whenever he's talking and I'm around and he begins to stumble on a word I put my hand to my chest so he'll remember to relax and glide through the word. The poor guy has been under a lot of pressure, is going through the boy to man phase, and his stepfather has been out of town a lot, too. This simple jesture does more than just remind him to relax and glide the words, but that he has MY attention and can relax knowing that he can finish his thought.

As Twelvepole mentioned, she is very young and this hasn't been an ongoing thing so I wouldn't even draw attention to it. I think the only time that I would worry is if it gets worse. Every case seems to be different and have different causes, but in hers I wouldn't worry.

Kay

 

Thanks everyone. I am just a little worried when she goes to a full day school that kids might tease her. I understand her problem, and I listen to whatever she says. Just a little worried about others.

Typical father thing you know. Thanks for the advise.

 

Dr. Spock says that stuttering or stammering is common between age 2 and 3, plus its much more common in boys and often runs in families; It's not a cause for alarm and that nine out of ten will grow out of it in a few months. He also cites many of the possible causes listed above and like the previous posters, he recommends that you not try to correct the speech.

He also notes that it may be more pronounced when they are speaking to a particular person, so by getting impatient, your MIL may actually be making her particular situation worse; The child may be become so nervous about speaking to her grandmother that she'll actually stutter more...

I'm a stay-at-home/work-from-home Dad, my daughter is not in daycare and her exposure to other children is limited. I noticed that in the above time-frame, my previously well-spoken child would sometimes stammer when she was excited and she would sometimes display a hestitancy when starting a sentence due to the other possible cause offered by the good doctor; Her language skills are improving and her sentences are becoming more complex, so she'll "think" about what she's going to say which'll result in a bit of stammering, when she's first starting out.

I realize that stammering and stuttering are somewhat different, but Dr Spock lumps them together and like myself and the other respondents to your query; We all agree that you probably shouldn't worry about it unless it continues beyond the normal, growing out of it period. Be patient.

Hope I was of some Assistance;
R

 

My 2 1/2 yo dgtr started stuttering a couple of months ago. I read articles and followed the advice about not bringing attention to it. In 2-3 weeks it was over! Seems that it is normal for that age. They are just so excited about joining in the conversation that they can't get all their thoughts into words right away.
Good luck!

 

A good parenting rule is not to call attention to negative behaviors. Learn to ignore. If the behavior persists and the child is old enough to understand, have a positive talk. Always praise positive behaviors. Calling attention to negative behaviors tends to reinforce these.

If you remember when our parents got on our case about something we did, by golly we double dosed them next time around. Always praise what you like. Choose and pick your battles. "I like the way you stated or said that.." "I like the way you handled that situation....." I liked the way you picked up your toys..." I liked the way you picked up and put away everything in your room..." Positive reinforcement rather than negative is worth a million when it comes to parenting or working with young children.

Positive reinforcement of positive behavior is crucial when working with young children. Reinforcing negative behaviors can produce some nightmares.

 

I have almost the same case.. My 3 year old son started stattering all of a sudden. He statters on most common words, like "mama", "This".... Pls advice the case and remedies...