Is is is is is it just a phase?
Woodge | February 21In the past week Luke (almost 4), has started stuttering. Part of me thinks he’s just in a real rush to get his ideas, questions, thoughts out there. When we tell him to slow down, he can usually greatly diminish the stutter. And of course it’s not always present. But when he says something like, “No no no no no thank you” that theory doesn’t really fly. I think we may want to have a speech therapist meet with him. I don’t know where this is coming from. And I don’t want it to continue. It was funny for about 20 minutes. It’s not funny anymore. Have you experienced anything like this?
I teach preschoolers at our church, and I find this to be very common among the 3 to 5 age group. My theory is that their brains are working faster than their mouths, so that kind of falls in line with your theory - especially when they’re asking a question. I also think that preschoolers have a tendency to overemphasize things, so if one “no” works, five might be better.
I wouldn’t act on this just yet, but encourage him to talk slowly and not to rush. Also make a great show of listening carefully, so he feels that you will hear him when he talks. If this persists into kindergarten, then I’d talk to a speech therapist. But I don’t think any speech therapist would work with him just yet, seeing as he’s been doing this for only a week.
My 3-year-old repeats words like that too. It’s usually when he’s excited and trying to tell me something. It’s sometimes frustrating for me, but I do my best to look at him and WAIT. I try not to interrupt or even add an “umm-hmm” when he’s doing this because that seems to make it worse. (We’re also in the grand-mal-tantrum phase where one tiny peep out of me can make one explode.)
His brain is just skipping… tap him on the head a bit and he’ll fall back into the groove.
Do you have the Ames and Ilg child development books? They say that every year is equilibrium (behaviorally and physically) and every half-year is disequilibrium. So a 3-year-old will be steady on his feet, but a 3 1/2-year-old will trip and fall. Apparently stuttering is part of the physical disequilibrium and is a normal part of the brain development process. It sounds like Luke is precocious, because he’s ahead of the half year curve. My guess is he’ll grow out of it in a few months when he goes on to the next phase. If not, then feed him a lot of butter to grease his tongue.
I am the mother of 4 kiddos and have experienced this with each one of them. It seems that their brains are working faster than their mouthes at that age! Not to worry, they’ve all outgrown it.
Thanks for all the great comments so far!* I also found this link [http://toddlerstoday.com/resources/articles/stuttering.htm] which says: “The Stuttering Foundation found that nearly 90 percent of the adults would say “slow down and relax” to a child who begins to stutter. But experts say that such simplistic advice will not help stop stuttering and may actually frustrate a child who stutters.”
So I guess Mama and Daddy just need to chill.
*with possible exception of BIYF’s. ;-P
Kids I have been around with this problem typically outgrow it as they age, but to help with the problem in the now we usually will have the child say whatever they’re trying to say in a different way. Almost as if I just didn’t understand it, not that the child said it wrong or improperly.
- Jon
- Daddy Detective
- www.daddydetective.com
I have been through this as well with both of my kiddos…and they “outgrew” it. I just think that their minds are on such overload and moving soooo fast..that they get caught up sometimes. Just chill…don’t correct them and listen. That’s all they really need and want…someone who listens.
Our 3yr old does the same thing. We just wait and see what comes out then repeat it without the extra syllables. He repeats it our way and it’s all good. I agree with everyone else, it’s a brain is moving faster than the lips can thing.
Becky, my son has the gran mal type meltdowns too. Esp if someone looks at him while he’s trying to kiss up to someone else. He gets in trouble and waves his hand at Daddy saying “No Daddy, don’t talk to me, no no that’s ok”. It’s pretty funny but of course, we don’t laugh. Well sometimes we don’t.
Some comedian said…..
“Many people think a stutter is a bad thing…. not me! I look at it as starting off the word with a drum roll!”
Now, I know this does nothing to solve the problem… but I thought it was a nice thought.
My nephew “stuttered” from like 3 years old to 5 years old. He mostly got hung up on the “w” sound - “Uncle Bwian, wh-wh-wh-wh-what’s that?” Like you said, it was funny - hysterical, reall - for the first 20 minutes. The great news (for you, and for him) is that it seems to have stopped or really really slowed down now that he’s around 6.
Don’t want to scare you, Woodge, but I had a stuttering issues well into jr high and even some high school. Not one of the high points in life. Fortunately, I had wonderful, understanding parents who were patient and even discreetly arranged a clinician who would meet with me at school.
Fortunately, my stutter wasn’t so awful that it didn’t take much more than several sessions to develop speech techniques and patterns that helped me overcome most of it (I still struggle with a few consonants on rare occasions). What really helps the most (for me) is good vocal inflection and singing! Yes, singing is one of those amazing vocal exercises that can help any kid feel a taste of triumph over stuttering. I’m a tenor, btw.
Hey Sid, thanks for the comment. (I recall high school not being a high point in life, period.) Your comment reminded me about Carly Simon. I’d heard that as a child she was also dealing with a stutter (and shyness) and it was through singing that she overcame it. Of course she took the singing a little bit further than most.
Just last night our family was hanging out and singing songs and my son proudly sang “I’ve been working on the railroad” by himself (we were only allowed to join in on a second run-through). It’s so much fun seeing the beaming look on his face when he receives praise from both his parents.
It doesn’t really seem like he’s stuttering, though. My brother stutters (and sill does, occasionally) for most of his life. It sounds more like your little guy is repeating an entire word and is getting stuck, most likely because his little brain *is* moving faster than his mouth!
It’s really common at that age, but if he doesn’t stop in, say, a few months, you might want to go ahead and make that speech appointment.
Yup. What they said (looking upward).