My Two Year Old Is Stuttering All of the Sudden

My son did the same thing and I got worried too! It was fine tthough. I called the speech teacher that I work with and she told me that it was probably that he was starting to think more complexly and was having trouble expressing it. I was worried because he was doing the same thing with scrunching his eyes. I read that telling himto slow down reallywouldn't help, so I stopped telling him that and he just outgrew it. I didn't want ot make him self-conscious of it.

My little guy started stuttering around 3 as well. It was worse when I tried to correct him or finish his words. My friend is a speech therapist and she said that 95% of the time, it corrects itself on its own. And the 5% that don't, have parents that overreact about it.

As hard as it is, I just slowed down, got on his level and waited for him to get his thought out. It was extremely frustrating but it only lasted a couple of weeks.

Hang in there!
:o)

I'm a speech-pathologist who works with preschoolers. It is very common for a child to experience normal disfluencies between the ages of 2 1/2-5 because their language is developing so fast at that point and sometimes the speech mechanism can't keep up. It is probably just that, but if you are really concerned, it wouldn't hurt to have him checked out in either your local school disrict or the Intermediate School District for your county.

If this has happened all of a sudden I would schedule an appt with your pediatrician. He might've grown into it and would grow out of it. But it's better to have it checked out to put everyone's mind at peace.

Hi L.
I have have two boys aged 3 and 6 years. they both went through some form of stuttering. I asked my three year olds pre-school teacher about it (he started doing it just after he turned three). She told me it is very common and is exactly what you think, his thoughts are going to fast for his brain to put into words which can create the stutter. Both my kids grew out of it. My six year old still sometimes stutters the first words of a sentence when he is excited about something. Don't make too much of a big deal out of it just yet. I tell him to think about what he is trying to say and then say it. Don't finish sentences for him, just be patient. My three year olds stutter lasted less than six months. He is still learning so much vocabulary and trying to articulate that sometimes he just can't keep up with his thoughts.
I'm sure he'll be ok so try not to worry. If it gets worse most local authorities have places to help with speech but I'm sure he is going to be fine.

It is perfectly normal for a child to do this. I started studdering at that age and speak perfectly normal now. It is actually their brain is going faster than their mouth can keep up. If you are concerned about it call your peditrician and see what he has to say.

Hello L.,

My son is 3-1/2 now and when he was about 3 he started doing the same thing, we were trying to figure out what was up with him too. We just kept telling him to slow down and he improved. He has stopped doing that and we really don't know. One thing we noticed that at about the same time he went into the next age group at daycare. Also along with the new room at daycare came a teacher who was very strict on the kids and might have been "harping" at them all day and making him nervous????? We happend to move him to another class with a different teacher for other reasons. We really don't have a clue but he has stopped now so I'm sure your little guy will too!!!

Good luck to you - L.

Your son is probably just talking so fast that his speech cannot keep up with his brain. My son did that but with some speech therapy at the local school, he over came that. However, he is 26 and still talks way too fast for me to understand him sometimes. I have to tell to slow down and repeat.

Hi L.,

My two, almost three year old (in April) daughter just started doing the same thing a couple weeks ago. We were on vacation at the time so I chalked it up to stress and being in a different environment. Now that we're home, she's still doing it but not as much or as often. I was really worried too so when I read your request I felt better so I thought it might help you knowing there's another child doing the same thing. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of responses you get!

G.

I'm not an expert but I've heard the best way to help stuttering is to stop, give them your complete attention, relax, and wait for their communication. If you get tense he'll get worse. I think its pretty common at such a young age, but I would read up on it and do what you can to help him feel calm so he'll slow down.

My son went through the same thing for a few months. It passed. I'm sure everything will be fine. :)

My daughter did the same thing at that age. If I remember correctly it only lasted about 6 months, she's 7 now and has no problems. She's very verbal and just couldn't speak as fast as her mind was going. It was worse when she was tired. I spoke to the doctor and they reassured me it was common and not to react even though I was worried too that she would stutter her whole life and be teased! It really was just a stage that passed quickly. Hope this reassures you!

FYI- both my son and my cousin's son did at about your sons ages. Both boys are amazingly vocal and we both get comments all the time about how well they speak and understand. His brain is just working faster than his mouth!

I am a teacher and mother of 2 boys; 2 and 4. I am not a Dr. but it is very common for children that age to do exactly as you said; stutter b/c they want to get their ideas out faster than their little mouths and minds can work. It is possible that the blinking and stuttering has gotten worse as a result of now trying to concentrate too much before speaking i.e. nerves. Our 4 yr. old started to stutter and repeat himself at about the same age so I know how you feel. However, it really is best to ignore the behavior, and be sure that when your child does start to talk you stop what you are doing, look at him, and listen intently. Often times they are also afraid they aren't being heard so they are trying to talk quickly and get their ideas out so they can be heard. I started doing this with our little guy and within a few months the behavior stopped. I really had to pay attention to my behavior and responses to him when he was talking, but it was worth it in the end. Again, I am not a Dr. and I don't know your son, but this behavior is common. Hope this helps and good luck :)

L.,
I just had a little boy in August 2008. My mom and I were talking about me as a child and she mentioned I went through a short stuttering phase when I was young. I asked about it and she said that people (my father mostly) were not being patient with me and it was causing me to try and speak really fast and then ultimately stutter. She said once they all slowed down and took a little more time with me I stopped stuttering and have never had a problem since (I am 31 years old).
Good luck and I hope this might be of some assistance.
E.

I have seen this happen to several children and I don't think this is a problem at all as long as it doesn't last over 6-12 months. I think their vocabulary grows so much between 2 and 3 that they are working so hard to use their new words and speak in more fuller sentences that their brain really does work faster than their mouth! Our nephew did it for about 6 monts when he was 3 and a half or so and mostly it was the i, i , i. The 2 year old I nanny for does it now, but it is mostly where he says the first word of the sentence over and over again, until he collects his thoughts to get it all out! I have always been told not to really correct them just be patient and wait for them to get it all out and continue to model correct speach in your own conversation with others.

Its normal my son did it. Usually when he was really excited or upset. We just told him to calm down and breath before speaking and eventually he grew out of it.

Hi L.,
I just took our 2yr old daughter for her well baby check and her dr gave me a printout of what to expect this year. One of the things it said was that some kids do start to stutter at this age and it is totally normal due to the fact that they are learning more words than they can speak. It also said they do outgrow it. If you are really concerned though and need some reassurance, call his dr and find out his/her opinion. I wouldn't stress over it though if I were you. Good luck!