My 3 year old granddaughter has recently started stuttering. Anyone know what would cause this?

Answer 1

Many children go through a stage of development when they stutter. This often occurs between the ages of 2 and 5 and may last for several weeks or months. Most children outgrow their stuttering without treatment. But for some, the stuttering progresses from simple repetition of consonants and syllables to repetition of words and phrases. It's difficult to predict in advance which children will develop persistent stuttering.

The cause of stuttering isn't clear. It does tend to run in families. But the extent to which genetics plays a role is unknown. Stuttering is not caused by:

Parenting style

Psychological problems or trauma; however, a small study published in 2006 suggests that children who have trouble
controlling their emotions may be more likely to stutter

Stress — although this may worsen an existing stutter

Although parenting style doesn't cause stuttering, your reaction to your child's stuttering may increase your child's anxiety about it and affect the degree to which the problem persists. Some tips for parents from the Stuttering Foundation of America and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association include:

Listen to what your child says, not how he or she says it.

Speak with your child in an unhurried way, pausing frequently.

Television's Mr. Rogers is a good example of this style of speech. Unhurried speech gives your child a chance to respond. It also shows that you're not impatient or annoyed with the stuttering.

Don't interrupt or complete your child's sentences.

Maintain eye contact with your child when he or she speaks.

Set aside a few minutes each day when you're doing nothing else but listening to your child talk about whatever he or she wants to talk about.

If you're concerned about your child's speech, talk to your doctor. He or she may refer you to a speech therapist.

Answer 2

My daughter is almost 4 and started some stuttering about 2 months ago. I actually got some advice from the Speech Pathologist today about it. When your daughter stutters, if she says m m m mummy. You say "That was a bumpy word wasn't it, you just said m m m mummy", "let try to say a smooth word 'mummy' and ask her to repeat it. Act neutrally towards the stuttering, just acknowledge the word is bumpy but don't show any particular feeling about it. The speech pathologist told me that at this age, that is all you need to do. I tried it and it has worked so far, my daughter said the words again without the stutter. Good luck

Answer 3

Check out The Stuttering Foundation of America web site. They have valuable information to help parents of children who start stuttering including how to react to someone who stutters and how to determine if this is a developmental stage or a lifelong problem. Public libraries shelf their books and DVDs. Some of them are online, too.

Answer 4

If she has gone through something traumatic or has been abused this could cause it. But this is not the only thing that could cause it.

It could just be that her mouth isn't aligned with what she is thinking, so she stutters until she can think through it.

It could also be that she isn't being listened to. Just tell her to take her time when she is talking and no matter how long it takes her to finish, listen intently. This will help.

Answer 5

I have a five year old nephew who has started to stutter recently. People have their theories and they may be valid, but I'm just hoping that it'll go away.

Answer 6

It's pretty common for preschoolers to go through a stammering stage. My son and 2 of my nieces did. It doesn't last long.

Answer 7

mabey she's scared about something. When kids are being bullied or are frightened they could start stuttering.

Answer 8

Some kind of stress in her life.
Or perhaps she just started speaking in full sentences, and her brain is finally completely wired...
She needs speech therapy.

Answer 9

At three her mind is moving so fast it can't keep up with her little body. Wait it out, and see if it goes away.