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Stuttering Toddler

Posted by Baby Boy Baby Girl on Friday, September 11th, 2009

Are you a parent that has found out recently that your toddler stutters?  If so you have the initial shock that most parents experience when they find out that their child has a speech impediment.

ToddlerplayingStuttering is a speech disfluency that involves the involuntary repetition or prolongation of speech.  When a child is beginning to learn how to speak, stuttering can be a frustrating problem for any child to have.  Of course, any job wants to speak fluently and effortlessly every time. The problem of stuttering toddlers usually arises from the ages of two to four in toddler development, and is often a inherited familial problem that runs throughout the generations.

Stuttering is a problem that if approached early enough in life, it can make a big difference.  Did you know that the famous television journalist, John Stossel, used to stutter?  With the proper training, you or your child can overcome stuttering.

It is imperative that you start early in achieving fluency in your child’s speaking with certain techniques that certified speech therapist can teach you.  It is important when you start to show your child how to speak properly to make it fun and lighthearted.  Play games.

Challenge the child to speak fluently if you hear them make a mistake.  Show them how it should be said and give them lots of praise when they say the words correctly.  Anytime that mommy and daddy are proud of their child, it greatly influences that child to do the same again.

 Try not to be too negative in how you train your child to speak properly.  Don’t ever say things like, “Spit it out!”  Or “Stop your stammering”.  Children remember these things the rest of their lives, and it can actually exasperate the situation.
 
 Things that you can do:
 
 1. Allow your child to finish what they are saying. Let them get everything out first before making a comment on how they speak.  This will reduce the anxiety in the child as he or she learns the proper way to speak.
 
 2.  Don’t try to put words in your child’s mouth Supported that she let the child express him or herself the way they want to be expressed.  Don’t put words in her mouth that they didn’t say.
 
 3. Don’t make a face when they tell you something Just look naturally at the child as they talk to you even if they stutter a lot.  It’s important that you give them the impression that they are not a freak of nature.
 
 4. Listen to your child and hear what they are saying to you. Always listen to the message that your child is trying to convey to you.  This, in fact, is the main reason that they are trying to talk.
 
 5. Pause before trying to correct your child’s stutter. 
 
Most of all, early intervention is best to help a child’s speech development in relation to stuttering problems.  Toddlers that are stuttering tend to repeat their syllables for more times and prolong syllables and longtime in their speech.  You probably noticed that the job will show some physical reactions to how they stutter such as raising the pitch of the voice, eye blinking, or looking off to the side.  It would tend to embarrass or frustrate the child, so be a lookout for that.
 
 Don’t miss the window of opportunity to stop toddler stuttering when your child is young.  Just as your pediatrician.  They can help get you in touch with a speech therapist to help you stop the stuttering problem.  Don’t wait; it never hurts to ask for help.