Hi moms, my 21 month old, who has been speaking incredibly well for a very long time (wide range of vocabulary and putting together good sized sentences) suddenly started stuttering a few days ago. She basically repeats the first syllable of the first word or two of most sentences she makes. She doesn't stutter when she sings or when I stop her from what she's trying to say and tell her to speak slowly (I usually anticipate what she's trying to say and then say it slowly for her, which she then repeats slowly after me). I should also mention that she doesn't speak any English - only Armenian (although we speak both English and Armenian at home), it's just that we've focused on the Armenian with our kids, since they'll learn English from school anyway.
Anyone have any experience with this? Is it just a phase? Should I speak with our pediatrician and have her checked out? I'm not even sure how a doctor could have her tested. She has such stranger anxiety that she usually just cries at the doctor's office, let alone speak with anyone.
Thanks in advance.
Very common. It's because they have so many thoughts in their head that they are trying to get out that their mouth can't move fast enough. Please don't stop her from talking or say the word for her unless she doesn't know the word. Instead let her get it out herself. The stuttering phase doesn't usually last that long.
Someone posted a very similar question just a few days ago. So same answers to that one: normal, don't worry, mind going faster than the mouth, no need to have her evaluated unless you see significant delays in some other area. I think it's great that you are speaking Armenian at home - don't stop even if she starts speaking to you in English! Try not to anticipate everything she is going to say - let her get it out. Encourage her to slow down, think, breathe, take her time. She'll get it out. She's learning so many new works and new sounds and new combinations. I know from being a language teacher that it's hard to get the jaw, tongue, teeth, and brain all in sync together. Just don't let her feel forced, rushed or less than competent - and don't let anyone else critique her because she may just clam up. The only way to get those muscles working is to use them, you know? Hang in there.
Hi A.Z.,
This is a totally normal phase, but you can actually cause her to develop a stutter by what you're doing. Model slower speech, but don't anticipate and correct her. Calling attention to speech patterns can cause a child to focus too much on the individual sounds and how they're speaking. This can cause a negative feedback that impedes the child's natural fluency. For more background on this, look up the "the monster experiments" that were conducted in the 1920's.
Also, please find a way to incorporate English into your daughter's everyday activities. Kids this age have no problem learning two languages at the same time and at the same rate as learning a single language. Your daughter needs to not only speak fluent English by the time she enters Kindergarten, but should also have acquired some English reading skills. Because of the "No Child Left Behind" approach to education, kids who do not enter Kindergarten with these skills can be at a substantial disadvantage for several years as they try to catch up. This disadvantage can extend to every aspect of academics, as reading is the backbone for every subject -- even math. This past year, I started working with 1st grade children who were struggling with reading (one of whom came from a household where only Spanish is spoken). Part way into the year, I started tutoring them in math as well. Not only were they struggling with the concepts, but most of the problems were "word problems", which compounded their difficulties.
I am not suggesting that you stop speaking Armenian to her -- you absolutely should! Just please consider enrolling her in an English immersion preschool by the time by the time she's 3 or 4. Another way to handle this would be for one parent to speak to her only in English, and the other only in Armenian. I have friends who have raised their children bilingually this way very successfully.
This was asked a few days ago by AZmom.but its normal.
it's probably a phase. she's very young, and has to learn a new language.
two of my brothers were pretty bad stutterers and needed to get speech therapy. do NOT anticipate and 'help' her with her words. be patient and let her learn and speak at her own speed.
khairete
S.
Agreed this is common. Like Diane said it is because their mind is precessing so much that it is hard to get it all out sometimes. Our oldest also started doing this which we believe was just a nervous tick. It went away on it's own and out doctor told us just to ignore it and be patient. I guess it could be either one.
There was a question very similar to this on Mamapedia recently, I suggest you look it up because there were a lot of good answers.
It is very normal for this age, especially for children who are learning two languages at once. Our son is in French immersion school all day and then English at home with us. He went through it as well. It's actually stammering, not stuttering. Don't finish the sentence for her. Just be patient and let her finish it. Her mind is just working faster than her mouth and when there's another language in there, there is more processing going on and it takes a little longer to get the thought from the brain to the mouth.
Be patient and let her finish what she's saying even if you know what it is she wants to say. It won't help her for you to finish the thought for her or to tell her to slow down. You slow down and just wait.
Eventually, this will pass completely.
Normal. Don't worry.
