DS has started stuttering - what do I do?

[LadyOfWaffle]

I noticed it the past week or so, but thought maybe it was him using bigger sentences but not well yet. School wrote about it in his little book yesterday so I have really listened and it's bad! It's not all the time, but he goes "I-I-I-I-I want an orange" or "mum mum mu mummy mummy mummy mu mummy..." I thought maybe they were refering to when he sometimes says a word and says "tuh tuh tuh tractor" (phonetically saying the T) which I was doing with him to practise the letters he was learning at school at week! Have I caused it? This is different, he doesn't seem aware of this whereas he does when he does "tuh for..." and looks pleased. Do I go to GP? How can I help in the meantime? DO I stop him and get him to say it slowly? Ignore it?

[madwomanintheattic]

it's a normal developmental stage for younger children - just their brains going too fast for their mouths to keep up lol, but he seems a little old (assume he is yr r?)
usual advice is to ignore and monitor for a while - you could pop in and ask his teacher if she's noticed anything unusual?
i wouldn't panic if it is just a few days - sometimes mine have done really odd things for a week or two and then never again.
i'd leave gp for a bit and see what happens.
school usually pick up speech issues v quickly, so i would speak to them first.

[LadyOfWaffle]

He is 3.3. It's really bad when he does it I can't get to the school for ages - childminder takes him.

[madwomanintheattic]

at 3.3 it's a completely normal stage - honestly. i only mentioned school as i thought he was yr r doing spellings etc and i would keep an eye on it in an older child.

at 3.3 it's very very common, and does not require any intervention.

all 3 of mine have been through similar, honestly.

if it carries on for months then ask gp or hv if he needs any help, but honestly, it's perfectly normal at that age.

[madwomanintheattic]

with dd2, if it went on and was causing her frustration, i would just say, 'stop, take a breath, think about what you want to say and try again', but really, unless it is causing distress it is best to ignore - it is just a stage that will pass very soon - a couple of months.