Is stuttering normal for a 3yr old?

Sharon - posted on 07/17/2012

I'm experiencing the same thing with my 3 year old son!?!?! Dr said its called pseudo stuttering and he should be just fine, its temporary. So we'll see...

Shanelle - posted on 06/14/2011

You shouldn't be worried, my daughter is almost 4 now and she has "stuttered" her whole talking life, i think its an over excitement thing because once i ask her to stop, calm down and start again she talks perfectly.

Louise - posted on 03/19/2011

My daughter is 3 since september and for the last few days she has been stuttering ALOT! Before this she would stumble over her words on an odd occasion but nothing like this! For example She would try to say do you want to play with me and it would come out do do do do do you want to play with me.Im not sure if it is normal so if you have any help it would be gratefully appreciated.

Brianne - posted on 03/09/2011

If he can go back, slow down and say it correctly, then it's probably the normal brain going to fast for the mouth situation! However if you are concerned, it wouldn't hurt to talk to her doctor at your next check up or get a recommendation for someone to evaluate her. Doctors can always tell more if they see what is happening and these things are hard if not impossible to get a kid to do on cue, so try to catch it on video!

Freida - posted on 01/10/2011

It is actually sputtering, not stuttering. We have had this problem with both of ours, the best way to handle it is to make them stop and slow down. Try to explain that there is no rush in trying to say what it is. My youngest did it worse than my son, but is getting slowly better at it, now that she is talking a little slower. She has the problem of constantly talking, she has the vocabulary of a 5 yr. old, and never stops. Eventually it will get better, but a good way to tell which it is- is he doing it on every word or just like when he is trying to get the thought out. We actually took my son to a speech therapist and she explained the difference. Hope this helps

Rachel - posted on 11/24/2010

My son just turned 3 in Sep. and he sometimes stutters too. I tell him the same thing, to slow down and start over. Its normal They want to say something soo badly that they fumble with their words because thier brains are racing about what they want to say and their mouths cant move that fast.. When I was younger I use to stutter and even when I tried to stop and start over slow, i would still stutter really bad.So I wouldnt be worried at all. Hes just a healthy growing boy!!

Irena - posted on 11/21/2010

dear misty, my son (sept 2007) started stuttering too lately.. i did exactly the same as what Alice did... i guess it is because in this period, where normally my son will be so proud to be regarded as a big boy already, but somehow he likes to be treated as my little baby still...

Misty - posted on 11/19/2010

Thanks for the input. It was so bad for awhile that it was getting frustrating for us, but not for him. We decided to ignore it and it seems to gotten alot better. I wonder if all the excitement of the holidays (b-day and halloween) just had him reeling. I'll watch for it come x-mas and see if there is a correlation. And from reading alot of post it sounds normal for three year old to go through a phase like this, so i feel better.

Jana - posted on 11/19/2010

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and from what I can tell in your post, you should have your child evaluated. Dysflueicies ( stuttering) are not a normal part of developing speech and language when they become as prevalent as you are describing. A Speech Pathologist can tell you if your son's dysfluencies are at a normal rate or if he needs intervention to correct them.

Melanee - posted on 11/19/2010

it is totally normal. my now 5 yr old started stuttering around that same time and my now 3 yr old has been doing it for a few months now. i've done research on it and talked to our pediatrician and she says it is nothing to worry about. my 5 yr old has gotten much better and they say that it will just go away eventually. just encourage your son to slow down when talking. kids get so excited to tell you something and sometimes they just can't get it out. don't worry. he's fine!

Erica - posted on 11/17/2010

My daughter is the same age and her stuttering has gotten really bad in the last couple of weeks. We believe it is just het mind moving faster than her mouth because she doesn't seem frustrated by it. When I ask her to slow down she does so and is fine. We are not going to get her evaluated unless it gets much worse. Her vocabulary is also so large I feel like it is not affecting her verbal development. We will monitor! I also notice she tends to stutter more when she is tired. Try not to worry and Remember only you know what is best for your kiddo!

Alice - posted on 11/17/2010

Misty,
My 3-year-old (turned 3 in Sept) doesn't stutter, but she does mumble... and she does it on purpose, I pretend I can't understand the mumbling (though I can, so if it was something important, like being hurt, I know what's going on and act on it) and ask her to repeat herself. If she mumbles the second time I say "I can't understand your baby talk, but I can understand big girl talk, so when you are ready to talk like a big girl, Mommy will listen." and go back to whatever I was doing. Usually I get the immediate "big girl" talk.
My oldest used to stutter... up until about 4 and she still does occasionally if she's talking fast (but if I tell her to slow down, no stuttering). The words in her mind are going faster than her mouth can transmit, I guess. Sometimes she "fixes" herself by slowing down without me saying anything. One of my sisters used to do that too.
We've never thought it a problem since they can learn to control it, but if you think it's a medical or learning problem, I'd ask a speech therapist. I worked in a SNF and used to ask the sppech therapist there questions about my girls' language skills. She was very helpful with many of my concerns.

Jeneva - posted on 11/09/2010

I have no experience with stuttering so I'm honestly not sure. However, my daughter is 3 and we don't usually hear any stuttering so I would say it could become an issue if it isn't right now. It wouldn't hurt to get him evaluated and into some speech therapy just in case. But try not to worry, I'm sure at this age it can easily be handled.