To worry that 2.5 yo has started stuttering

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Hi all. Posting here for traffic as I’m worried and would love some advice.

Ds1 is 2.5 and in the last month has started stuttering. It’s quite a lot I would say and happens at the start of a sentence maybe every 4/5 sentences. In the last few days, he has also started putting his hand over his mouth whilst he does it. Sometimes it takes a good 5-8 seconds for him to get his word out but he still tries it. Sometimes he changes what he trying to say also. It doesn’t seem to bother him and he isn’t getting frustrated, but I think he’s started to notice he’s doing it. I’ve read a bit online about not telling them to slow down etc., speaking slowly, repeating back their sentence when they do it.

Has anybody else experienced this? Did it stop by itself or did you end up seeing a speech therapist? What did you do to help your dc? How long did it last?

I’m starting to really worry now (obviously hiding this from ds) and don’t know what to do.

DD had a stammer like this when she was around 3. I worried and worried about it and eventually took her for a private assessment with a speech therapist a few months before she was due to start reception. The therapist said it wasn’t that bad and would likely clear up on its own but to come back in 6 months if it hadn’t. When she started school it went within a couple of weeks and we’ve had no issues since (she’s 7 now).

I was an early years teacher and it is very very common. It’s usually because they have so much they want to get up that they can’t keep up. Don’t make a big issue of it, just try to slow his talking down. Get him to have a bit of thinking time and start again. Of all the hundreds of children I saw do this I can only think of one who actually had a long term stutter.

It’s reassuring to hear that other people have experienced it or witnessed it and the vast majority of times it passes. Every phase seems never ending when you’re in it. He’s my first so it’s all new. With my second when it comes to sleep/eating etc. I don’t get worked up as I remember things just being a phase with my first.

My daughter used to stutter alot but it's almost gone, she is nearly 7. I don't think her mouth can keep up with her thoughts so she ends up stuttering. She doesn't do it much anymore, just when she is very excited about telling me something

Hi OP, I had this when I was a child ( now 30 ) when I was 3-5 yo. Went to speech therapy and also my mum noticed, like others have said, it would be particularly worse if I was tired, excited, had a busy day or if I hadn’t been able to talk for a few minutes ( maybe if I had been eating my dinner or been put on the naughty step lol ) I grew out of it by the time I started school but funnily enough, my niece who is now 9 went through the exact same thing at the same age as myself and she’s grew out it too. I’m half expecting it with my DC too. Hope these maybe put your mind at ease a little bit

My ds had a very severe stammer and was discharged from speech therapy at the age of 11 after being told there was nothing more they could do for him. He was told he'd probably grow out if it....that 'probably' is a very big word...he didn't!
Thankfully, after seeing a tv program about stammering, we found the Starfish Project, when ds was 13, and I am grateful every single day that we did. It really has changed ds' and our lives. You can't cure a stammer but you can learn how to control it and this is what ds does. He is an adult now but we still go back to help other new stammerers on the courses. The best feeling in the world is when people say, I didn't know ds stammered, you'd never know.
If anyone wants to know any more, please email Starfish, or PM me.