Conference moira::parenting

    
    Sheryl -
    
    My son, Jason went through an approx. 6 month period of stuttering
    which began when he was 25 months.   Note 1167 in PARENTING_V3
    has some good information in it.  To make a long story short, I
    believe that it is both age-related and stress-induced.  We tried
    very hard not to draw attention to the stuttering and to resist 
    the urge to make him "perform" in front of friends and relatives.
    His stuttering was on-again, off-again over the 6 month period and
    got REALLY BAD at times (it was so sad).  However, he's now 2 years,
    9 months and I can't recall the last time he stuttered - which is
    a good sign!  
    
    Carol 

    
    Hi Carol,
    
    	Well, that's some good news.  Can you tell me how to get
    to Parenting_V3?  I can't find it!
    
    Thank you,
    
    Sheryl
    
    

    
    See note 9.21.  There's a pointer there.
    
    Carol

    Note 135 discusses speech therapy.

    Just to ease your mind some more.....
    
    
    My son (now 3) was a very early talker with no stutter.  We recently
    moved and there was ALOT of tension in the house.  Tim started to
    stutter about 2 weeks before the actual move.  It was scary because he
    was stuttering on EVERY word!  We just tried to keep calm and patient
    and would tell him to think about what he was trying to say.
    
    We've been in the new house for a month now and Tim's stutter is
    COMPLETELY gone!  His speech got better within a week after the move
    and was gone within three weeks.
    
    Good luck...
    
    Linda

    I think it can be both age and stress. 
    
    Joshua stuttered a lot when he was 2.5 years, and we were moving from
    one state to another, and from hotel, to grandparents to one temp.
    housing to another temp. housing, all withing about 4 wks.! After we
    moved into our own home, and were here about 1 month, he stopped
    completely (except for a brief bout when he was about 4, and decided to
    try to talk like Piglet on Winnie-the Pooh!!).
    
    Daniel just turned 3 and has begun stammering. When he goes to begin
    almost any sentence, he says either the initial sound (if its a vowel),
    or a a sort of "aaaaaaaaaaaaaa" sound, before he begins. Then he's off
    and running, and doesn't do it again, usually, till the next
    conversation. We just ignore it.
    
    --dave--

    My 5 year old son does this - has for awhile, but his pedi wasn't too
    concerned - said we are doing the right thing (ignore it) and it is
    lessening - slowly.  We'll see what the schools say when he starts in
    Sept.
    
    -sandy
    

    Is it normal for a 3-year-old to mispronounce vowels?  This is what
    often makes her speech hard to understand.  She pronounces several
    vowels the same way.  She also drops Rs in the middle of words.  The
    result is that "party" sounds like "potty", and so forth.  (We live in
    New England, but neither her dad nor I drop Rs.)
    
    L

    Laura,
    
    Just from my observation I'd say yes on both counts.  Do I dare to
    remember the days of going to McDonalds and having a request for
    "Foofies"=french fries, and yes I do remember "loosing" some letters
    especially r's in the middle of words.
    
    Now as for the R thing, and as it relates to New England-eze, I've got
    proof that kids pick up the "boston accent" by osmosis or someother
    method.  My aunt and uncle had a very defined southern accent, my aunt
    to this day sounds like she just fell off her Texas ranch, but hasn't
    been there to live in 30+ years.  My cousin, who is 30something had a
    prounouced "Boston" accent by the time he was in second grade!  I on
    the other hand, have never lived outside of MA and still have a defined
    "southern drawl", my son has a sort of mixed, Boston, Central MA and
    southern flavor to his words.  I guess that must be job security for
    his speech pathologist!
    
    Lyn

Does her day-care provider have a New England accent?

    None of her caregivers has had a pronounced New England accent, as best
    I can recall.  Babysitter she adored and was close to for much of 1993
    had a moderate local accent.  Current sitter is Canadian.
    
    Boy, do I detest those dropped Rs.  If this persists, the problem won't
    be her speech, it will be my patience in tolerating the accent.  Grrr.
    I'd feel as if she came home with some awful trendy outfit.  But the
    accent doesn't ever go away.  HELP!  The only thing saving me now is
    hope that its just a juvenile pronunciation problem.
    
    (Other examples, "daycaya centuh," "tuh-kee dinnah," "present faw you".)
    
    I know a NH family, 2 schoolkids born here, both parents from New York.
    Oldest child doesn't have New England accent, youngest does. 
    Socialization, must be.  The younger child is more self-confident, less
    reliant on her parents.  Bad news for my child's accent is that she's
    extremely self-confident and outgoing.  
    
    L

    I hate those dropped "aaaaaahs", too.  A friend of mine took language
    development courses and relayed to me that regional accents generally
    "set" between the ages of 5 and 7... so you still have some time!  (Of
    course, accents can be modified, but this is the age bracket where you
    need to be especially vigilant.)
    
    I think the parent(s)' speech is the biggest influence on the
    child(ren)'s accent, but the influence can be enhanced by attentive
    parents.  I've seen some parents who throw up their hands in
    resignation at the first sign their child is speaking like a "local",
    but the parent *can* reinforce correct speech and illustrate the
    differences.  I had an uphill battle with Alex over the word "mirror",
    which she insisted on pronouncing "meer" (one syllable, one R).  The
    argument turned in my favor when she was old enough to read and would
    accept a dictionary as a valid authority  :-)
    
    Leslie

    My 5 1/2 year old was in speech therapy last year and the therapist
    said that children do not master the "r" sound until around 6 years of
    age, so you do have a few years before she may say it correctly.
    
    LG