What should I do if my four-year-old child stutters?

Generally speaking, children start to learn to speak as soon as they are over 2 years old, and they will speak more and more fluently as they grow older. But in real life, some children around four years old still have problems speaking, just like stuttering. Although their parents have taught them, they still cannot return to normal. So the question is, what should we do if a four-year-old child stutters?

1. Treat it normally. If you are too serious, it will show in your tone and intonation of voice. The child will be hinted at and will also become serious, and his speech will become even less fluent.

2. Do not ridicule, express disgust, threaten, or even beat or scold.

3. Don’t talk about his stuttering with others when he is around, and don’t imitate his stuttering, otherwise it will make it worse.

4. Speak to him slowly, pronounce each word clearly, and ask him to speak slowly. Don't be in a hurry. But when he draws out the sound or repeats himself, just listen. Don't repeat yourself. Wait for him to finish speaking, and then ask him to say it again after a while. With the first experience, you will do much better the second time you say the same sentence.

5. Let your child sing before speaking. This is the method of correcting stuttering advocated by Dr. Jushichiro Naito, the Japanese god of childcare. After the child started to speak hesitantly,

Say to him: "Come on, let's sing that song!" and start singing with the child (mother and child can sing together), sing anything you want, as long as he understands it, after singing, ask him gently: "What did you want to say just now?" At this time, in most cases, the child will not stutter and will speak fluently. Dr. Naito also said that this method has been tried on many children and the effect is very good. Once children understand how to speak without stuttering, they will develop confidence in their speech, and through repeated practice, they can be cured.

6. When the child makes a little improvement, praise him generously. This will increase his determination to speak normally.