How are you travelling in the midst of the silly season? Well? I hope so.

Me? I'm up to my elbows in cubby colour schemes. The small people have been swept off to their Grandparents' and the Frenchman and I are attempting to build them a teeny-tiny house of their very own in the backyard.

We only have a couple of days and in typical style are at loggerheads on the overall design aesthetic. He's all about Bauhaus Form Follows Function with the occasional gothic flourish. I'm thinking rustic beach cottage. By 5 o'clock this afternoon we were both ready to head to Bunnings for a plastic pre-fab horror and then find the nearest pub for a consolation tequila. Despite the temptation, we soldiered on and think the walls might be up tomorrow. I'll take some photos when it's presentable.

Also, does anyone know anything about stuttering in young children? My two year old has, within the space of a week, developed a heavy stutter. I have read somewhere that bilingual children can sometimes have issues with stuttering. At this stage I am loath to see a speech pathologist because my gut feeling is that it will pass as her language acquisition slows to a more steady pace. Any thoughts? They would be most welcome.
xx

Comments

[Sarah]

Lola had a quite pronounced stutter at about the same age. Though she wasn't bilingual then (she is now), she was an early and very facile talker, seeming to soak up new words and phrases in her sleep. I don't remember the onset of her stutter being sudden (which doesn't mean much as motherhood has turned my memory to mush) but I do remember being told by her pediatrician at the time (someone I both liked and trusted which hasn't always been the case with every pediatrician my children have had) not to worry about it. My inclination, like yours, would be to simply wait and watch.

Looking forward to seeing how the Bauhaus beach cottage turns out...

[jodie]

Firstly good luck with the cubby house, I remember having the exact same discussion with my hubby... he was thinking rustic fort, I was thinking cute little cottage in the woods. We have something sort of in the middle, but both my boy and my girl love it.

I don't have any experience with stuttering, but I do have four years of experience with speech therapists, so I do know that at two years it is probably the watch and wait theory, for a short period. A lot of speech development in children is age linked, their are sounds and speech patterns that are not fully formed until 8 years of age, so I would say you are on the right track to watch and wait for a few months. Don't be too worried about the speech pathologist though, my two and a half year old loved visiting, the exercises were a game to her.

[Claire Falkingham]

Wow! Talking at 2 is pretty amazing in the first place, I couldn't understand a bloody word Parker said till she was 3, and even then it was utter babble at best! My honest opinion? Leave it, it will sort iteself out, and try not to get swept along in the 'quest for perfection'.