How does stuttering usually occur in childhood? What factors contribute to this?
The cause of stuttering in childhood is often called fear. For example, stuttering occurs after a dog scares a child or something traumatic happens.
However, fright can be a trigger, but it is not a sufficient condition for the appearance and fixing of stuttering. Several factors are superimposed and summarized, several strings are woven, knots are tied from negative feelings and beliefs, which lead to the appearance of this condition.
We follow the general, schematic history of the occurrence of stuttering.
For example, a child plays carefree with other children, or walks calmly, holding his mother's hand, or with curiosity, as is common for many children, explores the world around him. And suddenly something happens that shows him the world from a completely different perspective. It can be a fright from a scary dog or any other injury. What happens in the mind of a child?
A familiar and safe picture of the world is collapsing. For example, this situation may cause him to conclude that the world can be not only kind to him, that one cannot just play carelessly and express all his impulses, etc.
Of course, we are not talking about the fact that the child, having thought carefully, scratching his head, comes to this conclusion. This happens emotionally and unconsciously, automatically.
The first thread appears - the belief that you can’t just live carefree, it can be dangerous and painful. Confidence in the "good" world is lost. You need to somehow defend yourself, to be in constant tension, because living insecurely.
Perhaps after that something unusual may appear in the child’s speech. Houses are starting to pay attention to it. Perhaps if the child lacked attention, he would like it. This is the second thread. Now something “good” has appeared in this “bad” one, and this “good” is important and now needs to be kept.
What happens next?
Perhaps in the group his comrades would ridicule him. Or it will happen later in school. If this happens several times, then the child will think that something is wrong with him. The child will pay constant attention to his speech. This is the third thread - the feeling that "something is wrong with me, " I am worse than others.
If the child does not succeed in achieving some of his goals, then perhaps he will scold and condemn himself and his stutter, which may gradually become the cause of many failures in his mind. Here is the fourth thread.
Our situation is conditional and only illustrates how some experiences, flowing into others, cause a contradictory tangle of fears and negative beliefs. And only competent parents are able with their love for the child to prevent the development of negative conditions.