My 2 1/2 year old son is strong-willed and he tells us what he wants. He has been doing it effortlessly. However, he has recently started stuttering. Especially when he gets so excited or is tired, he is unable to say the first word without involuntarily repeating the first syllable.

Like last night... he wanted to say Papa is already sleeping. He stumbled over the words and sounded like, "ppppa pa papa is already sleeping."

I was scared in the beginning but friends who have older kids and even my doctor has confirmed that it is normal for some kids to go through this stage. For now, I am following their advice of Letting him talk. Instead of interrupting him or second-guessing what he wants to say, I just let him finish what he wants to say. After which, I repeat what he has said clearly and slowly.

Should your toddler be going through the same stage, Baby Center has more information on Why it happens and What we can do.

I guess, the best thing to do now is to patiently help my son overcome his stuttering... and observe whether he will later need speech therapy or if the problem will go away the way it did when I was younger.