Stuttering in Two-Year-Olds: Eating Their Way to Stuttering

Stuttering in two-year-olds is largely blamed on child development. Stuttering is a common occurrence among children ranging from 2 to 5 years of age and should last for 5 to 6 months. Around 60 percent of child stutterers suffer from simple disfluency and will recover in due time. Those whose stuttering persists after a prolonged period should undergo speech therapy to correct this problem.

There are numerous factors that contribute to child stuttering. The usual suspects are genes (if a parent is a stutterer, the child will likely be one too), gender (boys are more likely to stutter than girls) and stress (a sudden change in a child’s life like the birth of a new baby in the family can cause stuttering). Few people are aware that stuttering can also be triggered by the food they eat. Just as it can be induced by some medications, stuttering can be triggered by the ingredients in food. According to studies, chemicals found in some processed foods may be the reason/s behind the development of child stuttering. These chemicals include:

Nitrates

Commonly used as preservatives, nitrates play a role in delaying the development of children. Since stuttering in two-year-olds is one manifestation of a developmental disorder, processed foods like hotdogs, hams and other cold cuts must be avoided.

Salicylates

Salicylates are found in plant foods and are used in the production of drugs, preservatives, and flavorings. Parents have reported incidents of stuttering in children becoming worse after the consumption of certain fruits or vegetables and other salicylate-containing food.

Sulfites

Sulfites are used as preservatives in many processed foods. According to some parents, stuttering in two-year-olds worsened after the consumption of sulfite-containing foods such as hotdogs and bacon. When sulfites were removed from the diet, stuttering ceased.

Benzoates in medication

Benzoates in medication such as those for cough and asthma have been found to increase stuttering in two-year-olds and other young children. Parents also report that children become sluggish, withdrawn and uncharacteristically silent while taking these medications. Normal behavior and speech return after they stop taking the benzoate-containing medications.

Although many parents report that their children’s stuttering was brought on or aggravated by certain foods or food chemicals such as dairy, wheat, nitrates and salicylates, current medical literature does not confirm this. The effects of the said food components also vary with every individual. Consumption of the chemicals mentioned above may induce stuttering in two-year-olds as well as worsen a child’s behavior as confirmed by some parents. Therefore, to prevent this, it is advised that food or food chemical triggers be eliminated from the child’s diet.