We learn to talk by observing the people around us. This happens
from birth and when our vocal chords are fully formed we start
to speak. If a member of our close family has a stuttering
problem, there is a good chance that we could pick up their bad
habits and also start to stutter. I have met many people who
stutter, who inform me that somebody in their family also
suffers with stuttering and for some reason it is normally their
father.

Many parents have stated to me, that even though they do have a
stutter, that they have always been able to speak fluently to
and around their child. Unfortunately children listen to
conversations when we least expect it (when we think they are in
bed, for example) and are likely to hear the stutter at various
time, like during a phone call.

How a parent reacts when their child first starts to stutter is
very important. If they are calm and patient and do not
over-react, there is a good chance the child won’t panic and
worry. If the parent reacts shocked and responds sharply, with
words to the effect of, get your words out boy, this can have a
very damaging effect. The child is likely to panic and is more
than likely to stutter again out of nerves and tension.

The third reason people start to stutter is a response to a
shock reaction. I have in the past number of years come into
contact with people who have started stuttering after a serious
car crash, after being mugged and even after giving birth.

The fourth reason is copying someone else who has a stutter. I
have heard in a number of cases where children have started to
stutter after copying a friend at school. This friend had a
stutter, and they copied them as if it was some kind of game. In
one story I heard, a fluent man joined the navy, accompanying
him on the ship was a man who had a stutter. During one trip
overseas, the fluent person constantly mocked and mimicked the
stutterer, and to his horror, by the end of the trip could not
stop stuttering himself. He eventually ended up killing himself,
so the story goes.