DEAR DOCTOR K: My child stutters. Why does he do this? What can we do to help him?

DEAR READER: I remember the first time I met someone who stuttered. He was a playmate when I was in grade school, whose parents knew my parents. He talked about his parents a lot, but I never heard him say the words “mother” or “father.” It was always “m-m-m-mother” or “f-f-f-father.”

When I asked my mom about him, she explained that he was probably having “emotional problems.” That made sense to me; I couldn’t think of another reason why someone would have trouble saying such simple words.