My son turns 3 in February. He has a huge vocabulary and talks in sentences BUT we can't understand what he's saying. There are many sounds that he does not make at all. He just started speech therapy and I was told he's tongue tied. The therapist was suprised it wasn't caught by our pediatrician. The tip of his tongue has a dimple in it and he has difficulty sticking it out. So, we are left with the decision to clip his tongue or not. I am wondering if anyone has any wisdom on that. Thank you much!
Thank you for your valuable input, experience and advice. I was convinced to clip but the speach therapist suggested I hold off for a little bit. After a few weeks with her and doing tongue exercises, he has stretched his tongue out and no longer shows any signs of a tongue tie! The dimple is even gone from the tip of his tongue. Didn't know that could happen! Hooray! Thanks Ladies! : )
I have three grandchildren (2 girls and 1 boy) all from the same parents. All 3 have had their tongues clipped. One was 5, one 4 and one 6. It GREATLY improved their speaking. There was a little discomfort for them but the younger it was done, the less problem they had. My daughter and I would tell you that if there is a problem then go ahead and get it done....worked great for her three
J. F
Clip! I see no benefit in NOT doing it.
A friend of mine had her daughter's clipped and the little girl is so much happier because people can understand her better. If it was me .... I would clip it and make life easier for him.
I was in the same situation with my now 14 mos old daughter. Our pediatrician caught it at 1 week and we clipped it the next day. I lost sleep over it, was terrified and it was the quickest thing. She cried a bit but as soon as the Dr. was done, I breastfed her there in the office and that calmed her and she was better. We haven't looked back since. I have, however heard that the older they get, the more painful it is. I don't want to scare you, but a friend of mine did it with her daughter at 5 or 6 and she didn't eat for 5 days and was seriously depressed until the pain went away. I think in the long run it will be worth it for you. I would recommend doing it, but I wish you good luck to you and your little guy as you deal with this.
Clip that thing! It will make his life so much better once you do. Having speaking difficulties an be very hard on a little one, but hes still young enough for you to nip it. Clip that beast and he'll thank you when he grows up. :)
My sister was tongue-tied, but no one caught it until she was an adult. She actually had it done herself and said it made a big difference, so I would do it.
I would sat yes. My brother had his clipped as a kid and had no problems with speech or otherwise. My nephew did not, because he was not having speech problems. But as a teenager/young adult he wishes that he had. He can't clean food off his back teeth or lick stuff off his lips. And he hates that he can't "kiss girls right" (his words). Because it wasn't done when he was younger, it is more difficult to do now and would actually require speech therapy.
We had our daughter's done! It helped tremendously so we say DO IT!
Hi there, I too had 4 kids in 4 years...I know how overwhelmed you feel! Try really hard to find joy in each day, because tomorrow they'll be off to college! I remember being there, hearing people say that to me, and now all of a sudden my oldest is 17 and will soon be out of the house and it really was just yesterday I was freaking out and thinking this chaos would never end!
Ok...about the tongue tie. Two of ours had tongue ties. It didn't affect either of their speech, so we didn't bother clipping them when they were young.Then 2 years ago when they were 11 and 15 they both had to have them clipped because it was causing dental/orthodontia problems!
Had I to do it over again, I would've clipped them when they were young! they heal faster.
Best wishes.
K.
happy homeschool mom of 4 and married to my college sweetheart for almost 20 years!
Hi JK my daughter had the same condition, her pediatrician caught it when she was 11 months old. We decided to get it cliped and we're happy with the result. It was a 20 min. procedure, she was in a little pain they prescribed baby tylenol and she was fine after 3 days. Hope this helps
Do it. My now 2.5yo had his done at 6mo, wished we would have done it sooner (it made nursing more painful before we did). It was a 5 minute procedure. My dh held him in his lap, they put topical anesthetic on it, a clamp at the bottom and one at the top of the tissue to be clipped, and cut. It bled minimally and we gave him tylenol a few times a day for a couple days. It was like a canker sore. He ate shortly after and loved his new tongue. The recovery is very quick and it's worth it. Can he lick an ice cream cone? Can he stick his tongue out his mouth? If not, he'll wish he could. Not that you will want to think of this as a reason, but it may affect future relationships with women too, but for the reason of speech alone do it for him.
Being Tongue tied runs in our family. My tongue was clipped when I was an infant and I never had any speech issues. My brother on the other hand did not have his and he had a few problems with his speech. I remember he had to go to special speech classes in school. When he was a little older he was able to correct his speech issues himself and didn't have any problems. When he was in his 20's he was rough housing with my other brother and got his in the mouth and it snapped all on it's own.
My son was tongue tied as well and it was discovered when he had a hard time nursing by a lactation consultant. I was a little miffed at my pediatrician for not catching it too. We had it clipped when he was about 2 weeks. Watching the procedure makes me think that it might be a little traumatic for a 3 year old. They would have to hold him down or sedate him some how. I would only do it if it is severally impacting his speech. If it is only a minor problem then I wouldn't worry about it. He will learn to correct his speech as he gets older and is more aware of it. Plus, who knows, he may have a fall some time and snap it on his own.
It is a genetic trait so if you do have anymore babies, have it checked right away. I think it is much better to have it done as an infant, as it is not that big of a procedure. My son was fine after I nursed him right after the procedure. He is 2.5 now and doesn't show any signs of speech issues...oh and I was able to nurse him for about 18 months!
