1. 3/4. 2. Not really. It helps being open about it. It was usually the strangers who say idiotic things. What did sting though, I found out that one of my best friends in highschool made fun of me behind my back. 3. When I was younger my confidence was really low and I found it very hard to talk to girls or being in any kind of relationship, even when the interest was obvious. Maturing, acceptance and different perspectives can help a lot. As a 38 year old man, stuttering has not affected my marriage in any way. 4.As a toddler he is most likely oblivious to stuttering, or the negativity that comes with it anyway. My negative thoughts really didn't come until 1st grade, but I'm sure it varies. I say this to every parent. Tell your kid that it's OK to stutter. And that means you have to be ok with the disfluency as well. As a parent of a special needs kid I know its hard, but if he happens to stutter forever he will be ok. I wish I knew the world was mine even so I stuttered. It took me years to reflect that I have done a lot of successful things, and I stuttered through every moment and it just didn't matter anymore. Love and support is all that matters. Focus on the effects of stuttering, not the stuttering itself and everything else will take care of itself. Therapy has its place at times, but it needs to be a good fit.