My Beautiful Stutter
Common Sense says
- Discovery+
- Reality TV
- 2021
Parents say
Kids say
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The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that My Beautiful Stutter is an excellent documentary that shows the challenges faced by kids with stutters and demonstrates how they can thrive. It can be intense: There are multiple mentions of kids with stutters who have attempted self-harm or have suicidal ideations. Several kids tell stories about being verbally and physically bullied for having stutters. And one scene includes a woman talking about the time her husband shot her and then died by suicide in front of their young son. None of this violence is depicted on screen, but the stories are real and affecting and may be upsetting for younger/more sensitive viewers. There's also a bit of mild language ("a--hole" and "bitches"), and parts of the film can feel a bit like an ad for the stuttering nonprofit it focuses on. But this moving documentary is worth a watch -- just know your kid before you watch it together.
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What's the story?
My Beautiful Stutter is a documentary that's executive produced by actor Paul Rudd and professional baseball player George Springer. It follows the non-profit SAY (The Stuttering Association for the Young), and focuses on their two-week-long summer camp for kids who stutter. Five kids age 9-18 are featured, and they share candid stories about how having a stutter has impacted their lives. For these five kids and the other campers at Camp SAY, stuttering has caused a lot of adversity in their lives. The kids share how it is exhausting to have difficulty doing something as essential as talking, and how many of them suffer low self-esteem from the teasing and bullying by their peers. The older campers tell stories of accepting, and for some, learning to love their stutters, largely due to the work of SAY and being able to meet other kids who are just like them. The kids are sad to leave Camp SAY, but the documentary ends on a hopeful tone as the kids are shown thriving in their lives after camp.
Is it any good?
This documentary is fantastic for a lot of reasons -- on-screen representation, empathy building for people who stutter, and promoting a general message of self-acceptance. While stuttering is fairly common (1 in 20 kids have a stutter, according to the documentary), it's uncommon enough that many people go a large portion of their lives without meeting another person who stutters. It's hard to remember many TV shows or movies that show a character with a stutter on screen, and don't shy away from depicting disrupted speech. Watching an entire documentary with characters who stutter is wonderful for both kids who have a stutter to see themselves reflected on screen, and for kids who do not stutter to feel empathy towards their peers. This documentary is a great entry point to talk to kids about encountering people different from themselves in the world, and how they might be able to better understand them.
It's hard to watch this documentary without feeling a host of emotions. Being a kid and teenager is hard enough, and seeing kids who have an especially hard time of growing up and making friends is sure to affect grown-up and kid viewers alike. The documentary does not shy away from showing how stuttering makes these kids' lives harder, but it also strikes a hopeful tone. It's called My Beautiful Stutter for a reason; it can offer lessons to all of us about learning to love ourselves just as we are.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about stuttering. Do you have any questions about stuttering? Do you know anyone in your life who has a stutter? What do you think their experience is like?
Many of the kids in the documentary talk about being bullied or treated meanly by both kids and adults. Why do you think people treat people who stutter badly? What can you do differently if you meet someone with a stutter?
Is there anything about yourself that makes you feel different? How do you process those feelings?
TV details
- Premiere date: March 11, 2021
- Network: Discovery+
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: Activism, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, High School, Middle School
- TV rating: NR
- Available on: Streaming
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: April 7, 2021
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