Anyone have a child who talks constantly?

[erica471]

My daughter is a great kid. She's kind and sweet. I love her with all my heart.

But, she talks constantly and loudly. Her mouth is always moving. She loves to talk and talk and talk..... It seems like everything that pops into her head must come out of her mouth. She talks to herself while in the bath, she talks to the dogs, she talks to ALL the neighbors, she talks to the TV etc.....

 

Any hints to reign this in. Is this a lost cause?:D

[KJsMom]

I have 2 girls like this! It makes me crazy to never have silence in the house. Yesterday my oldest told her dance teacher that she couldn't practice her dance because the living room is too full of stuff. She neglected to mention that we are remodeling so I can just imaging what her teacher thinks my house looks like :001_huh:.

[mom31257]

My ds is constantly making noise. Some of it is talking, but some of it is just noise. It can be very annoying, but more so to his big sister than to me. I can tune it out pretty well. He will be quiet in church, although he is a little squirmy. And of course, he is quiet when he's asleep!

 

I do have him do silent reading sometimes. I felt like it would be a good skill to practice and see if he's understanding what he reads, but it also brings a few minutes of peace and quiet. I've been able to keep the noise at the table during school to a minimum, but I have to stay on top of it. If he is engaged with me, his talking stays on topic, but when left to himself, it can be just lots of noise.

 

I'm interested in reading all the advice you get!

[MaMa2005]

Ds talks constantly. It is so bad that when he is silent, we have to look and make sure that he is alright :lol:.

 

I am introducing the concept of silent reading time to him this summer and have mentioned it several times. He looks at me in HORROR. That is going to be an uphill battle I am sure! :001_smile:

[Pink Fairy]

My experience with this is that it gets better with time. My oldest was like that, and she still talks a lot, just not constantly. My 8yo is also a talker, but not as much as when he was, say, 5yo.

[Lara in Colo]

My 6yr old talks all the time. She traps nice strangers and tells them anything!!! This Sunday she trapped a really nice lady at church in the bathroom stall and told her all about how she likes apples. The lady said she really wanted to flush, but dd wouldn't take a breath. I took dd out for some one on one time---not a word- I felt like a predator because I resorted to asking her about her favorite vegetables. Then some woman wiped our tables--she told her all about the time last summer when I ran over a Robin with the lawnmower (it was fine and we kept it for a about a month). I guess I know all her stories!!! She still tells me every detail about her day (minute by minute)- just has nothing left if I take her for ice cream!

 

Lara

[RamonaQ]

Oh my goodness!!! This has been my week. It feels like dd has gone through a development change in which she talks INCESSANTLY! Dd even re-tells me stories from MY childhood ("Remember the time when you were a little girl.....", and me, thinking: "uh, yah, because I lived it!")

 

I was discussing this with a friend and she was telling me that often it is just processing information, just out loud, and it really doesn't need my participation. That was helpful!

[susie in tx]

I have one of those. She processes everything out loud. I do, too, in some ways. I am finally to the point where I don't worry about anything that happens in our house because I know that she will share it with anyone within earshot. Her Shabbat School teachers love her and always regale me with her stories. LOL As if I hadn't already heard them.

 

Now that she is getting a little older (she is 9), I am trying to help her to focus on what she communicates with other people rather than just letting it all hang out. I don't think she gets it, or cares. LOL

 

There are times when I just need quiet. I send her to her room, or outside. I'm sure she is still talking there, too.

[novagirl]

Yes! I think it was the worst around 5, she's only 6 now but there is a really big improvement. I notice a nice quiet break for us all after she gets back from a playdate at the neighbors. Hang on, I am so with ya!:grouphug:

[Adrianne in TX]

My DS hums the Indiana Jones tune and the Star War tunes INCESSANTLY!! My DH says its like living in a never ending sound track...and he goes to work everyday.....

[joannqn]

My DD10 used to talk to everyone. We once had a landscaper come to the house for a quote, and he ended up staying an extra half hour just playing with her. She was about 4 at the time. We used to play a game in the car; it was called pretend you're sleeping and we'll wake you up when we get there. Surprisingly, it worked. LOL

 

Now my 3 year old talks constantly. He'll even be outside playing in the sandbox and talk to me from there, while I sit inside three rooms away. I can't hear him well enough to understand him so he'll keep repeating himself over and over, getting mad when I don't respond correctly.

[MissKNG]

Both my girls talk all.the.time!

 

My small girl is only 17 months and she already yaks my ear off!!:D

[KidsHappen]

Oh yes. Unfortunately, due to recently changed circumstances, our youngest is sleeping in our room again for awhile. Last night she starts her nightly broadcast which wakes my hubby and causes him to jump up out of bed wanting to know what was going on. I told him not to worry K was just talking in her sleep and that he should go back to sleep himelf.

 

When she is awake we explain that the reason God gave her two eyes, and two ears but only one mouth is so that she could do twice as much looking and listening as talking but so far she's not buying it.

Edited April 24, 2010 by KidsHappen

[Lara in Colo]

My DS sings the scooby doo theme all the time.

 

Lara

[Guest]

I have one of these too -- and sad to say, she's fourteen now and it is still happening nonstop. Talking every single second of the day except when she's singing -- LOUDLY. Our house just isn't that big and there's nowhere to go!

 

There are benefits. I know her very well, and I'm grateful for the chance to know a teenager's thoughts, preoccupations, etc. because I'm aware most kids shut themselves off from their parents by this age. But I adore silence and she says she feels uneasy not having some kind of noise going on. It bothers her in the car, at a restaurant, everywhere, not just at home. Never thought I would think that iPods and earbuds are a terrific invention... if only she would use them. But she likes to generate the noise herself.

[susie in tx]

But she likes to generate the noise herself.

 

My husband takes the blame for our talker, though he is not really a talker. But, he says that as he was growing up, there was a symphony going on in his head. I have spoken with our talker, and I think that this is also going on in her head. And, she needs to get it out. Sometimes that is in words and other times it is in song of some sort.

[myfunnybunch]

Yes!

 

My 5 y.o.

 

We have a daily hour of quiet time. About 20-30 minutes in, he comes to find me and talks. And talks and talks and talks. About 20-30 minutes is all he can handle.

 

Auuuuuggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Good thing he's adorable.

 

Cat

[mom2denj]

OH MY Goodness!! This is my dd to a tee!!!! She is 13 now and still no change. She is a great kid with ALOT to say and also very loudly! We are really working on the volume. I am constantly reminding her to bring down the volume. I am sorry that I do not have any advice , but I think that it is just her personality and I do not think that it will change much over time. I just try too look at the positives about it. She is very outgoing and well spoken with adults and her peers. Good Luck!

My daughter is a great kid. She's kind and sweet. I love her with all my heart.

But, she talks constantly and loudly. Her mouth is always moving. She loves to talk and talk and talk..... It seems like everything that pops into her head must come out of her mouth. She talks to herself while in the bath, she talks to the dogs, she talks to ALL the neighbors, she talks to the TV etc.....

 

Any hints to reign this in. Is this a lost cause?:D

[mom2denj]

Very well said!

I have one of these too -- and sad to say, she's fourteen now and it is still happening nonstop. Talking every single second of the day except when she's singing -- LOUDLY. Our house just isn't that big and there's nowhere to go!

 

There are benefits. I know her very well, and I'm grateful for the chance to know a teenager's thoughts, preoccupations, etc. because I'm aware most kids shut themselves off from their parents by this age. But I adore silence and she says she feels uneasy not having some kind of noise going on. It bothers her in the car, at a restaurant, everywhere, not just at home. Never thought I would think that iPods and earbuds are a terrific invention... if only she would use them. But she likes to generate the noise herself.

[Retired]

Oh this describes my 12 yo son, he talks to himself while walking down the drive, he talks to the dog and cat, and just keeps talking

 

Oh and he didn't start talking till about age 4, he grunted and stuff, so after his last ear surgery at age 5, he want shut up

[MomOfOneFunOne]

The only time my girl isnt' talking is if she's reading. She'll talk to anyone about anything :001_huh: and keep talking. She'll tell long, involved stories (real, imagined, otherwise) to complete strangers: to the lady checking out our groceries she'll tell about the time we got a peach just like this one and we wondered about the seed so we cracked it open and then there was a pip and we wondered about that and since it looked like an almond we ate it and it was really delicious which made us wonder why they aren't for sale anywhere so we looked it up on google and found out that my mom had poisoned me and so we called the poison people (poison control ctr) and they said I'd live but my mom OH, that's the celery did you know that if you cut if off all at once at the bottom it makes a really cool shape that reminds me of the Trinity and you can dip it in paint and stamp it all over and one time . . .

 

I've recently decided something must be done. Frankly, I think it might not be respectful to talk someone's ear off, so to speak, and I think it should be addressed with my girl. We've started with a signal so she knows to wind it up and let it go.

[mrsrevmeg]

My 12 year old was always quiet. He still is. As a baby, my middle son used to hum, babble and say bookabookabooka over and over again. He still talks, hums and makes weird noises all.the.time. My youngest talks and sings all the time. So much so that he will say "legomai ego" if anyone asks who he is talking to!! Ah, never a dull moment. :lol: It especially gets on my oldest son's nerves at the dinner table when both of the youngers are humming different songs at the same time.

[Mommy22alyns]

Oh my goodness yes! Becca even talks in her sleep! :001_huh:

[TXMary2]

My daughter is a great kid. She's kind and sweet. I love her with all my heart.

But, she talks constantly and loudly. Her mouth is always moving. She loves to talk and talk and talk..... It seems like everything that pops into her head must come out of her mouth. She talks to herself while in the bath, she talks to the dogs, she talks to ALL the neighbors, she talks to the TV etc.....

 

Any hints to reign this in. Is this a lost cause?:D

 

I am working on this with my 6 yo ds who, God love him, always has something to say. I just keep having the conversation with him that it is impolite to talk all the time and that people do not appreciate being constantly interrupted by him. He also constantly looks to other people to entertain him so I have been trying to train him to play on his own sometimes. I admit that a few times out of frustration I have just flat out told him he is talking to much and he needs to go somewhere that I can't hear him, like in his room. My dream is to be alone at home one day ALL day - I'll unplug the phone, keep the tv off and just enjoy the silence!

[Frontier Mom]

My daughter is a great kid. She's kind and sweet. I love her with all my heart.

But, she talks constantly and loudly. Her mouth is always moving. She loves to talk and talk and talk..... It seems like everything that pops into her head must come out of her mouth. She talks to herself while in the bath, she talks to the dogs, she talks to ALL the neighbors, she talks to the TV etc.....

 

Any hints to reign this in. Is this a lost cause?:D

 

No ideas but I have four that talk all the time. We call them "Brain Farts." Just because you think something doesn't mean it has to pop out. Now, I know this isn't a very kind image, but I try to talk to mine about self-control. I don't mind the talking as much as I try to point out that they are being selfish when they are around others if they do all the talking. Sometimes I have them play a game with others, like at church, where they must find out three things about the other person before they can tell them something about themselves. We also do this when we have visitors at the house.

 

For me, I love the silence but I also fear my dcs will become the people I can't stand to be around, braggers and incessant talkers. I want them to start to realize how they come across to others as they are entering their middle and high school years.

 

Once we played a game where, in our house, you only got 200 words per day per person. We played for one week. It was fun and I think they began to understand a little about the difference between talking and conversing. Saving their words for things they really wanted to discuss versus "brain farts."

 

Now, all this to say that it is an ongoing battle but I am very aware of this at our house. I do try to reign it in when possible.

[Ellie]

No, praise God :D but one of my brothers was like that. I am not making it up when I say my mother once had a nervous breakdown over it!

 

Guess what my all-grown-up-brother is today? A pastor.:lol:

[Mrs Mungo]

Yes! YES I DO!!

 

In order not to disturb her siblings during school she listens to books on cd/ipod while working. She rubs her fingers together instead of tapping. She can put a rubber band on her wrist if she needs something to fiddle with.

[Pink Fairy]

Have you seen

? :lol: If you figure out a solution, you could send them an email, lol.

[elise1mds]

DD's life is narrated. Constantly. She's telling me all about the cat she's petting right now, and if I won't listen, DS might so she'll talk to him, and if HE won't listen, then she'll talk TO the cat. Or the wall. Or the floor. Or herself. Or whoever is handy. I haven't found a solution yet, but there are days my ears get TIRED!

[ReneTL]

My 7 year old is quite a chatterbox as well. We have always joked that the way we know she's sleeping is she's not talking. One thing that she really enjoys is getting outside alone. She really finds her bliss there. I feel for my husband with a house full of chatty females.

[savmom]

:lol: at the posts

 

My dd is 7 and calling her a "motor mouth" would be a mild understatement. She even talks in her sleep!

 

She can carry on several conversations with different people at the same time without forgetting anything she has said. She can remember what she told someone YEARS ago: future politician maybe? :D

 

Yesterday, she spent the morning explaining how dreams work, why snakes like heat, how to use your imagination to "project" yourself into a piece of art, why cats like chasing mice, how a vacuum works, the differences between male/female Orioles, why she likes Webkinz (and how she chose the name of o 50+ ones she already owns), why God created the universe (and how) and her favorite colors/foods/numbers/flowers.

 

Oh yeah, this was within the first 30 minutes of the morning. After that, I turned off my non-emergency hearing before my mind exploded.

 

Love it!

 

Cindy

[erica471]

So you all are saying I'm doomed? ;)

 

I have to say, I was cracking up reading about all these other children.:lol:

[Hedgehogs4]

my ds emerged from the womb needing to express himself. he used to have flying, raging tantrums until he was able to speak and be understood--i didn't know why at the time, but as soon as he could talk well they stopped completely, and then i understood! he talks all. the. time. ALL. THE. TIME...even in his sleep sometimes. when he wakes in the morning his mouth starts and does not shut up until he conks out at night.

 

it is how he processes. he thinks with his mouth. i was the same way as a kid, so i really understand him. however, i told him that he has a unique gift of being able to communicate well with people (he does, i'm not just saying that). i praised his ability to be articulate, but then warned him that when someone talks too much other people tend not to hear them anymore, or stop listening. he seemed to really grasp that. we let him know when our ears need a break, and he tries REALLY hard to respect that, and then goes and talks his sister's head off. interestingly, he is not as talkative with strangers--not shy or antisocial, but seems to know how much talk with non-family members is okay, so that gives me hope that sooner or later he'll figure out the boundaries of it.

[misidawnrn]

yep, my 6yo has motor mouth syndrome! She said 4 words at age 2. Mama, daddy, Skyla (her sister) and kitty. nothing else, not thank you, cup, milk, up...nothing! We taught her about 20 signs and then she started talking like she always knew how just didn't want to and sometimes I tell her "OLIVIA! talk in your own head, not in mine!!!!"

I of course hate loud repetitive noises, hate video game beep beep beep, ding ding ding, hate the TV on loud, hate sitting next to someone in traffic with vibratingly loud music. All of it makes me feel like my brain is going to have a seizure and I am not kidding! And yet the Lord blessed me with a never ending talker! She even repeats things like 4-5 times. like "mommy, Sarah pulled the books off the shelf, sarah pulled the books off the shelf, Sarah pulled the books off the shelf" I am trying to be patient and tune her out and lately now that she is getting to be a good reader when she starts it I have her go get a book and make her read out loud. At least if I have to listen to her constantly she can be reading right?

ETA: Dd doesn't talk much to strangers either. In public she will talk to me but if someone approaches she will act mute.

Edited April 22, 2010 by misidawnrn
added ETA

[BeachGirl]

I have one of these too -- and sad to say, she's fourteen now and it is still happening nonstop. Talking every single second of the day except when she's singing -- LOUDLY. Our house just isn't that big and there's nowhere to go!

 

There are benefits. I know her very well, and I'm grateful for the chance to know a teenager's thoughts, preoccupations, etc. because I'm aware most kids shut themselves off from their parents by this age. But I adore silence and she says she feels uneasy not having some kind of noise going on. It bothers her in the car, at a restaurant, everywhere, not just at home. Never thought I would think that iPods and earbuds are a terrific invention... if only she would use them. But she likes to generate the noise herself.

 

My dd is now 17 and still talks or sings constantly. She cannot stand to have silence around her I guess. Drives me batty but when she is away at camp, I miss the constant comments and singing. Who knew?

[m0mmaBuck]

My 4yo talks constantly. It's exhausting.

[Rosie_0801]

We taught her about 20 signs and then she started talking like she always knew how just didn't want to and sometimes I tell her "OLIVIA! talk in your own head, not in mine!!!!"

I She even repeats things like 4-5 times. like "mommy, Sarah pulled the books off the shelf, sarah pulled the books off the shelf, Sarah pulled the books off the shelf"

 

:lol: Maybe you did the wrong thing by teaching her to sign. She must now think you are hard of hearing and need things to be repeated!

 

My kiddo didn't really talk until recently. She still doesn't say a whole lot, but when she does feel like talking, she repeats lists of vocab. I don't think that's normal, but it could be worse. My cousin has been talking at my aunt about cars, cars, and few things other than cars for two years now.

 

Rosie

[asta]

It is very hard when your brain is full of words non-stop. If you don't get them out, they crash together, and you feel as if you will, literally, go crazy. Only, as a kid, you don't know that terminology, you just know that it makes you feel very, very wrong if you can't get them OUT.

 

Even as you pass puberty, it still feels uncomfortable to have thoughts crashing about in your head. You read and you read trying to find a way to organize them, but in a sense, that only makes it worse, because it becomes like a ball of yarn: you learn something about this subject, which leads you to this other subject, which leads to still another subject... and pretty soon, you find that, no matter WHAT the conversation is, you LITERALLY have something to add to it. And it isn't something superfluous: it is something you've researched. It is something pertinent. But by then, you're older. The people around you have heard you babbling for years, and no one wants to hear anything you have to say. They have tuned you completely, utterly out.

 

It doesn't matter that you've finally reached a level of maturity and education to contribute worthwhile things - you've already been labeled. So you become silent.

 

 

You want to know how to deal with an incessant talker? Make time every. single. day (put it on your calendar) to sit down and really LISTEN to them. Ask them questions about what they are saying. Force them to think about what they are saying (even when young). When older, ask them to defend their positions. Tell them that you will sit with them every. single. day and listen to them to the exclusion of all else (not hear, listen), and you want them to think during the other times about what they consider the most important things they have to tell you about are - to organize their thoughts for your designated "Suzy listening time".

 

Trust me, it will change the dynamic.

 

 

a

[Laura Corin]

Yes, I do. Three things:

 

- Make time to listen properly

- At other times help the child to distinguish between communication and commentary ("Mummy, don't you think that bird is lovely?" rather than "Now, where is my bag.") The latter can be silent.

- Teach conversational skills (for example, "If someone says 'Uh-huh' two or three times in a row you need to either get them talking or leave them be.")

 

Laura

Edited April 22, 2010 by Laura Corin

[Laura Corin]

It is very hard when your brain is full of words non-stop.

 

Thank you

 

Laura