Is this a boy thing or something else?

[mom31257]

My ds makes noise almost constantly. He makes shooting sounds quite a bit because every toy he picks up is in a war. My dh says he played war all the time as a kid, but isn't violent one little bit. Sometimes it's other sounds. It's really annoying to his big sister and, honestly, myself. He can be quiet when we are in situations where he has to be. For instance, we just went to a production (for children) of The Pirates of Penzance. It lasted about one hour and he was quiet the whole time.

 

I think he does it to entertain himself, but it's started bleeding over into school work time. He doesn't do it when we are sitting on the couch reading (himself or me). It's more when he has work at the table (math or phonics worksheets, handwriting, etc.).

 

Is this just a habit he's going to have to break? Or is this a sign of ADHD or something? I do have to work at keeping him on task with school work. He's doing very well learning, though.

[Mommyof4ks]

I don't know if it is a boy thing or not, but making noise or something else can be a way to concentrate. My DD9 walks in a circle around the living room when she is telling a story or trying to remember information.

 

My boys do both make noise almost constantly, but again I don't know if it a boy thing, a concentration thing or something else. If he is able to stay quiet when appropriate, then it is most likely not a condition of any kind. He has control over it.

 

You might try talking to him about how it is distracting during school time and make that one of the 'off limits' times to make noise. If he starts to lose focus on school work, then perhaps try having him do his sit down work when no one else is trying to focus.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I sitting here while my ds7 is doing his math. He is making noise the entire time. Right now he is making rocket and exploding sounds. He is looking all over the place. I gently remind him to actually do his work. He will probably do 1 or 2 more problems before he starts staring out the window dreaming of hitting balls. (He just got a T-ball automatic pitcher).

 

On bad days he will fall off his chair several times before he finishes a page.

 

My older son never made noises, but he did just stare off in nowhere, daydreaming.

 

It's normal. And I think I could never teach a room full of 1st graders. Just 2 little boys like this in a class room and I would go nuts. :lol:

 

I think it will get better as he get older, at least I'm hoping it will.

[Alice]

I don't know if it's a boy thing but my boy does it. I think it's pretty normal. Annoying but normal.

[Nicole M]

You're lucky. My boys are 17 & 12 and the oinking, mooing, meowing, barking, hissing, chirping, squawking, thrumming and crowing are nearly constant. Not to mention the shooting noises and humming and thinking aloud.

 

They even bug each other. I let my oldest use his iPod when he's doing math, and that both hushes him up and keeps him from hearing and hence throttling his brother.

 

You and your dd would be wise to come up with a coping mechanism, because it will probably not stop but only get worse, in my humble opinion, based on unwanted experience.....

[MIch elle]

Not so much anymore since he's gotten older. He sings more now than in the past and it's SO much more pleasurable than unidentifiable noises.

[lionfamily1999]

Lol... my boys don't need to try to make any noise at all. It's like noise comes out of their pores, they ooze it from everywhere. I wonder if that is a boy thing? I don't remember dd doing it and she doesn't do it now, but both of my boys humm, make sound effects, or just make the world's most annoying mouth noises all the time.

 

Maybe I should give dh a listen tonight and see if he does this too?

[NorthwestMom]

My son does it, my daughters do not. I never thought of it as anything but a crazy personal habit, this is interesting that so many boys do it.....

[Susan in IL]

At almost 21 and almost 16. :lol: You should hear them in the car - it is constant. Goofy sounds, shooting, planes, whatever they can think of. They see something and then start making goofy noises.

 

Mine are only together now when the oldest is home from college. I miss the noise sometimes and just smile when they are doing it now.

 

Enjoy it. :D

[stacim]

Well, I grew up with one sister and no brothers. Let's just say that it has been quite an adjustment to have three boys and only one little girl. :D I do believe it is a boy thing for the most part. It REALLY helped me to read Dr. Dobson's Bringing Up Boys. That is one of the things mentioned. In fact, I probably need to read it again as a refresher, lol! I do not understand the things they do and probably never will. Now I am just working on learning to be a bit more accepting of these "boy things."

 

~Staci

[MamaT]

Having four boys, I can say YES - it is a boy thing. When all four of them are together, it can get out of control. Two of them are drummers, and they drum on everything with their hands or tap their feet contstantly.

 

I once told them (when they were smaller) that I would give them $100.00 if they could all be quiet in the van all the way to church, which was about 15 minutes. They made it to 5 minutes!

 

My 10yo is the most distracting during school time right now and has to have reminders to be quiet about a million times a day.

[elegantlion]

Well I'm so used to it now I wouldn't have it any other way. :D:D If my dh and ds are both gone I have to turn on music.

 

The war sounds seem to be normal here. DS sometimes does them during our read-aloud time, he still has perfect comprehension. I did have to explain while we were reading the Hobbit that there were no guns in Middle Earth. He promptly took the toy gun to his room, came back with a sword, and continued to make noise. :lol::lol::lol:

[Kim in Appalachia]

I have to add, that practicing violin with a boy like this is truly a challenge! He spends most of his time pretending he is "rocking" on his violin, complete with sound effects. I always need a few minutes of quiet after we are done.

[JudoMom]

Yep. I can offer further confirmation this is a normal, annoying boy thing. All my boys do it in varying degrees. Funny story:

 

One time my parents were visiting. I was trying to concentrate and my boys were playing with my Dad. I heard shooting noises, and gave my standard "Guys! Keep the noises in your head!". I turned around to see my Dad looking guilty and laughing. It was him making the noises :lol:!!!

[the floating cottage]

Actually it's my 8 dd who is the one that does this. And it is all the time. She is the artisitc, creative and dramatic one. When I ask her to "settle down" she says it helps her brain work. Go figure.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

I vote normal boy thing.

[Colleen]

No, constant noise-making isn't gender-related. Just depends on the child.

[Katiebug_1976]

I'm going to say this is just a phase that most boys go through. My brother used to drive me CRAZY with his car noises(engine sounds, blinkers, brakes and the list goes on) and he is not ADHD or anything else. My son, who is almost 9 is doing the same thing, but with hunting/gun noises. Now the difference I think has to do with their father's interests. My dad was not a big hunter, but liked cars/planes etc. However, my husband is an avid hunter/fisherman and so those are the things my son also loves to do. So there is my opinion, hope it helps put your mind at ease.

[bkpan]

My ds makes noise almost constantly. He makes shooting sounds quite a bit because every toy he picks up is in a war. My dh says he played war all the time as a kid, but isn't violent one little bit. Sometimes it's other sounds. It's really annoying to his big sister and, honestly, myself. He can be quiet when we are in situations where he has to be. For instance, we just went to a production (for children) of The Pirates of Penzance. It lasted about one hour and he was quiet the whole time.

 

I think he does it to entertain himself, but it's started bleeding over into school work time. He doesn't do it when we are sitting on the couch reading (himself or me). It's more when he has work at the table (math or phonics worksheets, handwriting, etc.).

 

Is this just a habit he's going to have to break? Or is this a sign of ADHD or something? I do have to work at keeping him on task with school work. He's doing very well learning, though.

 

 

Sounds absolutely boy-normal to me! I have 5 of them, and during school there are often little wars going on in different corners of the office,:001_smile:

 

Kim

[lynn]

In my personal experience My ADD child made noises all the time but they were just noises clicking, "croaking", throat clearing, whistling through his nose etc when he did not have a noise for the day it was a repeated movement shoulder shrugging, head bobbin, mouth movement etc. my non add child use to play war and make exploding, machine gun, bomb sounds all the time. His war game never seemed to end.

[rafiki]

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[klmama]

He doesn't do it when we are sitting on the couch reading (himself or me). It's more when he has work at the table (math or phonics worksheets, handwriting, etc.).

 

 

This sounds like my ds, particularly with the noise during written work. I see an increase in noise-making when he's trying hard to concentrate and just can't do it any other way. I've had to remind myself many times that if he's making noise (singing, humming, making any repetitious sounds at all), he's probably concentrating much better than he would if I were to ask him to be quiet. As long as it helps him learn, I try to live with it.

[Remudamom]

Mine have it. It's called Noise Boise Syndrome.

[Christine]

Having four boys, I can say YES - it is a boy thing.

 

Having ONLY 4 boys (no girls to compare to), I can't say for certain it's a boy thing. . .

 

However, if you read the book Why Gender Matters, the author says it very definately is.

[chickenpatty]

My boys do this. Two of them do it a lot.

 

My girls rarely do.

[kalanamak]

You're lucky. My boys are 17 & 12 and the oinking, mooing, meowing, barking, hissing, chirping, squawking, thrumming and crowing are nearly constant. .

 

I had a brother with, as my mother put it, oral diarrhea. He made vroom noises in the car to age 17, at least. He was a late bloomer in all respects but did mature to a wonderful, reliable, delightful adult. I just couldn't stand him until he was in his 20's. He was also the MOST dedicated of sons to our folks. Buck up, you may have the beginnings of a special son.

 

A couple years back he picked us up in the airport and on the drive home he mentioned my son was very "talkative". I just cleared my throat accusingly and he knew what I meant, and gave a knowing smile.

[ThelmaLou]

All 5 of my boys do this. It's constant. Most days, I let them start out their schoolwork wherever they want. Within an hour or two, everyone separates to their own corners of the house (at my command) because they're so distracting. They love to make their own noises, but get irritated by everyone else's commotion. It's hard to keep them each confined to one predictable area, because the rooms they need to be in vary depending on the subject being studied. Computer in office, cd player (for Phonetic Zoo) in dining room/school room, mom usually in kitchen/living room (when they need help or instruction). It's a constant and noisy game of musical chairs. Toss the two year old in there and it's a wild ride every day. Tapping, humming, yodeling, drumming, burping, singing, sound effects (right now, it's Kung Fu noises). It's all totally normal at our house.

[keptwoman]

All 5 of my boys do this. It's constant. Most days, I let them start out their schoolwork wherever they want. Within an hour or two, everyone separates to their own corners of the house (at my command) because they're so distracting. They love to make their own noises, but get irritated by everyone else's commotion. It's hard to keep them each confined to one predictable area, because the rooms they need to be in vary depending on the subject being studied. Computer in office, cd player (for Phonetic Zoo) in dining room/school room, mom usually in kitchen/living room (when they need help or instruction). It's a constant and noisy game of musical chairs. Toss the two year old in there and it's a wild ride every day. Tapping, humming, yodeling, drumming, burping, singing, sound effects (right now, it's Kung Fu noises). It's all totally normal at our house.

This thread is so reassuring! I thought ours was the only house where they are all making noises that are driving the others crazy. It's so bad that we have earmuffs in the school room. And it's not just the boys here.

[mom31257]

I'm glad to know I'm not alone. Do any of you have older daughter's? How have they learned to cope with it?

 

I want them BOTH to respect each other. When home, I have him go to his room or the play room when he's getting too noisy. How do you deal with it in the car? I don't want to make him feel like he can't be himself, but there are times it's just too much for her (she's going through puberty, which I'm sure doesn't help).

[abreakfromlife]

Someone beat me to it. I was going to suggest Why Gender Matters, too.....excellent book. The boy noise drives me nuts.......but I've gotten to the point where if they're not fighting or whining, then I can handle the noise. It's not peace and quiet, it's peace and noise :D It really annoys my dd, especially when she's trying to do school and he's being noisy - (which is one of the reasons we're homeschooling - schools are geared towards girls, not boys)........so she does her schoolwork in various spots, depending on what the boys activities are at the moment......she has a desk in her room to work, sometimes at the kitchen table, sometimes I send the boys to another room to play so she can get some quiet......hopefully this fall we're doing a dining room addition and it will have closed doors, so she'll be able to go in there and work quietly.

[Mommy22alyns]

No, constant noise-making isn't gender-related. Just depends on the child.

 

 

I was about to say, no boys here, but my oldest is constantly making some sort of noise! I see a lot of things called typical for boys that my girls do all the time. :001_huh:

[katilac]

Not gender-related, imo. High-energy and five-years-old related, sure!

 

My 8 yr old dd would hum, sing, groan, fiddle, twitch and moan all day if allowed. She has a 10 yr old buddy, also a girl, who is the same. The two of them drive my other dd insane at times.

 

Very much a personality and 'I'm a bit bored' thing, imo. I would not at all consider it a sign of ADD. It's just a habit that can be gently redirected. I just remind her with "school time" or "no humming at the table" or "please, take the noise outside."

[LND1218]

My dd does this too, but generally it is more common with boys.

 

I was able to hear the most amazing study on this. Boys hearing is less sensitive (generally) than girls, so they aren't hearing those sounds like we are. They seem so much louder to us moms than to the boys because we are female and older.

 

My ds's noises are louder and more annoying than dd's.

[katemary63]

Well I'm so used to it now I wouldn't have it any other way. :D:D If my dh and ds are both gone I have to turn on music.

 

The war sounds seem to be normal here. DS sometimes does them during our read-aloud time, he still has perfect comprehension. I did have to explain while we were reading the Hobbit that there were no guns in Middle Earth. He promptly took the toy gun to his room, came back with a sword, and continued to make noise. :lol::lol::lol:

 

:lol::lol:This is sooo funny....I was one of those moms who said, "No violence, no guns, no angry man stuff in MY house!" Then I had DS22. He didn't watch "those" kind of cartoons or movies, but by age 2 EVERYTHING in my house was a gun or weapon of some kind! My son once brought home from K a long strip of construction paper with the end of it colored red. He was so proud! I asked him what it was and he said, "A bloody knife!" I was mortified! I could hardly face his teacher the next day when I tried to explain that I had NO IDEA where he got that kind of thinking from! When he started using hairbrushes, sticks, brooms, ANYTHING as "toy" guns, I finally gave up and let him have toy guns. Guess what....my wonderful DS became a United States Marine! and is an expert marksman! Ooorah!

 

Of course there was the noise to go along with all these weapons. All kinds, non stop. DS actually started when he was only a toddler with a repetitive song he made up just to fill his world with noise. As he grew older, he started imitating other sounds he heard. He loves noise and movement and any combination there of. At one point I tried to get him to take guitar lessons. After a couple of them, he came to me and siad, "Mom, do you know what I really want to do?" "What?" I say. "I want to play the drums!" "Duh!" I said. No really, I said, "Duh!" out loud but to myself! We promply went out and got him a set and some lessons. Guess what? He played for years and is still an outstanding musician, just a natural at it! What a proud day we had when his band won "The Battle of The Bands" at his 4000 student public HS against 100 other contestants!

 

As much as I hated the noise and movement - I am just not comfortable around it AT ALL - I HAD to let the kid be who he was. He is ADD, and I did not homeschool him. I don't know how that would have gone?:confused: Boy thing? For me - YES! I have 3 girls and none were anything like this AT ALL.

[katemary63]

In my personal experience My ADD child made noises all the time but they were just noises clicking, "croaking", throat clearing, whistling through his nose etc when he did not have a noise for the day it was a repeated movement shoulder shrugging, head bobbin, mouth movement etc. my non add child use to play war and make exploding, machine gun, bomb sounds all the time. His war game never seemed to end.

 

ah...Tourrettes? I have Tourrettes and this sure sounds like it. If he has had vocal and/ or motor ticks like you describe for more then a few months and there is no other explanation for them, he meets the criteria. Tourrettes is also VERY comorbid with ADD and OCD. I have Tourettes AND ADD, my son has ADD, my Mom is OCD.