non.stop.talking

[yentroc]

I guess I'm looking for advice or maybe just comisseration...

My four year old dd does NOT stop talking from the moment she wakes up until she sleeps and then talks in her sleep.

I really love that she loves to share every single thought that crosses her mind, I really do. But dh and I cannot get one conversation in to each other, she's talking constantly. And sometimes I just need to think, for crying out loud! (I'm an introvert and LOOOOVE quiet time)

We've set rules about saying "Excuse me" when others are talking, we take turns, etc. But she has such an need to talk and be heard, it drives me crazy sometimes. And lately, everything I say to someone else (one the phone, to dh, etc) has to be repeated. As in, me to dh: "I'm just going to run into the store, you can drop me off here". Dd: "What store? Where are you going to be dropped off?" Me on the phone: "Wow, that's crazy!" Dd: "what's crazy mommy? Mommy!!!! What's crazy!?!?!?" etc, etc, etc....

Anyone else have a talker?

[NicaG]

Wait, does my 4-year-old ds live at your house? I could have written your post! In fact, I think I have posted about this before. My ds doesn't stop talking all day, and I'm sort of an introvert too. The constant questions make me so tired after a while! I don't have all the answers! When I try to turn it around and ask, "what do you think?" he just says, "I don't know, you tell me the answer." Weekends are especially hard, dh and I can't seem to have a conversation all weekend. I am happy ds is such a friendly talkative kid...I just wish we could have a little quiet time once in a while!

[yentroc]

oh thank you. at least I know we're not alone.

[inkslinger]

My 5-year-old is the EXACT same way...constant, constant chatter. Literally, non-stop!

[eepster]

DS has a question or comment about everything. He even back seat drives. And yeap, he also talks in his sleep.

[Autumn C.]

I have heard this advice before so I'll pass it on:

What's your favorite music? You know the music that calm's you down and get's you moving... OK, fill your Ipod with that music and wear it all the time, in one ear if you have to, and anytime the talking get's to be too much just let go and start groovin'. Tune her out a bit. You can still "Uh huh? What did you do next? Oh really?" While letting your mind go elsewhere.

My 10 year old is a talker. Though, we have more boundaries now that he's older, that 4 year old stage was R-O-U-G-H! I am also an introvert so decided to teach him about "quiet time" then. It was, literally, for one minute to begin with while we were doing something together, like coloring. and I would say let's have some quiet time! And we would.

I think the talking was a form of connection for him so it was important to me to teach him we can connect other ways as well.

[OboePlayerMom]

My sweet DD will be 4 in Sept., and she is a talker, in complete contrast to my DS and both me and my DH. The other three of us enjoy quiet time, introspection, time alone with our thoughts. DD will have none of that! She will talk non-stop, and I am constantly amused by the stories she can drag out of her memory banks. She pretty much wants to talk all the time, so she gets pretty creative to keep the patter going! She also loves to make up songs, so there is never a dull moment. She gave up her naps recently, so I am so glad when her bedtime arrives! I've been spending the summer learning to engage her and then encouraging her to spend time by herself a little at a time.

[Llyra]

I have seen my DD1 talk without pause for, no lie, six hours. DH and I have clocked her, trying to see how long she really can go. So I sympathize.

I have a really noisy fan in my downstairs bathroom. Sometimes the constant chatter (DD1 is almost 5) drives me so close to a breakdown that I pretend I have to use the bathroom, go in there and shut the door, and sit on the toilet lid and read a book for awhile. DD stands right outside the door yammering away, but the fan dulls it for me so that I can get a minute to hear myself think.

I have tried talking to DD about how every single thing she thinks doesn't have to be said-- that she can keep thoughts inside. She told me, "but mama they're so big and they just don't all fit inside of me."

But someday she'll be a sullen teenager and I'll be begging her to sit down and talk to me for just fine minutes. I try and keep that in mind when I think I can't listen to the chatter anymore.

[HappilyEvrAfter]

Oh, oh, oh. I SO sympathize.

I'm a huge introvert with a full to the brim extrovert talker 5 yo...it's just him, me and the dog in the house...even the dog excapes to the silent backyard sometimes! Lol.
I swear I could go weeks without saying a word and feel just fine; my kid can't go one second without making any kind of noise.

Sounds like an ideal situation, but my brain gets T-I-R-E-D!

Thankfully he loves the slide at the pool. Suit him up, zip up his life jacket and let him go. He spent 4 hours going down that slide...it was blissfull to sit zombified and just watch everything go on.

Library is good too. Taught him at a young age to either be quiet or whisper extremely low there so those trips are heaven to me!

Not that I don't enjoy his thoughts and running commentary most of the time, but, geesh, the kid needs to take a breath!!!

[yentroc]

Thanks everyone! All your posts gave me a laugh, these kiddos are funny... and although it drives me nutty, I wouldn't trade it, I guess.

Like the one poster above said, one day they will all be teenagers and we will long for the days that they told us everything that crossed their sweet little minds.

Keep the stories coming if you have them!

[princesslooney]

I don't think my DD has stopped talking since she started over two years ago. At this very moment, she is behind my chair complaining about the fit of my clothes that she took out of the closet. And her very favorite thing is when she hears neighbors talking or having a party to run and join them. Her current favorite subject: everyone but her has belly fat . My DH tries to live in a void from other people, but she drags him right in. I'm not that fond of prying her off strangers either, but on the upside, for a 3.5 yr old, she has an amazing vocabulary. Just don't use 'Uh-huh' as an answer too much or get frustrated and go 'Blah. Blah blah blah blah.' I got to listen to literally 'Blahblahblahblah' for a 2 hour car ride as a result of my wanting 5 minutes quiet time one day. I don't think I would trade it for anything though : It's nice to know there are other ear removers out there

[mags]

Oh, I commiserate! This describes my 5 yr old. I can't believe that we were worried that he had a language delay. From 3 yrs old on, he has been a non-stop talker! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah allllll day long. I once took him shopping with me to TJMaxx and was doing the, "uh huh" thing the entire time, b/c he was just jabbing away and a woman standing next to me started to laugh and said one of her kids was like that too. My 4 yr old is much more, "balanced" with his need to talk and I enjoy conversations with him. However, my 5 yr old, he just goes off on his own tangent and I am like, "What are you talking about????" I really worry that when my 5 yr old starts kindergarten he is going to get in trouble for talking too much in class.

[~PurityLake~]

I'm a fellow sufferer. Both my girls are and for the most part I find what they say, how they say it, and how their minds work incredibly interesting and entertaining. But I, too, am an introvert and many times finding myself thinking, please shut up for a few minutes so I can have some peace!

[hipumpkins]

6.5 and still chatting away! Dd said her 1st word at 9 mos old (hi) and has been on the chatty cathy course ever since.
somedays it makes absolutely crazy..On hormonal days it has made me cry b/c it NEVER stops. It is getting little better now that she can talk to her brother and play with him but man those early years were rough!
A phone call to a relative helps sometimes , too. I call my sister or my mom and let DD chatter away.

[NightOwlwithowlet]

My son is seven years old, he had a severe speech delay. When he was two, he spoke 50 words and refused to speak to anyone, but his dad and I.
We really thought he would never talk much or ask questions. He was four before he spoke to anyone outside the family and his baby sitter. I cried the day he finally told a stranger his name and age, he was four and a half.

Now, he never stops talking and the questions never stop. He talks from th moment he gets up until he goes to sleep. He asks questions like "What does a tornado do? What if a tornado hits the house? Why did the tornado hit Grandma's house last year?" Or "Why does your bank account have prime numbers in an expanded pattern?" Huh?

He talks to the dogs. the cats, the lady at the bank, any kid he meets on the street, it just never stops. Even when we watch tv or a movie, he talks about what is happening and how everyone feels. The funny think is he really interested in what everyone has to say, so he isn't just talking at you. I like to think he is just making up for lost time and like the elective mutism this phase will pass.

[NicaG]

It's interesting to see that several nonstop talkers had speech delays. My ds was in speech therapy when he was 2, he barely had the minimum number of words at each developmental checkpoint...we were so worried....and now he just won't stop talking!

[sewchris2642]

Welcome to my world. I've had 8-9 years of Dylan's stream of consciousness, non stopping talking. At 4, he was narrating his life. Now, he's narrating his imaginary world. I just wish that with all that talking, he would also listen. But, no, that's too much to hope for.

[Limabean1975]

Originally Posted by eepster

DS has a question or comment about everything. He even back seat drives. And yeap, he also talks in his sleep.

OMG mine too with the backseat driving! He accused me of driving through a red light today. I honestly don't know - I might have - I was RATHER DISTRACTED. Ahem. There ensued a 10 minute discussion about whether I drove through a red light or not, what the police would do if I had, WHY did I drive through a red light . . .

[fwlady]

For a gift, get the child one of those mimicing parrots they have at the toy store. I am sure the child with the gift of gab will wear it out! LOL And, give your ear a break. LOL

I had that issue with a couple of my older children, but it seems since I had number four, five, six and seven, I am not talked to nearly as much. LOL They just talk to each other and can entertain each other quite well. Actually, my oldest talks a lot, and he is 14yo now. It's ironic that when he stops talking, he is acting out and disobeying rules. When he got the texting phone, he would never talk to me. Now, he doesn't have his phone anymore, so I am hearing more from him. At least it has been positive for the last 2 days.

You could give the child a walkman for an hour a day. YOu would want to limit it, for that age, but it would give you some down time. I can't imagine the child not wanting a walkman, but maybe not so young. Have a child come over for a play date, then you will have someone else to listen to your chatty child. LOL

And, giving them other outlets can be good for them.

I do get my ear talked off when I go on long trips with my older children individually. We really like that time, but after over an hour, and I want to just veg out with the radio and driving, it can be annoying. I am usually thinking of the schedule for the week, or where I need to go next, but I have to just concentrate on that child, as I know they want time with me. I am an introvert at times, more so as I have gotten older, also. But, the kids need that time. Kymberli

[ivymae]

For all the reasons I am glad we had DD2, perhaps the one I am most aware of lately is that DD1 talks to her sister instead of me occasionally, so I get a break from the constant yammeryammeryammer. Of course, now DD2 is starting to talk, so car rides have become a contest of who can talk the loudest. YAMMERYAMMERYAMMER.