How to teach not to interrupt?

[BlackSheepPDX]

My 30 month DD is developing a tendency to interrupt and push her way into the focus of attention when I am having a conversation with someone (DH, friend, etc) by loudly repeating herself over and over or even putting her face in front of mine or pulling my hands and demanding I do what she wants. While I am totally willing to hear what she needs and respond to her, I also feel that it's time to start working on being polite when someone is having a conversation and waiting her turn. It's a pet peeve of mine when kids are rude and pushy about things, when they could let you know they need something in a better way.

I've mostly just been trying to respond to her with "I hear that you're asking for x, but I need you to wait," or "Mama and Whoever are talking right now, could you please wait your turn to talk?" It's sort of working, and I think there are certain limits to a 30 month olds patience that I just have to respect, but I was wondering if you all have any specific strategies or thoughts on this particular topic.

[naupakamama]

We dealt with this same issue. What has started working for us, was to teach her to raise her hand when she wants to say something and we are talking. That way, we don't get interrupted mid-sentence. DH and I both have "mile-a-minutes" ADD kind of minds so being interrupted drives us batty. We can't remember what we were saying!

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by naupakamama

We dealt with this same issue. What has started working for us, was to teach her to raise her hand when she wants to say something and we are talking. That way, we don't get interrupted mid-sentence.

A hand on the shoulder can also work, since that way the child knows for sure that you know they want to speak.

How my mother taught us was to start by responding immediately when we got her attention. "excuse me, AdultName, dd/ds needs something, yes, dd/ds?" after a few days(?) of that we were confident we could get her attention whenever we needed it and stopped doing it all the time.

She also lengthened the time before she responded. We'd get an acknowledgment (look in our eyes, nod her head, or hold up an "okay" sign) and then she'd get to a break point and turn to us.

Another thing to do is have other adults have a conversation and you get down to your child's level and tell them when to speak up. That helps them hear the pauses in conversations that work best for breaking in.

But, speaking of Liz's non sequiturs, also watch that you aren't interrupting your kids and your friends in front of your kids.

[blizzard_babe]

One of my friends has a "pause button" for her daughter. If her daughter starts incessantly interrupting, she presses her nose like a button and quietly says, "pause!" then continues the adult conversation until a reasonable stopping point, and presses her nose again and says, "play!" at which point her daughter asks whatever oh-so-urgent question she had.

I think it took a while to get her into the groove, but it seems like a fun way of acknowledging her DD without losing her own train of thought.

[BlackSheepPDX]

Thanks guys!

[MommyDOK]

I have my daughter come over and squeeze my hand.