Gifted Child

Well, I'll tell ya...  my ds7 had to do spelling sentences this week. One of his words was meditate. He wrote,

"sometimes after my dad talks to me for a long time, he needs to go meditate."

I was ROFLMAO. I have no idea if he came up with that himself, if dh has said it in the past, or if dh suggested it (dh was supervising that homework session).

Ds7 talks, sings, hums, chatters... I remember one of his coaches saying, "if he leaves, who will make all the noises in the outfield?" He makes train noises, makes up songs, chirps...

It's gotten better, but it still is occasionally a problem at school. He's really laid back and good natured, though (he's the baby of four kids) so he is used to us saying, "please, please be quiet for five minutes!" It doesn't phase him. And it probably helps that there are six people to listen to him. Sometimes we make him call grandma....

So, there's no trick. Sometimes you just need to tune her out. The good thing about ds is he doesn't really care that much if you respond.

Oh vey. Sorry to say, it won't change. It hasn't for my older chatty one (or for my two older quieter ones).

Earplugs?

Theresa

My DS is a constant talker as well. He's also constantly moving. Car rides can be a nightmare if he is not fully engaged in some activity.

We have found that by giving him another "vice" it helps. Sometimes he chews gum all the time, other times he plays with his Chinese stress balls. Anything that he can just keep moving with.

I feel your pain! DS will be 5 in a few days and we sometimes joke that things haven't been quiet in our house since he was born. I've really found having a playmate to be a blessing. DS (nearly 5) will play with DD (nearly 2) so the noise isn't in my face - that REALLY makes a difference for me. Our house has a really open layout so we have the television room and playroom on opposite ends of the house. I can still see and hear the kids but again it's not in-my-face noise. We also have an unfurnished, finished basement which is a great space for the kids to be loud and wild. DH and I will take turns down there with the kids while the other hangs out a floor or two above.

There is no such thing as asking DS to stop talking, it just doesn't happen. We've taught him how to control how loud he is. His loud voice is for outside or in the basement, medium voice is his everyday voice, and his quiet voice is for special times each day (30 mins before bed and in the car for example). This has been a new development and while we're still working on volume control we're finding it's nice when it works.

The only time DS is quiet is when he's coloring. At any given time the kids are using a dozen coloring books with just as many tucked away for when those are filled. I feel like I've purchased every $1 coloring book on the planet! I also download coloring book pages (the site I use escapes me ATM). DS enjoys coloring them and then practicing his fine motor skills by cutting them with scissors. DS is rather quiet when we does puzzles so we'll often take his coloring book pages and, once colored, will cut them in puzzles.

In order to get some extra "quiet" in, I run errands without the kids. I'll take 2 hours to grab some coffee and shop before returning home. What tuning out or dividing "loud" time with DH doesn't help with, getting away for a few hours ends up being rejuvenating.

I'm sorry I don't have life altering advice. :)

LOl LOL LOL! Sorry for laughing, but my 12 year old does the same thing and has since he learned to talk. His preschool teacher once told me that she had "difficulty locating his 'off' switch."

What I've come to realize is that for some kids, thinking=talking. DS is literally thinking out loud. But you can set your own boundaries. You can tell your DD not to expect a response all the time, and that there are times when you need silence. Not just quiet, but total silence. Until she gets the self-control to be silent, then it's perfectly okay to say, "I'm going into another room now because I need silence."