my child NEVER stops talking... ever

[Anonymous]

my child is 7 and never stops talking. from the moment he wakes up to the moment he falls asleep he is talking, talking, talking. when he plays with his sibling, he is narrating every little thing and playing becomes a filibuster marathon. he talks when we eat, when he brushes his teeth, when he takes a shower, when he is doing homework -- all the time! he talks so much that people (siblings, grandparents, etc.) stop listening to him because there is just too much talking. i try to give him my undivided attention after school so he can download all that he wants to talk about, but it doesn't make much of a difference. i'm glad he tells me everything that happens, i'm sure when he is a teenager he won't tell me anything, but how do i get him to stop talking all the time? any suggestions from parents who've experienced the same would be appreciated. thanks.

[Anonymous]

Get him a Nintendo DS.

[Anonymous]

some kids just talk. alot.

I would focus on times when its not okay to talk - while eating/chewing food, when someone else is talking, while the teacher is teaching, when its quiet time, while a movie is playing, etc...

[Anonymous]

He just needs competition! I think having a audience that listens to him without interjecting is egging him on. Stick him in a playgroup with other rambunctious kids and let them entertain each other. It would drive me crazy too.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry but your post is cracking me up. Think about it this way, it's better than a kid who never talks at all. You should tape him sometimes so you can listen to it a few years from now. You'll probably crack up too.

[Anonymous]

PP, you can't say one is better than the other if you've never experienced either.

OP, I'm sure it is very frusterating and testing your patience daily. I don't have any advice, but hopefully your child will start self-regulating his talking marathons.

[Anonymous]

I think it's good to try and tone down the talking. No one else will have even half the patience you (as his mom) will have.

[Anonymous]

My son was like that.
Does he read?
When my son started reading, he stopped talking as much.
Now he's 15.
Bingo on the teen thing.

[Anonymous]

OP here. If you ask him, he knows when it is appropriate to talk, when it isn't. He can recognize what the cues are when people stop listening or if they are not interested. But all that information in his brain isn't reaching his mouth

PP, he loves to read, but it sometimes backfires because all the reading becomes fuel and information for more talking! We go to the library very often and have gone through many, many books.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you can actually make him stop. My son used to hum and sing non-stop between the ages of 3 and 5. Trying to stop him was like torture for him, and us. After a while we just let him go on.

He now has a huge vocabulary, doesn't seem OCD, but does sometimes hum songs at innapropriate times, such as during boring lectures.

[Anonymous]

Is he asking questions that need a response, or just talking?
If he's just talking, let him talk. Who is he hurting?

[Anonymous]

I have a few friends with non-verbal children. I'm sure they'd LOVE to trade places with you. Enjoy it as much as you can though...they're only young once.

[Anonymous]

I feel your pain. My DD (4) never stops talking either.
One I'm gonna miss. Now. OMG. Just be quiet.

[Anonymous]

Get him a cool journal, maybe writing some of his thoughts down will help? Put him in an acting class.

[Anonymous]

My 7 year talks all the time too. And now is singing all the time as well, which may be more annoying. He told me his morning he had a new song that would last fr about 39 minutes. And it did.