Anonymous wrote:5 yr old nephew told me his dream was to be a youtuber... told him to let it go because its a waste of time..

Crushed his little soul.. oh well, kids need to be toughen up. He got over it.

I hope you're kidding.

Anonymous wrote:Do you people really think it's normal for a high schooler to be talking to herself all the time and acting out imaginary scenarios? I have two teens and I have never seen or heard of anything like this past the age of maybe 8 or 9. I would guess a psych consult may be in order.

Actually it is for a creative person that is, say, going to be a writer or visual media creative.

OP dont say anything to her about this please. Dont call her weird or strange. You dont indicate a single thing about your own personal communication style with her. If you ask her about it, try to do without the pained look of "I think something is wrong with you". But my suggestion would be to leave it alone and not crush her spirit.

5 yr old nephew told me his dream was to be a youtuber... told him to let it go because its a waste of time..

Crushed his little soul.. oh well, kids need to be toughen up. He got over it.

She wants to be a youtuber .... new sad generation

Anonymous wrote:Hi I am very concerned. My daughter has always talked to herself but now she plays video games and talks to the screen as she is playing. Very strange right. She also plays with slime and pretends she is making a video. She is a kid that seems to always need stimulation so this may be it? But it is strange. Otherwise she is a happy child.

So she is doing what all the kids in YouTube videos do and it seems weird to you because she is not actually making a video? I think it only seems weird because we didn't grow up with YouTube. She is probably not allowed to actually record herself and put the video on YouTube, right? So her solution seems fine.

OP, lots of people do mumble to themselves, as you can see....

However, something about it triggered your alert, and it's good to follow your intution. Yes, you could be simply very different than her, and that can be unsettling. Would not call that helicoptering. On the other hand, there could be something there worth looking into.

- does she have friends? What do her teachers report from school? Are her grades ok? Stable? What does she tell you about school?
- what does she do while online? Snapchat with friends? Lively / Musically? Instagram? Are you sure she does not actually take videos? They could be on social media, and not saved to the phone.
- what games is she playing? Lots of kids play games that have a social component -- roblox for instance.
- in a rare instance, kids on the spectrum can sometime talk about themselves in the 3rd person, clinically describing their actions, like they are someone else. Not all kids on the spectrum do that, and speaking to oneself is not necessarily an indication of autism. But if there are other indicators, especially if she is a girl with social issue, then yes, it's worth talking to a physician. Autism in girls looks nothing like autism in boys.

Keep in mind that limiting screen time is always a good idea, for a lot of reasons. Try to find things you can do with her away from media, and see if she opens up. Playing with slime starts to be not a thing at that age, but many kids with sensory issues still love playing with slime, both because they can sell it on Etsy (really!) and make some money, and because of the sensory aspect of that. Is there any ADHD at play?

To me, it simply looks like she's tired, maybe not excited about school and is hiding in the room, engrossed in her game. What I would worry about is the loneliness and coping with both school and social aspects of Freshman in High School, and leave the mumbling be. I'd first work on helping her cope, maybe enlist some low-key help at school. Engaging in that direction will quickly uncover if she needs help with high school, or if there is an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

Does she see dead people?

Do you people really think it's normal for a high schooler to be talking to herself all the time and acting out imaginary scenarios? I have two teens and I have never seen or heard of anything like this past the age of maybe 8 or 9. I would guess a psych consult may be in order.

Do not call the pediatrician. Best case, your average eye roll. Worst case, self esteem crash.

This is totally normal. So, normal. What isn't normal? You Helicopter. Find another hobby.

Call your pediatrician. It hurts nothing and could potentially help to have a quick, simple phone conversation. If nothing else, it will keep you from worrying needlessly.

My DS does this, he's 15. But he does it only while watching YouTube videos. Although I find it annoying, I don't find it weird or concerning.

I talk to myself A LOT! More as I get older (LOL). I see it as a healthy way of sorting out feelings, and getting stuff off your chest

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure she's talking to herself? I'd bet she's talking to other players

+1. Does she have a headset? And slime videos are huge. I don’t think it’s weird to narrate like she’s making one. Maybe she is practicing!

I think a lot of people talk to themselves. I do.

My 12 yr old son does this. He has a great imagination, and he says the funniest things. He always keeps me laughing.