Chatterbox!

Maybe she's clamoring for extra attention. She has to be aware of how annoyed you are with her most of the time, and that's got to be a stressor for her that she doesn't know how to correct, so perhaps this is her way of getting that extra attention she needs, without realizing that this, too, annoys you.

Oy, E.S.

Based upon your previous posts about your 3yo, as well as this one, my opinion is that your daughter is more self absorbed than the average child. Because she's been made into the center of your household universe.

You need to stop. This child needs boundaries and needs to learn that the world doesn't revolve around her. YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT THE SUN. She needs time in her own space....alone. To learn how to entertain herself and stop acting like you are her personal plaything that she can order around. She needs to stop being allowed to control every situation and every moment of your day.

She talks non-stop because you allow her to do so. You allow her to do so because, for some reason, you're unwilling to recognize that you've created this mess by refusing to tell her no. You need to learn to stand your ground, and to remove her from the area if she continues to push after you've said no.

This isn't just her personality. Your expectations aren't too high. You have to actually follow through *consistently* with making her stop. 3 year olds don't respond to lectures and sweet tones. They respond to actions, delivered firmly and consistently.

This isn't just an only child thing....in this case, it's a parent-of-an-only-child thing. YOU need to change what you're doing....and only then will your daughter change.

ETA: I do have a chatterbox. My oldest son. He just loves to tell me about everything. But when I say, "Hunter, that's enough. I need some quiet time, please," he knows to stop. Continuing will mean that he'll be sent outside or to another room.

I have a chatterbox. Give her a routine for mornings when you want to get a bit more sleep. Example: Chatterbox, my dear, before you come into our room and wake us up, please get dressed and brush your teeth. Add whatever activities you think will keep her occupied so you can get an extra 20 minutes of sleep.

Personally, we allow our children to watch tv if they get up before we do on the weekends. I don't mind if they watch a show while I sleep in. Totally worth it to me.

Sounds like she's lonely. Too bad she has no siblings to play with...lol.

Mine talks near to constantly and at volume. He is a nearly three year old only child. He does not act that way in daycare. We are working on boundaries, limits and expectations.

1. If he says something while screaming. We say, I can't understand you while you are screaming. if he continues to scream, he gets a count of three and a time out.

2. If he's talking too much, and we've asked him to stop. I say my ears are hurting, or my ears are too full, or mommy is tired of listening. If he doesn't get the hint, I remove myself and take a time out.

It seems to be working, but hasn't fully sunk in. He admonishes other children, tv characters, people in the street, "no screaming." or "talk quietly."

Nothing wrong with some limits and boundaries.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

PS- how are you doing with the scripting and the "no daddy does it" any better?

My son is not an only child.
He is the MOST talkative one in our family.
He is now 7.
BUT, I will tell him "Mommy's ears are full, can you be quiet now and give Mommy a break?"
Or I will tell him "I need quiet now. I need to concentrate on something."
Or, I will tell him "I am at my limit... I need quiet now. Can you please be quieter for me?"
You see, I will tell my son, when I need quiet.

Used to put mine in the third seat of station wAgon n she would go on and on. At home I told her my ears were burning or something like that and that I needed a rest. Hate to stifle them but boy after a while it is not so cute

It's not cute! At least not when it cuts out your much-needed rest time.

Why does she enter your room in the morning? Unless there is an emergency tell her she cannot enter your room until (pick a time, and show her how to read that time on the clock).

Hello E S,

I didn't read any responses just your post and you SWH. My darling son is also an only child and he is also a talker. He is 12 now so the conversations are more adult and more engaging and less just free associated flows of consciousness. But he has been a talker since very early and I have always just enjoyed the flow of the words and the sweet sound of his voice his entire life.

I completely understand your point and I don't mean to dismiss it but I will say to you what many said to me on the halloween/trick or treating subject previously: she wil eventually outgrow this so try to enjoy this phase as much as you can while you pass through it with her. You might find you miss it once it's passed. :-)

And as far as any negativity on having an only child????????? I'm going to use my inside voice for that one, save one statement, perhaps a review of the statistics behind the success of only children is in order for some of the responders.

Based on all of your other previous posts, I think she gets mixed signals from you. You let her rule the roost the majority of the time so then when you want her to dial it down or give you some peace and quiet, she either can't or is not willing to do that.

You need to establish CLEAR rules and expectations with her. If she is coming in at a really unreasonable hour (as in before 6:00 am) I would tell her she is not to come out of her room until the clock has a 6 on it, or a 7 on it. Make sure she has plenty of toys, books, and a sippy cup of water.

What time does she go to bed at night? If she goes to bed at 7:00, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to get up at 6:00 or 7:00 AM. If preschool doesn't start really early, then why not put her to bed a little later so you can sleep in a little more in the morning? You might lose some "me time" in the evenings if you do this, but the trade off would be getting to sleep in. It boils down to what do you value more?

Yep, but mine are older chatterboxes. When I need a moment of peace I have always told them that my brain is tired, or I need some quiet and a little break from talking and they go do something else. I make sure I say these things well before I get irritated. That's the key. With a little one, I'd try to encourage quiet time before 7am and let her either play with her toys in her room or even watch a fun cartoon while you rest. Then if she is just chattering too much in general here and there, you should feel free to teach her social graces. So, "One second darling, Mommy and Daddy are talking right now and planning our day, after we are done we'd love to hear about your purple doggie". Then just do your thing while she waits. Ignore any interruptions or just explain again patiently that you are talking right now.

Encourage a routine that includes talking times where you specifically get to chat all she wants, AND quiet times where she is either in her room solo or she is doing a quiet activity by herself. If you start now, she'll get the hang of it and realize there are times for talking and times for quiet. Don't be super strict about it, but try to at least get the ball rolling so you eventually have some quiet times you can count on.

She sounds like an amazing, happy little one and she will probably be on stage one day with the skills she has now. ;) As she gets older all of this will get easier. Now is the time to be good to yourself and try to ride it out and gently teach her valuable social skills and manners. But, quite frankly, sometimes their little voices just drive you nuts! That's when you need headphones and a nice glass of wine. haha.

Here are some phrases I have used with my three chatterboxes. They may sound harsh out of context, but I'm a single parent with no daycare or outside help, so we are together non-stop. The reason I think it is OK to enforce these words is: 1) It is good for kids to learn self-control and boundaries starting around age two, even earlier for some. 2) I need my sanity.

Here are some favorites. "Please do not ask me anything right now, I need a break." "Please stop talking. I need a break." "Please let me listen to this song (in the car) no talking unil it's over." "Right now I am doing soemthing, and I can't talk." etc etc etc

You get the jist. The key is enforcing. Once you have given the direction, and they understand it, you do have to treat it like any other disciplinable action or they won't care what you say, and they'll keeeeeeeeeep talking. If you use your firmest method, you won't have to do it very many times before she listens when you tell her to step away and self-entertain for a few minutes. You don't have to get mad-and you shouldn't, but you do need to enforce.

My 4 year old (just turned) is old enough to absolutely comprehend this. All my kids were at age 3. If she approaches me and talks non-stop while I'm trying to pay bills or whatever, I'll say, "Sweetie,right now I cant' talk, you need to go play with the legos please." (she knows this means she can do whatever she wants, she doesn't HAVE to play with the legos, but she needs to go do something. If she CONTINUES to talk to me, I stand up, rigth away and say, "OK, Sweetie, I said I could not talk right now. You need to come with me" and the I take her to do a chore that she has to do or else. I'll usually take her up to her room and say, "You need to put all your clothes in drawers and all your toys in the bin and I'll be up to check in a few minutes." She knows she has to do it. She got swats on the bottom for stuff when she was too little for sophisticated consequences. It takes discipline. Now I really never need to do more than just let her know nicely that I am busy and she needs to let me do something.

Now, if you're not really wanting discipline, and you're just looking for ways for her to be happy and busy when you need a little breather, good luck with that. My kids would NEVER peel away from me for one second if I didn't enforce this firmly.

Some kids are just like that. My son is a chatter box as well.

Doe she have dolls? Tell her to go on the couch and read them a story? Or Tell them a story. (this could give you some time.).

You can get a clock.. 8a-6pm are talking time.. before or after it is no talking or quiet time? Not sure how old she is..

Oh, my, I know where you are coming from! :) My little man, 5 and in Kindergarten is like that, as is my 10 yr. old 5th grader. You would think that they would talk EACHOTHER'S ears off, but no, they insist on the rest of the family's ears! hahaha. One thing we've done to help is get them laptops. My son loves PBSkids.org, SesameStreet.com and Nickolodean. He can play their games and learn and give us a bit of rest for a while. My daughter loves to write stories on her laptop and has a couple parent-approved sites she goes on like Club Penguin. So, maybe you can have a tablet or laptop or something she can use? I don't think it's only-child related, as I stated, 2 of my 3 kids are yakkity yakkers. :)