Tips on Teaching the "Inside Voice"

Hmm. he is three, right? Just reminding, reminding, reminding:) also, I found talking in a low voice helped my youngest (a loud kiddo) quiet down because I was modeling the behavior I wanted to see in him.

Whisper TO him.

Give him a moment to bring his volume down to yours.

;)

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This DOES sound counter intuitive...but it really does work.

Years ago, when my kiddos were all 8 and under, there was a day I thought I would LOOSE MY MIND!! They were all shouting and carrying on.

At about that same time, there was a fragrance commercial. The slogan was...very simply, "If you want someone's attention...'whisper' ".

That day it crossed my mind to give it a try.

One by one, the kiddos stopped their loud voices so they could hear me.

Now that kiddos are older, and I am almost alone (youngest are 16 now), I will have to go in search of the fragrance...get some attention for ME!!!

***I share a true story from my 'old fart mom' recollections.***

Here is my advice, which is surprisingly difficult to follow lol - don't shout "USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE". Say it in a whisper.

It goes against instinct, because you think he won't even be able to hear you over his outside voice. But if you're shouting, then he doesn't have a role model to follow.

If you want to call it an "inside voice", just make sure he gets a good bunch of opportunities to use his "outside voice".

Sometimes YELLING TO THE CLOUDS is a great way to work out energy. It's like running around the playground for his lungs. Take him outside at regular intervals to yell "HI CLOUDS!!" Then, back inside - for "indoor voice" time.

("Hi clouds" is better than "aaaaaah" because the neighbors won't think someone is in danger.)

First of all never yell across the house. Go to the person you are trying to speak with and use your regular voice.

When on the phone use a regular voice or go to another room so others can hear the tv or still be able to speak with each other.

Try not to talk over the tv. Instead turn down the tv to speak with each other, or sit next to the person to speak quietly to them while the TV is on.

In the car, turn the sound of the radio down to speak with each other. If you are all singing to the radio,, that is a good time to sing loud..

Model the behaviors you need your children to learn.. And compliment over and over the behaviors you like.

LOL! I can totally relate and haven't figured it out yet myself. I probably should follow the advice of leading by example though. Hard when you grow up in an loud Italian family!

Practice together:
This is my whisper voice
This is my inside voice,
this is my calling voice
this is my singing voice
like everything else, this can be practiced and modeled a lot!

Stop warning.

"Go to your room, Son. When I call you to come out, I expect that you'll be using a much quieter voice."

When you call him to come out in 20 minutes, ask him why he was in his room. He should be able to tell you. If he plays the "I dunno" card, send him back. He'll remember next time, 20 minutes later.

Later, rinse, repeat.

ETA: Less time for a 3 year old, of course.

Late answer here, mom. Have you tried the same strategy as dealing with the "whines"? When a kid whines, you say to him "I can't understand you when you whine" and turn away and ignore him until he says it in a normal voice. Then you "turn on" immediately and answer the query. Could you try that when he's yelling? Just say "inside voice, please" and ignore him until he does the inside voice. If he never gets your attention by yelling, it's better than the attention he's getting by you talking about it to him.

When I taught kindergarten and kids got too loud, we stopped what we were doing and sang the ABCs to "practice" the desired volume. Model the volume you want and help him practice so he knows exactly what you expect when you say "inside voice".

Indoor voice. If I have to tell you again you're in time-out.

I love this question....I will eagerly read all the answers!

A. :)

What is he 2 1/2? They are loud. Just remind him to lower his voice. Sometimes they just can't help it. The excitement is just too much. If this is the worse thing you have to deal with you are lucky lol. Just keep reminding him. He will try but don't expect miracles. He is a little boy,

He's a boy, and he's 3, they get silly and loud but sending him to his room or time out for longer than 3 minutes is too much in my opinion.

Talking to him in a lower voice than you are expecting works in our house, and like some had said below reminding him often, and modeling the "indoor voice" too.

Both my kids, have naturally loud voices.
They are trumpets.
When I was a child, I was told that too. My late Dad, also had a loud voice, naturally. I still have a loud voice. LOL

Anyway, all I'd tell my kids is "whisper." or "my ears can't take it anymore... quiet down. Or Mommy will get irked."
Simple, to the point, and they understood.
Problem solved.

But also, my Husband will tell me I talk loud at times.
But to me, I am not talking "loud."
And I have no hearing problems.
I have perfect hearing.
Anyway, well I try.
My Husband came from a quiet home with a Mom that was as quiet as a mouse.

I do not expect my kids to be quiet all the time.
And in school, they are perfectly well behaved and not "loud." Their voices are not loud at school. At all. I see it myself because I work there.