My daughter is 4.5 and speaks loudly. I tell her several times a day to lower her voice. Wondering if this is one of those things that will go away on its own or if this is something I need to work on with her. Thank you!
Get her hearing tested, including a tympanogram done. If that's okay, it's probably a phase she's going through.
I'd ask my son (speaking very softly) "Do you know how to whisper?" and then whisper something silly to him.
He'd stop to listen and we'd play a whisper game for a bit.
Sometimes I'd have to remind him "Inside voices please! You're not shouting across the playground!".
This works on high schoolers too - I work in the cafeteria at the high school and sometimes they are so loud you can't hear what someone is trying to order as you're serving it up.
For those who are paying too much attention to their phone/texting while I asking them what they want I tell them if they can't pay attention to me for a few seconds then I'll serve them collards.
That usually gets their attention PDQ!
have her hearing evaluated. my son was extra loud and it turns out he had a fluid filled ear which significantly reduced his ability to hear. he is loud because he cannot hear how loud he is.
Try a visual cue, not a verbal one. Like, pinching your finger and thumb progressively closer together, and when she gets to the right volume, stop and smile. Or find a sign language kind of cue.
it's something to work on.
My kid was and many times still is quite loud (she's 13 now). I tried whispering to her when she starting ramping up. That usually worked. She's now in theater and her loud voice is an asset.
Some of this is just who they are. They just need to know when they're being loud with lots of reminders from parents and teachers. She is not hard of hearing, she just has a loud voice. I usually tell her that when she's outside, she can be loud (I try to keep her somewhat respectful of neighbors, but if she's at a large park, I let her be loud).
Have you had her hearing checked? One of my grandson's was deaf. With tubes in his ears he was able to start hearing. It was a miracle for him. I suggest you get her ears checked and see if that's it.
some of us just are loud talkers for life... lol... I remember being told to be quieter all the time, it never worked, later in life this loud talking came in handy in lots of ways, so try to shape WHEN loud talking is ok and good. But I just naturally have always had a loud voice.
My son did that but he could hear a pin drop from across the room. He eventually (now he's 15) lowered his voice. In our case, it was a very excitable child.
my younger son and spare son are both Loud Talkers. in the case of my own kid i think it's partially due to his issues with ear infections, but both are musicians and gamers so they're used to lots of volume.
if you're telling her several times a day, you ARE working with her, just not effectively. a quiet 'inside voice' please worked with my boys when they still lived at home, although they'd need occasional reminders.
have you tried whispering to her? or using a visual cue (like holding your flat hand level with your face and slowly lowering it)?
khairete
S.
I would suggest you work on it with her. I know some teens whose parents must have assumed it would "go away on it's own" and it didn't. Love the kids to death, but their normal conversational voice is not normal conversational level. It's a notch higher, and it's fairly noticeable in the right (wrong?) setting.
We have 2 kids in the neighborhood which spent a lot of time with mine the last 3 years. The girl is 5 years old, the boy 8 years. Both are loud to a point that we are cancelling the playdates due to having them constantly to remind to talk in an inside voice. They did not change over the years. I wish the parents would do role play with them. Maybe spent outside time every day and let them be loud as much as they want but tune down inside the house. I know they do an effort to remind their kids to lower their voice when we all get together.
The couple and the kids are the sweetest people. Great friends. Love them all 4 a lot but my kids requested a break.
Sometimes I wonder if the TV is on too loud and the kids raise their voice because of that. Sounds silly but could be the culprit with our friends.
My boys are both very loud. Normally I can just say their name and motion to bring it down a notch and they are fine. They are 9 and 11....so you probably will always have to remind her.
My 12 year old was so loud that we had his hearing tested a few times. Nothing wrong with him, just loud, loud, LOUD! We did a behavior plan with him in 1st grade where we broke the day into parts and he would get 1, 2, or 3 points for each part of the day, depending on how many times he needed to be reminded to use his inside voice. After 10 points, he would earn a small reward and after 100 points, a bigger reward. Basic positive discipline. It took about three weeks for him to break his habit of literally yelling when he talked. He was still louder than most kids and still needed frequent reminders to turn the volume down, but that helped break him of the worst of it.
He still needs to be reminded to lower his voice, but it is something that has decreased a lot over the years and that he is growing out of.
Wish I could be more helpful, but may she one day meet a man like my husband who is always telling me I don't speak loud enough -even when I am about screeching. But of course he has perfect hearing, too. But seriously, I like the idea about the indoor voice. And I'm really kind of jealous she is naturally like that. Good luck!
My kids get louder the more excited they become or with other kids. I just casually remind them to keep it down or I say "too loud" kindly. It's not a big deal here and they aren't self conscious about it.
Some kids just are louder than others. Some kids we have to the house I never hear, others I hear over everyone else.
I think it's just something to work on if it's inappropriate or causes a disturbance. But I think too it can be personality. My quiet reserved kids are a lot quieter than some very exuberant outgoing pals.
Two of mine had fluid in ears and tubes and they were not louder than others - so doesn't necessarily mean an ear/hearing problem.
My mom was a kindergarten teacher. If she found kids to be talking too loud or causing a distraction in class, she just asked them kindly to use their "kindergarten voice" which the kids knew meant to tone it down. She reminded most of them at one point or another so your child likely won't be singled out (fairly common).
If her hearing is fine, then it's just her. Keep reminding her to use her inside voice.
I still have to remind my husband to quiet down :)
