Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Also, you may want to get him into Karate or another martial art. Believe it or not, these can be quite calming.
Oh my goodness! I was talking about this the other day with my mother. He likes to immitate the Karate Kid, Avatar: the Last airbender, Kung Fu Panda etc. I've definitely been considering that for when he's in school this fall.
LOL! My little sis was the same way. My mom always sang the "you talk too much" song to her. I've got bad news, my little sis has never shut up! She's 18 now, and STILL flappin those gums, only now with the occasional #$%^.
My son is the same way and is the smartest in his class. I just answer every question to the best of my ability and the ones I dont know we research it together. I just look at it as a blessing that hr does have such a inquiring mind and try too fill it with as much knowledge as I can now while he young. But Im still working on trying to get him to sit still amy advice on that..
I've had kids who have gone both ways, the non-stop talker who started talking early and the child who didn't talk at all until age 3 and tended to be the silent observer although sometimes will talk your ear off now about his future plans, his car.
I think sometimes they just are who they are and you should appreciate them for their individual inborn personalities.
My son is 5 years old and his talking and inquisitiveness at times is cute and funny, but he talks almost non-stop! He asks a million questions a day (somewhat understandable; child curiosity and all) but if I give him the correct answer he disagrees with me anyway and wants to debate about it. So I just say "ok, whatever, you're right" even if he's wrong (I'm not arguing with a child LOL) It's gotten to the point where it's invasive. He butts into adult conversations and ask "who?", "you talking to me?" and replies and repeats what we say. He's loud and can't sit still even to eat! It's hard for anyone in the house to watch TV and movies without him talking and asking questions throughout. As soon as he wakes up he says random things! It starts as soon as the day begins on until he falls asleep (which is difficult; he's a night owl and refuses naps!) He's bossy (at least with his cousin) but has a lot of friends at school and in the neighborhood. His teachers says he's very hyper, talkative, and doesn't nap sometimes but is smart and ahead of most of the class. I don't think he has ADD. Sometimes I get so frustrated in his constant talking and hyperactivity that I yell at him to shut up and sit down! This makes me feel so terrible! He's involved in football and gymnastics, and we do other activities such as going to the waterparks, movie theater etc, but it doesn't tire him enough. OH, and when he is tired, he fights his sleep! He just doesn't fall asleep like I see his cousins do. I don't know how to calm him down or teach him that he needs to be quiet at times. Any advice from someone that is, or has been in the same situation with their young children is appreciated.
Do you butt into kid conversation? Could your child be doing what you do?
I think the kid talks too much if you think he's invasive. Maybe reward the child with candy if he's quiet during your conversation?
Someday I'm going to write a book called "My crazy hyperactive gifted kid" because there are so many kids just like mine and yours.
So you can search for more of my threads on my son but to be quick he was much more severely hyperactive and impulsive than it sounds like yours is, but he also talks all the time and asks a million questions. He got into trouble in preschool so we started down the evaluation route. Here's how it went.
At 3.5yrs old he was diagnosed with Sensory Integration dysfunction. He would spin and run and talk constantly he had been hyper since he was a baby. We did OT but it didn't help because he was fine within the confined therapy environment. We continue to use some sensory seeking techniques with him.
At 5 we did a full evaluation after his preschool said they were having trouble controlling him, he was yelling out answers and not listening, but not aggressive or anything like that. He was diagnosed with the hyper impulsive type of ADHD and also as being highly gifted. We started medication on the advice of our psychiatrist. At first it seemed to calm him down.
At 6 we started noticing mood changes and our hyper happy boy seemed angrier and while he was calmer and doing fine in school he wasn't the same.
We ditched the meds while continuing the diet and behavioral changes that we had been doing all along including martial arts classes. This summer we let him choose some camps and classes and he's found an aptitude for chess and robotics. It is appearing more and more that he is simply bored a lot of the time and is blessed (or cursed) with a lot of energy. We've found that while physical exercise is important for him, mental exercise is just if not more vital.
The talking continues btw. as does his hyperactivity and impulsiveness but its manageable as long as we keep him busy. I spent my morning explaining why birds don't get electrocuted and how exactly zippers work. He then instructed me on my driving technique all the way to chess camp. I'm going to teach him to use Wikipedia soon because I spend so much of my time finding answers there for him anyway.
So my advice is to keep him busy, really really busy. And continue to work on not interrupting (we're still working on it) and make sure that he's not bored in school.
Me, at age three or four: "talk-talk-talk-talk-talk..."
My father: "(My name), can't you be quiet just a little while??"
Me: "But Daddy!! I LIKE to talk, and I have interesting things to say!"
My father (and mother): Surrender to their talkative child while trying to hide their laughter.
It sounds as if you have a very bright, inquisitive little boy, who just needs to learn to guide his curiosity and to avoid interrupting others and/or talking all the time without waiting for answers to his questions.
So - when he gets going with strings of questions, respond, "What do YOU think might happen?", or "What do you think made the sky blue/the dinosaurs die/leaves green/water wet/sunshine hot/snow cold?" or whatever it is that he's asking. Also, don't discount that asking questions is a way to get attention - kids will make up the most ridiculous and pointless things to ask. The goal is not the answer, it's the adult attention they seek.
So - if he gets into a pattern of asking one question after another and not waiting for answers, stop him, tell him to draw pictures of the things he wants to know about, then number them, with number one being the most important. After he's finished with his pictures, then you can talk about them, one at a time. This won't stop the questions, but it will slow him down and make him think about what he really wants to know.
Since he settles down during car trips and enjoys looking out the window, ask him to draw a picture of what he's seen when he's back home. Or look for simple library books about common city topics: cars, trucks, community helpers (police, firefighters, etc), going to the playground, shopping, etc. Books about different places might also be interesting to him, and planning short weekend excursions to area places of interest might also help - are there state parks near you? If so, get him involved in planning a little trip. Include how long it will take to drive, what to pack for a picnic, what sort of clothes you'll need to wear, what you'll be seeing and doing, hiking trails, wildlife, and so on. Then after you're home, talk with him about what you experienced and have him draw pictures or make up his own book about his adventures. He can dictate the text, provide a title and illustrate it - you can help him assemble it (just use a notebook cover with brads and whatever paper works best for drawing or painting). Actually, you could do this with the question-pictures, too, and title the book "Johnny's Question Book", and add pages from time to time.
Does he have small toy cars and trucks, or basic Legos that he can use for imaginative play about things and/or places that interest him? Show him how to make roads or cities using building blocks - a sandbox can also be used to make a little town (bury your hand in damp sand, then slowly extract it for an underground house. Sandcastles are also fun, and you can use sticks for trees).
Back inside, modeling clay or playdough are great for imaginative play. Your goal in all of these suggested activities is to channel his lively curiosity more productively and to provide activities in which you are there to start him off, but then allow him to proceed independently, with only minor adult supervision and a lot of self-reliance, yet provide input and praise when he finishes the project.
Expect lots of questions and efforts to involve you more thoroughly initially - head 'em off at the pass with "I don't know, what do you think?" and "Why don't you just surprise me? I can't wait to see what you will come up with!" comments which are supportive but turn him back onto his own creative resources. Of course, if he asks for additional materials or assistance with cleaning up any messes, that's different. If he needs to talk to himself while making whatever it is, that's okay - it may be a way of keeping himself on track. If he still comes to you with constant questions, try setting a timer and tell him he needs to use his own head to figure out problems until the timer goes off. Set it for five minutes at first, then you can lengthen it.
When you read to him, tell him that there will be times when he can ask questions or comment, but you will pick those times, and that he'll need to pay attention to the story until question time arrives. Since he enjoys acting out things, look for stories that you and he can act out later.
And - do work on the idea of interrupting being discourteous. I've encountered children who interrupted adults constantly while saying "Excuse me!" - they learned the words but not the reason behind them or to be considerate of others, and in most cases, their parents treated them like little adults or equals instead of children, with poor results. It is extremely irritating to be constantly interrupted by children when trying to have adult conversations with their parents, and to see the parents' responses be so disrespectful of their adult friends, who get back-burned while little Murgatroyd asks question after question, makes comment after comment about nothing in particular, all preceded with "Excuse me!".
Formulaic polite phrases are not enough unless they are accompanied by polite behavior and understanding, and parental authority needs to be firmly in place so that lines are not blurred between parent and small child.
So - channel your son's genuine interests, help him sort out his genuine interests from his entrenched habit of random questioning, work on his understanding of the need to be considerate of others, and hang on. You'll need to make creative use of his gifts in order to overcome his less-than-great habits, but with your own creativity, it can be done with minimum pain and a lot of gain. Good luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
He's involved in football and gymnastics, and we do other activities such as going to the waterparks, movie theater etc, but it doesn't tire him enough. OH, and when he is tired, he fights his sleep! He just doesn't fall asleep like I see his cousins do. I don't know how to calm him down or teach him that he needs to be quiet at times. Any advice from someone that is, or has been in the same situation with their young children is appreciated. 
