VENTING - What Does Your Kid Do to Make You Want to Head to the Looney Bin?

I'm sorry....what?......huh?....You see I just got home from my 3rd grader's class Halloween Party and my brain.....is......fried. What did you ask again?

Just a phase - but a loooooong phase. This bugs me too, the nonstop talking, asking a question they already know the answer to and correcting us, the sibling rivalry arguing and subsequent crying. The thing that drives me the most immediately nuts is the fake crying and whining. I do not respond to whining whatsoever, so, my son will whine and whine and keep asking and keep restating his case....but you promised, you said we'd go to the pumpkin patch, but but but mom. oh that whining is like a drill through my brain.

OMG I have an 8,15,46 year old that do the same thing. They talk CONSTANTLY even if no one is listening, My youngest is a talker/noise maker, my middle is the "whatever comes into your head must come out your mouth" fount of useless information. My husband is the worst he talks all the time to himself to anyone that is in the room or not in the room he talks to the TV he talks to the dogs.... and you people wonder why I drink!

the way my oldest cries when she hurts herself....which is like 10 times a day.....and VERY exaggerated!

The way my youngest racks up the laundry by changing a thousand times!

K.,
How nice of you to ask, now I won't have to call my mom and sound like a horrible daughter, instead I can vent to strangers! It has been a horrid day...

Child 1: Acts like he is completely helpless. He is 8 years old. We ask him to take the garbage out, and he stands there slackjawed, "Uh, it's not tied up." Well, tie it up then! Stands there looking confused, "I don't know how to tie a garbage bag..." Really? You are 8 and cannot figure out how to tie a garbage bag?!! It took him 15 minutes to do it. He is a bright boy but so lazy! I really think it is an act so that someone will just come along and do it for him. His future wife is going to have a heck of a time....

Child 2: Loves to create, is a budding artist, but leaves all her art supplies everywhere. I have to tell her to pick the scissors, stapler, pens, paper, etc away 50 times a day. I finally just started hiding them.

Child 3: She is the talker, too. And if she doesn't get her way, she slumps down like a hunchback with her arms dragging on the floor and gives a loud "HARUMPH!" Then I will say "Don't you Harumph me!" and she freaks out. She is evil when crossed.

Ok, thanks! Just typing that out helped... I am now thinking of their redeeming factors, hopefully I can stop being so ornery now!

I feel your pain - take comfort in knowing that you have a really intelligent curious kid and all that question-asking will pay off some day. And soon enough you will be able to send her off to preschool - yay!

My daughter is 4 and I've posted on here before about her chatterbox ways. Preschool helps A LOT - at least I get a break and she gets more of the the stimulation and social interaction she craves. Sometimes I just have to tell her to please be quiet, so I can think, because right Mommy's head has too many words in it and Mommy's head can't hold any more words. And everything she says is prefaced with "Hey Mama?" She could finish telling me one thing and right away has to ask "Hey Mama?" before launching into something else.

What else drives me nuts? Well, now it seems that the answer that DD gives to a question is not her final answer. As in, first she will say she wants cereal for breakfast - then as I am getting it ready, or give it to her, she says she REALLY wants toast. But you said you wanted cereal! "But I was just kidding Mama!" Really??? OMG!!! She's starting to do this all the time! I've had to start telling her that she better tell me what she wants the first time because I'm not going to keep letting her change her mind!

The whining. And having to repeat myself over and over after explaining something once - no, we can't go to the movies today, and I've already told you why. Twice.

Oh, and I love how she always announces that she has to go the bathroom while we are at home. She's not asking, she's just telling me, "Hey Mama? I have to go potty!" Well then GO - you don't need my permission and you don't need my help, just go in there and do what you have to do!

And I also love when I start counting to 3 to get her do what I want her to do and she asks, "What happens when you get to 3?" Hey, do you really want to find out the hard way?

My coloring on the wall, Climbing us non stop, can't sit still for five seconds, won't go to sleep, get into everything daughter? No she doesn't do anything to drive me crazy....sigh I think she just spilled all of the matches......

That sounds like my son... the kid never shuts up!!! I always joke about what was I thinking when I drug him to speech therapy for 4 years. This is what I get!!! haha. . The worst for me is in the car. He asks SO many questions and I can't focus on my driving with all that. I have to tell him I can't be a safe driver and that he can't ask me questions in the car. My brain can't come up with answers and drive and think about where we are going and what we will be doing there etc.

So glad I'm not the only one who wishes that he would just be quiet for a bit!!! :-)

Sounds just like mine. I used to be so sad that I had to work and couldn't be with her all day. Now I am glad. Not that I don't miss her, but the ability to take a break, even if it is while I'm working makes the rest of the time better, and I'm sure it has stopped me from snapping at her many a time.

I've found a couple of things help. If she asks for something she wants or says over and over she wants something and I've already said yes, I tell her "did I say yes? Well then, if you continue to ask, the answer might change at any time!" Also, during the incessant why's I now ask her to tell me "why what" to make sure I'm answering the question she's asking!

I feel ya. I am blessed because I have two really close together and the chatter to each other as much as they chatter to me, so that means I get a break 50% of the time. Woot! Woot!

As to what my kids to that drives me crazy? I'll do one each in order of birth:

1. Knows every freakin' thing. Can't tell him anything. If I hear, "I know, Mom" one more time I'm going to poke my own eye out.

2. He's a micromanager. He gets on to the little ones more than I do. I have to remind him constantly that he is "ne of them" not "one of us."

3. She is the most emotional girl in the world. Everything brings on tears. She's just getting to the hair tossing/stomping off stage. It's like being in group therapy every day.

4. He lives in imagination land. It is pointless to ask him a question for which you want an actual reality based answer. It's the most frustrating conversation. I want to pull my hair out.

5. She is constantly stripping. She's 4 so we should be getting past this, but when she has to go to the bathroom, no matter whether or not we have company or what room she's in she starts to strip. She can't just pull her pants and panties down, she has to pull them off. And then she has to run to the downstairs bathroom, which potentially means running through the entire house naked from the waste down to get there. We just have to look at guests and say, "She has to pee."

There's something with all of them, but just know, what makes you scream today will make you laugh 5 years from now.

Not a phase! My 23 year old is a chatty cathy. She will call me at work after she gets out of class and want to talk about NOTHING just random stuff. I'm like "honey, I love you but I'm at work". She gets annoyed sometimes but really?! I love that she wants to share but sometimes she overshares! I don't need to know EVERYTHING! She sometimes forgets I'm the Mom.

My son, won't tell me ANYTHING! He should work for the CIA. I ask about something and he gets annoyed. This has gotten better since he went to boot camp and is back home!!! Yay! But still I have an over sharer and an undersharer.

Preschool has been my lifesaver

....my 3 y/o likes to repeat himself, without a pause for breath, getting louder with each repetition...

Or when I have to repeat myself, without a pause for breath, getting louder with each repetition...

Sounds like my daughter. I tell her to go play outside in the yard when she just won't leave me alone.

Right now she is playing by herself and TALKING. She always talks, even in her sleep! I kid you not. But unlike your daughter, she talks to everyone! Whenever we are in public, she walks up to strangers and just starts chatting to them about nonsensical things. I've learned to just ignore her.

She is now teaching her almost 2 year old brother to talk nonstop too.

I'm not sure that's what drives me crazy, though. What I cannot stand is when she wakes up in a bad mood and the day starts with whines. She rarely whines, but some mornings, just the sound of her voice is enough to drive me crazy.

My son, otoh, is driving me crazy because he is 22 months old. His sister drove me nuts at this age as well, and continued to, until around 26 months. I hate the 19-26 age. Stubborn, wanting independence, but not really able. So lots of tears while they figure it all out.

Yah well my previously speech-delayed son, was like that.
He is now the MOST talkative one in our family and has a very fertile mind and very expressive.
I know how you feel.
But I also have 2 kids, and they both talk a lot. AND their voices are loud as trumpets.
But at school, they are very, quiet.

I tell them, succinctly "Can you not talk right now, Mommy needs to think..."

It is a phase.
But also some kids are just more talkative/expressive than others.

I read your heading and had my answer all planned out. And then I read the rest of your question and it was EXACTLY my answer. :)

I have to always acknowledge everything my toddler says. For example, "It's a beautiful sunny day mummy!" and I HAVE to say, "yes it is a beautiful day." Or he will repeat it 857 times. Maybe more, I always give in first.

Also, his chatting/singing to himself gets louder if my hubby and I are trying to talk. To the point where we can't hear each other. And then I have to stop talking to hubby, tell the toddler to quiet down, and then I forget what I was talking about all together!

My kids are talkers too. Makes me a bit crazy at times.
On the flip side, I had a friend who's almost three year old daughter never said a word. Not one. She could understand stuff but never spoke. Her mom begged her daughter at times for just one word. I try to remember her when I'm feeling frustrated about my children's verbose nature. :)

Well, today (and every day) I had to tell my 3 yo son, "Please do not ask that again" what was it this time? He asked for.....something we didn't have.....like 400 million times in a row.

"mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom.." My 5 year old will still repeat mom (or whoever's name he is talking to) a million times until we acknowledge him personally. I tell him we are right there in front of you, just say it, but he still does it to the point where we get really frustrated at him. My daughter has a way with back talk that will drive me insane. and like yours, she talks and talks and it can be exhausting.

My daughter was similar. I signed her up at a preschool only 2 days a week and wow did it help! She interacts with others her own age, learns from them and isnt so hyper active haha! I guess it would be like ic adults were only with little children 24/7.. We would go nuts too! Not to mention its way easier to clean, do paperwork and run errands without the little one!

I hear 'ya StacyB. Mine never outgrew it either - sounds just like StacyB's daughter. Hate to tell you, but most of my eight grandchildren are like that too. I would also try to tune them out - look like I'm listening, but not really. And inevitably there is a question in there! I always liked to play "who can be quiet the longest!" It was my only salvation!