Is this normal 7yr old behavior?

amother

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 6:37 pm

My 7 year old son comes home from school and doesn't leave my side.
He's overall a happy child. He follows me around the house and talks and talks and talks and talks. About the color of the sky, to what happened in school, and a bunch of nonsense.
He repeats his stuff 5 times when he runs out of stuff to say. Seriously. Until I tell him, sweety, you just told me that 3 times.
My ears hurt. My head hurts. He follows me and follows me around the house.

Is he needy? Attention? Or do all 7 year olds do this?

Dolly Welsh

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:03 pm

Please speak to the pediatrician. I would call the ped ahead of time to discuss this, then take DS in and have the ped chat with him. Possibly with you not exactly gone but in another part of the room seeming to think of something else.

I would ask his teachers what their impression of him is, perhaps.

Be very nice to the kid even when he is irritating.

Have his hearing checked. The repeating may be him wondering if communication is working, so he checks that, or reinforces it, by repeating what he already said. That might have to do with him not hearing others well enough. Just a thought. I am no expert.

You might ask him questions about his school experience.

No, it doesn't strike me as completely ordinary behavior. But I am no expert, by far.

Last edited by Dolly Welsh on Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

lk1234

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:04 pm

some kids do need more attention than ohters. It's not that you aren't giving him attention, it's that some kids just like to talk and talk.

THat said, is this normal for your child? Or is this something new? TRy to think back about how he usually is and see if he is just a talkative kid or is this something that is recently developing. If it is osmething more recent, you may need to look into why he is so needy now.

Clarissa

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:30 pm

amother wrote:

My almost 7-year-old absolutely sticks to me and talks and talks (and talks) at home. He's very into me. He's also into talking. Lots of kids are like this. In my opinion it's preferable to kids who tell their parents NOTHING about their day. I have friends whose kids are the same way, by the way. Talk to the moms (or dads) for hours and hours.

My ped thinks my kid is lovely. So do his teachers. So do I. Someday, of course, he'll expend this kind of energy on some other woman. Oh, well. I'll enjoy this while I can.

Flowerchild

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:37 pm

Sounds to me like a child who would like to share his day with his mother, nd wants her to hear him. He repeats himself most likely because he thinks youre not listening, possibly. He wants to unload all that is going on his life and share with his mom. Why would that be abnormal? Im confused why you would need to call a pediatrician.

Clarissa

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:47 pm

Flowerchild wrote:

I agree. I can just imagine my ped's face if I call and set up an appointment because my child likes to talk to me. Unless there's some other major problem seen by the teachers, how is that something that requires medical intervention?

SivanMom

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:47 pm

My 6 1/2 year old does this. I was just telling DH that I MUST spend some alone time with DD (age 4) because DS takes up all my time. Lately, when he can't think of things to say, he makes up stories, such as what he plans to build with lego or how he imagines a castle to look like. It makes me crazy.

ETA: my son does not repeat himself, so I can't give you advice on that.

Last edited by SivanMom on Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:49 pm; edited 1 time in total

causemommysaid

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:50 pm

would it be possible to sit down with him for 15 minutes when he gets home and give him undivided attention. maybe if he gets your complete focus for a decent chunk of time he wont feel the need to get your semi attention for hours.

Dolly Welsh

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 8:55 pm

This, this.

Everybody needs some undivided attention, daily.

It's not being into Mommy and very verbal that worried me, it was the repeating the same thing.

Yes, try what YSMommy said.

amother

Mon, Apr 29 2013, 9:17 pm

So what's the fear? You're perhaps worried that he has some major social or personality quirk? If this is his only "quirk" then it is what it is. You have a talker. Smile

If you fear he has some sort of personality disorder, I assure you, it is likely not that. My own son has a bunch of quirks but they are combined with many other problems....and all together, for him, it puts him on the autism spectrum.

Is your son a talker all day or just with you after school? My son's quirks are from morning til night....with evryone, not just me

amother

Tue, Apr 30 2013, 12:31 am

Op here.
Thanks so much, I'm happy to see his behavior is somewhat normal.
Yes, hes dead bored every day. Home from school at 3.

Also, by repeating himself, it's not cuz I'm not listening, or because hes a bit off, he just repets because he runs out of things to say. It drives me nuts, As Sivanmom mentioned. He will also talk a bunch of nonsense, just to be able to continue talking.
It's like he thinks he has to speak to me all afternoon.

And squirrel- he doesn't follow me as being clingy and full of anxiety. He just follows me around to entertain himself. This way he can talk talk talk talk....

amother

Tue, Apr 30 2013, 12:34 am

Olive oil, yes he has a 6 year old brother. Funny, because my 6 year old is so the opposite. He never rambles. Except for when the older one starts talking nonsense to him, them they laugh and say one Narishkeit after another....
But my 6 year old never follows me around. Hes so much more to himself.

5*Mom

Tue, Apr 30 2013, 4:50 am

I agree with all posters from Clarissa and onward. Not only normal but GOOD. Capitalize on this.

Also, get him an MP3 so he can record himself talking, maybe make up a story or 2, and listen to himself. But only after you spend some one-on-one time just listening to him.

amother

Tue, Apr 30 2013, 5:33 am

My seven year old dd is the same way. I think it's adorable. The downside is that it often takes away time and attention her older siblings need; lately I've had to become very assertive about telling her to be quiet for a few minutes so I can hear someone else.

One of her sisters was also like that, and now she's the most social of all my children. My other kids were not. I think it's personality based.

momX4

Tue, Apr 30 2013, 8:21 am

My DD is 12 and goes to sleep later than the younget kids. Once everyone is in bed she follows me aroung chatting non-stop. She is bored. Sometimes she calls a friend or cousin and chats till bedtime.

I think you need to find a playmate for your child, after you sit down with cookies and milk and let him tell you the highlights of the day.

My house is crazy noisy, I can hear the phone ring sometimes. My kids get alone quiet time at bedtime. They can share at supper time, but they are usually interupted.