Nearly 4 year old grunting is driving us insane.

[PourquoiTuGachesTaVie]

If you tell him something he doesn't like or want to hear he responds with a stupid grunting noise. It's getting worse and both dh and I have tried ignoring it but it's so hard when all he will do is keep bloody grunting.

(Can you tell he's doing it now and I'm at the end of my tether today?)

How do we manage this? Is ignoring it really the best way? Dh especially finds ignoring it hard as ds just won't stop it if you are asking him to do something he doesn't want to.

Our DD (4) does this too, it's kind of a disdainful, leave-me-alone type sound!

To me it's cheeky and her way of being cheeky without saying cheeky things

I treat it the same as I would if she talked back. Dunno if that's right or not though...

Yes disdainful is right. If I google it it only comes up with advice for children with communication problems or those on the autistic spectrum, whereas ds is just doing it to be cheeky as you've said.

Just the latest thing he's picked up at school I guess (wonder what he'll start copying next?).

Anyone else have any advice for managing this?

My DS1 does this, I too treat it the same as back chat. I always tell him that how he says something/ his attitude is as important as what he says. Things are improving, I think a lot of the attitude comes from trying to impress friends. I just refuse to accept being spoken to or treated like dirt and sanction him by taking away his tablet.

Is it a tic or is he doing it deliberately?

Pretty sure it's deliberate. If he is told off or told to do something he doesn't want to do that's when he does it. He used to just shout "No" in the same situations before he began the grunting so I think he just prefers to grunt his disapproval rather than say it in words.