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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

What do 3 year olds talk about with each other

40 replies

mrshedge · 16/06/2008 10:20

I've been asking ds if he talks to the other kids at nursery and he says that if he asks questions they don't answer. I asked him what questions he asks and they are a bit obscure so that probably explains why.

What do typical 3 year olds talk about so I can suggest some things for him to talk to the others about a bit? I imagine they don't really have big conversations and he isn't really at that stage yet anyway but it'd be nice if he could have a bit more interaction than I suspect he is having.

He is only just coming up to 3 so a bit young but I don't want him to be unable to chat with other kids.

Can anyone suggest stuff for him to talk about to strike up little conversations about e.g. TV progs?

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SheherazadetheGoat · 16/06/2008 10:22

tbh obsure questions is the way to go. don't panic they will chat together eventually.

Buda · 16/06/2008 10:29

They don't normally have conversations as such at that age - I wouldn't worry just yet. They tend to talk at each other really.

If he is happy at nursery and the teachers say he interacts with the other children then he is doing fine.

Original poster

mrshedge · 16/06/2008 18:57

Phew. I think because I was unpopular as a child I worry too much about this.

I had this impression that they all go round chatting and playing together (can you tell I don't have much experience of small children?!) and that ds was the odd one out.

He is definitely interested in other kids now and seems like he wants to know what they are doing albeit he doesn't really play properly with them but that's still fine at this age from what I know.

I will chill out for a while.

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BlaDeBla · 16/06/2008 22:20

DD is 3 and she seems to spend her time with her friends either saying they love each other or they don't love each other; or they're bashing each other. I don't think they are very good at playing with each other - it's more about snatching things away from each other!

Smithagain · 16/06/2008 22:25

DD2 is just coming up to three. Mostly, she looks at other kids very sternly and commands them to "share". Which translates as "give me that toy, I want a go".

She has quite detailed conversations with her older sister, but I think that's because her sister does most of the running.

Original poster

mrshedge · 17/06/2008 22:32

Smith - suspect it's just different with siblings anyway as they are so much more comfortable with each other?

Makes me a bit that ds is an only.

OP posts:

micci25 · 17/06/2008 22:39

my 4 y o doesnt even know her friends names half the time. so i ahve no idea what they talk about if anything at all! its certainly not what they are called. makes planning her parties very hard. last year i had to ask her nursery teacher 'who is the blonde one who is x's friend and who is the brown who has the nice shoes and is the one with the red curly hair called y?'

perhaps they are like us and the girls talk about shoes an dhair and the boys footy?

i know with her cousin they tend to talk at each other and dd1 will tell her what game they are playing but they dont converse

harpomarx · 17/06/2008 22:39

mrshedge - I am loving the idea of your advising 3 year old ds on what small talk to make at nursery...

I wish you luck

don't worry about it, they all talk mad stuff at that age!

MorocconOil · 17/06/2008 22:39

My DD talks to her friend about what their favourite colours are. This has been going on for about 4 months now, and they still don't seem to have lost interest.

They also play a game of doctors with a kit, and the conversation goes along the lines of ' Do you feel better now? Let me give you pink medicine. I put a plaster on your arm now, blah,blah'.

The rest of the time they are usually grabbing and snatching off eachother and saying 'I don't like you anymore'

harpomarx · 17/06/2008 22:40

oh god mimizan, the 'favourite colours' conversation!

do they argue about which one likes pink more?

Salamander · 17/06/2008 22:41

excellent!!

moodlumthehoodlum · 17/06/2008 22:44

Ds will be three in a few weeks. He looks warily at his friends, and he makes up the most bonkers stories like " I was at the doctors today and a fox walked in, he was ill and he brought his friend the badger".

So, if anyone needs to worry about what their three yo ds is talking about, its probably me, not you

MorocconOil · 17/06/2008 22:44

No because DD has well and truly claimed pink as hers. I think her friend has much better taste as she likes green. They go on and on about though and dd's friend was made up today as they were focusing on green today at their playgroup. She looked really smug when DD walked in and she was finishing her green collage It's quite sweet really.

harpomarx · 17/06/2008 22:51

at smug green-loving friend.

hope they follow it up with a pink week, in the name of fairness.

hifi · 17/06/2008 22:52

whos their best friend
poo
whos fastest
what sandwiches they like

AitchTwoCiao · 17/06/2008 22:54

dd tells everyone she meets that she doesn't like dr who because it's a bit scary. she's 2 and a half and only seen a bit of the first episode... it's been going on for a while.

hifi · 17/06/2008 22:56

which boys are naughty

Original poster

mrshedge · 17/06/2008 22:57

oh hifi ds should be fine for the poo conversations - he gives me a detailed running commentary when doing them ...yuk.

OP posts:

Original poster

mrshedge · 17/06/2008 22:58

I don't know why I was worrying about this now - they all sound equally off the wall with the stuff they say!

OP posts:

AitchTwoCiao · 17/06/2008 22:59

toddlers are off their nuts. fact.

MorocconOil · 17/06/2008 22:59

DD talks about 'who, who'(Dr Who) a lot as well. Poor baby was exposed to it when she was tiny, whereas her PFB older brother only watched things like Maisy and Postman Pat until he was about 6.

hifi · 17/06/2008 23:00

lots of personal comments about people, big nose,lips ears. dd always comments how people smell on the bus.

hifi · 17/06/2008 23:01

i do stupid things with dd, i say she looks like a tomato, she says i look like a sausage. it can go on for hours. also i spy, but they get away with the wrong answers.

Smithagain · 18/06/2008 14:13

Oh yeah - and how old they are. Especially when they are three.

DD1 at playground "Hello, I'm three you know." She would know the age of every child at the park within minutes of arriving. Did she ever ask their names. No, she did not. She didn't even know the names of any of the kids at nursery until a couple of months after she started - but she knew which were "big girls and boys" and which were "little girls and boys".

Mercy · 18/06/2008 14:21

Boys and girls talk in very different ways even at 3.

My ds and his friends (3 and 4) talk at each other - actually it's not even talking tbh, just a series of loud noises, various mild but apparently hilarious insults (poo poo head) over and over.

Ime, girls tend to have more conversations. But a lot of it does seem to involve pink, fairies, princesses [yawn]

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