ds(4) is chatty, worried about him starting school.

[booyhoo]

he starts in september, he is very chatty. i actually noticed today how much of a problem it could be when he starts school. he was having a swimming lesson, there were 8 other children his age and the instructor was taking one across at a time. all the other children were messing around, stepping out of place but i noticed that ds was constantly chatting and giggling whether to himself or one of the others. i sm worried that he will be disruptive when it comes to school. i dont want him to start his school years like this and A) be labelled as disruptive or B)think this is ok.

what can i do between now and september to encourage him to pay attention and stay quiet when the teacher needs him to/in class etc. we are in Northern Ireland so he is off school already (preschool)

I think you'll find it next to impossible to do anything to change him. I have always told ds to be quiet and pay attention at school and in activities etc. He is in year 1 and if he sat any closer to the teacher he would be sitting on her lap. Not listening and talking too much have been a repeating theme to our parents' evening.

In one way I wish there was a magic cure but in another way I accept that it is a rather lovely part of his character - he engages with everyone easily and happily talks to everyone whatever their age and is generally very well liked by his peers, older and younger children, other mums etc. He is quiet when he is interested in something - unfortunately his teacher has mostly failed to engage him at all during this academic year so hasn't seen what he can do (other teachers have fortunately).

thsi is what i am worried about MollieO. i have met his teacher and have heard really lovely things about her teaching, but i know how hard it can be for a teacher when tehre is a chatterbox,(and he is a real chatterbox) i dont want him being moved to the front of the class constantly and feeling always as though he is naughty. i know it is very endearing, he has lots of friends where we live and all the neighbours enjoy chatting with him but that is a whole different kettle of fish to being in school where he simply cannot just strike up a conversation about the worm he found the other day. i know it is part of his personality (a big part) but i would like to help him understand that in school he has to curb it.

bump

ime a lot of four year olds are like this- they just don't have the ability to keep quiet/still- or the inclination

my ds' reception teacher once told me that she typically spent at least the first two terms just teaching them when they could/couldn't chat

they- usually!- get it in the end

i do hope so. i dont want him to think he is a 'naughty child' for something that is such a big part of him (can you tell what my reports always said? ) so you reckon there is nothing i can do in the meantime to help him settle a bit?

My 3 yr old is the same. I have found that most of the children in his nursery class or either exactly th same or the polar oposite, very shy and rarely say anything.

To be honest I think it's a nice trait to have, being able to talk to people- I wish I had have been more like that.

I don't think he'll be disruptive, he is so young and won't understand when to be quiet, sit still and not giggle but none of them do imo.

He's not naughty, just lively and friendly. You'll probably find that because of his chattiness he is popular with teachers because he will be answering questions and have plenty to say for himself.

My son's nursery teacher always says ds is a delight because he asks so many questions and is always happy to talk to her about what he is doing.

My DS2 had more rabbit than Sainsbury's also. Yapped his way through 3 schools and in 2 continents. Found a friend in his teens who was also a 'lively conversationalist' and were greeted with "You're not sitting together" on entering the classroom from the teachers.

Excellent in class discussions, plenty of opinions. I'm sure, very irritating in lessons in which he wasn't interested. I really wouldn't regard it as a problem, OP.

thank you all, that has settled my mind a bit. i was definitely labelled as too talkative and thought there was something permanently naughty about me. good to know he wont be the only one.