My almost 4 year old sings to himself a lot

[mommycarol]

Hey moms! I've posted yesterday in general health,posting it here as well hoping for more traffic. So,my boy is almost 4 years old( in november) he is very loving,smart,very social,sensitive and very cooperative child and i love him dearly! He sings a lot to himself sometimes to the point i get a headache and tell him to stop..then i feel bad..he tends to sing nursery rhymes but most of the time he is just singing it with no words ,just the sound,like douuu douuu dadaaaa if you know what i mean. Im just wondering if thats a "normal thing" children this age do!? Or should i get more into it? Im a worrier in general and i dont want to worry for no reason..any of you moms have children that do the same? But absolutely no underlying cause? I would greatly appreciate any experiences! TIA xx

Completely normal and very cute. 😃

At this age my DD only seemed to be quiet when she was asleep..

Awww!!!
Nothing to be concerned about!

Please, please, please do NOT tell him to stop!!!!

Thats very reassuring ladies! Is just a constant thing especially lately! And i cant help not to compare him cause i do not see any other children at play dates do the same thing! Thats why i get stressed.

Surely everyone knows kids sing to themselves? I find it a little strange you haven’t noticed this behaviour in other children. It’s perfectly normal and as previously said do NOT tell him to stop.

It sounds like perhaps he's having a surge with word acquisition. It's all about learning.
The repetition can grate on your nerves after a while though! My DD used to drive me loopy when she started to learn numbers and would repeat them on a loop..
She's a teen now and has am amazing memory, vocabulary and maths ability 😁
Can you maybe sing some new songs with him, or play them - I would say this is a method he likes if he's doing it a lot, it's also a nice self soothing activity.

@Mischance i know..i try not to! But some days,like yesterday i needed some quiet! I then feel absolutely horrible :(

@Luxurysleuth007 i know kids do sing but i havent really payed attention to what extend really..mine seems to do it a lot and is the same 2-3 songs on repeat!

@Beamur Thanx! Did your daughter threw random words as well? My boy does that to.

My DS does this all the time. But then so do DH and I. We sing quietly to ourselves, either real songs or made up songs. We'd probably drive you mad

The chatter/singing was incessant. She would happily chatter away to herself as she played. Never ran out of things to talk about..once she learnt to write, it also became little stories, she's still a serial list maker!
Repetition is a big part of learning. I used to try and mix it up for my own sanity, but she would want the same books, the same shows over and over. Then move on and do the same again!

Ds used to sing to himself all the time! If he was riding his bike he would sing, playing he would sing.I mentioned it to him the other day as he is now 15 and he said that he still does it!

@Beamur you daughter sounds lovely! I do realise that children sing and repeat things. I was just wondering if its normal at this age of 4?! i thought that is a youngers children thing!!

@ludocris ahahahha all 3 of you ha? Thats nice,you all like music apparently! How old is your son? :)

I have a 7 year old and a 4 year old. They sing a lot, fragments of songs they've heard, nursery rhymes, words they like...a mix of the above. American Pie, bits from Hamilton, Baa Baa Black sheep and the Lizzo song which goes "check your nails" being the current favourites. When they aren't singing, they're talking or humming or drumming their fingers.

From observing their friends, it seems common.

@Dinosauratemydaffodils Thank you,thats really reassuring :)

Yes, my eldest did this and also chattered to herself from being very tiny - of course not intelligibly to begin with. Actually she used to make lots of pirate noises "Arrrrrrrrrrr!" from about three months old. She has always been super able with words and writing, quite musical and quite strong academically.

@Rosehugger hey! Yeap,my son also makes noises! Was you daughter doing it at same age as mine? 4?

Yes, she did it from about three months old!

My DS is 20 now and still sings to himself when he’s pottering around. He was singing Gary Numan’s cars while he was washing the pots last night. I like it. I know he’s happy when he sings.

How about using some small ear plugs? You'll still be able to hear him speak, doorbell etc, it'll just stop the lower level humming.

or distraction, put on a CD/radio he might enjoy listening & not feel it so necessary to fill the silence.

My 8 year old hums and sings to herself constantly and always has done. Perfectly normal in my opinion!

@Rosehugger hahhaa bless her! :)

Very normal in some children (and adults 😚 ).

Worrying that it gives you a headache though. The noise of small children when they are not screaming or shouting or arguing shouldn't do that, so that is of more concern. Do you get a lot of headaches?

Perhaps tell him it's lovely and ask him to sing a little quieter as "Mummy's feeling a bit tired / is trying to concentrate on something / listen to something" if you must?