My mother used to ape sh*t about this, and i must admit it bugs me, but what do you think?

[deanychip]

Kids, listening in to your conversations with friends, family etc then commenting or asking questions while you are talking to each other?
She used to go mental, we were not alowed in the same room as her and her friends and would never dare ask or show that we had heard.

Friends dont seem to mind this with their kids, because of my mothers reaction, i thought that this was extremely bad behaviour and the height of bad manners.
(my mother was/is a controlling mad woman banshee btw)
Do you not mind, or does it make you feel uncomfortable? Sumising that the conversation is general, not about horrid subjects that kids dont need to know about.

not being allowed in the same room is a bit wierd
why not meet up in the evening if you don't want kids there at all?
being polite and not talking over people is expected though ie 'mummy mummy mummy' is met with 'in a minute dear I am talking' not 'get out of the room right now' said in mad banshee style fashion

I think its rude for children to interuppt adults when theya re talking, my parents always told me it was. However, many people I know seem to let their children interupt quite frequently. I ahve one friend whose daughter will put her hand over her mother's mouth if the mother is talking to someone and not including her

Oh I hate it, DD1 has been doing this the last couple of years and it's infuriating.
Apart from the rudeness of it, she's always giving away information that's embarrassing or not really appropriate for non-family members ears

I hate interrupting. Drives me mad. Don;t mind them being there when I'm talking to friends as long as they're not constantly butting in.

That's awful saltire; I think I'd have to do that back to DD1 when she's talking to her friends if she tried that

hate it too - went to see an old friend recently who I hadn't seen for 18 months are her ds kept interrupting in a very loud voice while we were trying to have a conversation.

Interrupting anyone is rude, adult or child, but if a child is in the same room as adults talking I think it is a bit ridiculous not to expect them to hear/maybe participate in the chat. If your children are talking amongst themselves do you never interrupt them, join in or talk later with them about what they were discussing? I think it smacks a bit of children must be seen and not heard, which is a horrid attitude IMO (and it is just the way I was brought up - I still have big issues with it).

Children do need to learn when it is not appropriate to join in the conversation but adults should not have adult content only or private information conversations within the hearing of children who are not old enough to understand that the information can't be passed on etc.

It is very simple. We are pack animals.

It is normal and natural for children to want to be the leader of the pack. This is hardwired (survival of the fittest ect) and if they are clever they can make the rest of the pack ie, the parents do what they want. Usually they will do this by pestering, interrupting and eventually tantrumming.

It is our job as pack leaders to stop them doing this as they are too immature to handle the consequences and can't deal when things go wrong (ie they don't get their way). We have to do this so that they grow up to be pleasant people that others will like.

I am NOT comparing our dc's to animals, but we all have animal instincts (check out any nightclub at 2am) and part of our job of raising dc's is to manage these instincts.

So when a child interrupts an adult talking they should be told to wait until said adult is finished.

My parents drummed it into me that I was not allowed to interrupt adults when they are talking - I'm trying to do the same with my dds but it's hard!

I'm trying to teach mine that it's rude to interrupt people, also that it's rude to have a conversation and leave out someone in the room. Or to whisper in front of other people.

But for me it's irrespective of whether they are adults or children, it's basic respect for others. So it's rude when adults do it to children as well as when children do it to adults.

I hate this,and have been brought up the same.I find this difficult to maintain though -they home in on me when I'm on the phone and they know it's not polite to ask questions/make demands while I'm talking.

Oh and teenagers LOVE to earwig (they constantly don't get the facts right either!)

I'm with Fennel - our DDs are not allowed to interrupt us but equally when they are telking, we listen and do not interrupt them. I hate and detest the 'Mummy mummy mummy...' business, and will refuse to acknowledge the DDs when they do this.

Really really irritating esp. with my DS1 (8yrs)who is very pedantic and if I tell a story (which have possibly simplified for ease of telling or max effect) he 'corrects' me with the pedantic version.

Yes it is rude and my two are told to wait and not interupt. I am hyper sensitive to it as my sister lets her PFB precedence over adult converstaion and we can never have an adult conversation between the two of us when he's around because he interupts continually which she seems to think he is 'cute'. He's 6 btw

'telking'? talking of course

I agree with Carmenere... it's not the kids interrupting so much I hate. it's the way some adults react to their kids every utterance...

... I have friends whose kids are always interrupting just when i am in the middle of one of my intensely exciting stories. If it was up to me, I'd just quickly tell them to hang on a minute or shattaaap. But my friends break off to engage them in new conversation or go off and do whatever their kid has annoyingly asked them to (eg get a drink etc). Meanwhile, I am mid sentence trying to get to the crucial point of my story... and left looking like a plonker.

Don't think there's any need to ban kids from the room. But don't hang on their every word/succumb to their every question at the expense of your grown up friends.

There. That feels better...

I get the correcting too Grumpalina!

Carmenere, you have hit the nail on the head where my dd is concerned. She is constantly jostling for position of topdog (she can be topdog of her own household when she has her own family - this is my time dammit!!). I thought it was because she's a Leo

PMSL. I remember my mother going to answer the door to a neighbour etc (glass door) and hissing do not contradict me at me. I used to listen to her talking and pipe up that that wasn't how it happened at all or so and so didn't say that!

I just accept (although it can be frustrating) that I can't discuss my x's latest meanness or so and so's mad antics, or what the grandparents did to annoy me IN FRONT of children.

You just ahve to either not say it, hint at it, say it in French! OR go out for a bottle of wine when the children are in bed I think!

it drives me mad too

i fond saying im talking to mummy / daddy / whoever it is and going immediatly back to original converstaion with whover it was works.

if asking about converstaional details i will genrally tell them that its my converstaona dna th4ye dont need to know

I don't let mine interrupt.
Happy for them to take part in the conversation though.
If it is something I (or the other adult) don't want them to hear, or discuss, I just ask them to go and play.
My parents were never interested in my opinion when I was a child though, so maybe I am doing the opposite sub-consciously.

drives me mad, interuption is rude

My father would routinely tell me to shut up in front of other adults and would go ballistic if I dared offer an opinion in a conversation. However I must admit it does bug me if my DS joins in an adult conversation but I just say Oi not your conversation and he gets the message. I usually send them off if I don't want to him hear as he has no discretion at all LOL They are NOT allowed to interrupt me or any other adult though, they have to wait until we have finished. My youngest DS sits with his hand up! I expect the same of my cubs too )

I HATE it. DS has a habit of...

me - "Did she really?"
friend - "apparantly, yes!"
DS - "who??? who did what??"