When will he get an inside voice?...

[Ari2]

For parents of naturally loud kids, when did you teach your child to moderate his/her volume?

My 18-month-old son is big ball o' happiness. And he frequently expresses this at the top of his lungs. He constantly asks the names of objects by saying "Da?" for "What is that?", and it comes out as "<SIZE size="125"><SIZE size="150">DA</SIZE>?</SIZE> <SIZE size="175">DA?</SIZE> <SIZE size="175"><SIZE size="200">DA</SIZE>?</SIZE>". He hoots and howls with glee, which is incredibly cute and wonderful to see, but it isn't so wonderful to hear at close range. When he is really happy (about every 5 minutes) he crows with a "<SIZE size="175">Ha-AAAAAAAAA!</SIZE>". It is so loud it hurts my ears if he is sitting on my lap. Today my husband and I took our twins to walk in a mall (kinda cold and wet outdoors here for 2 tots who tend to topple over), and I could hear my son everywhere I went with my daughter. I don't want to diminish his exuberance or joy, but I also want to be able to hear normally when he is older.

Ideas? Suggestions? Tx!

 

[jtee]

For some entertainment related to this topic see: http://www.parentingforums.org/f16/laughing-baby-933.html[/URL]

 

[musicmom]

I think just telling him to "shhhhhh" will eventually work. My kids are still loud and I have to remind them to lower their voices and they are 7,6,6!
My problem is I can't get them to quit running in the house. I don't care if they are going two feet they have to run to get there. I stop them and ask "why do you have to run in the house? Where are you going so fast and why?" and they always say "I don't know"
I just think they have all this adrenaline and don't know what to do with it. lol

 

[fallon]

if you figure it out let me know....my 1 yo (OMG my baby is 1 :-( ) yells everything and screams for joy ALL THE TIME. he seems to be getting louder as he gets older

 

[Good Wolf]

I can't imagine trying to get an infant to use an inside voice it is hard enough getting our four year old to do it.

 

[fallon]

I can't imagine trying to get an infant to use an inside voice it is hard enough getting our four year old to do it.

yeah that...my 5 yo is crazy loud but than again so am I

 

[Ari2]

We're trying to respond to him in quiet voices in the hopes he catches on, which will probably occur sometime in the next 20 years, I'm sure.

So he says, "<SIZE size="175">Da?!?</SIZE>", and I reply, "<SIZE size="75">It is a truck</SIZE>". Repeat a few thousand times a day.

 

[Lissa]

Good luck! Oliver is very loud. I don't discourage it because it's communication. Unless it's in a public place, of course. Then I politely tell him to be quiet. He doesn't understand it yet, but he'll get it.

 

[Ari2]

Good luck! Oliver is very loud. I don't discourage it because it's communication. Unless it's in a public place, of course. Then I politely tell him to be quiet. He doesn't understand it yet, but he'll get it.

That's exactly my thought, Lissa: I don't want to discourage communication. He's a bit behind the developmental curve (although not so much with his age adjusted for prematurity). I did try politely telling him to be quieter. He looked like I killed his puppy. So the quiet voice on my part is me wimping out for the moment.

 

[jtee]

if you figure it out let me know....my 1 yo (OMG my baby is 1 :-( ) yells everything and screams for joy ALL THE TIME. he seems to be getting louder as he gets older

There wouldn't be anyone else in the home that watches a lot of sports on the weekends or currently the Road to the Final 4?

 

[evilbrent]

firstly, respect his need to express his loud-energy. secondly give him a way to express this energy appropriately.

say to him "That's too loud. That hurts my ears. Use your talking voice if you have something to say to me."

Take him outside to get his loud-energy out.

 

[Kaytee]

I agree that just answering him in a quiet voice is about all you can do at this point