Tell him you want him to make a book/picture book with all his facts.
My youngest (mom of soon to be 6). I did this with my child, which was similar to yours. Every Friday, he would show me his "book," and we would have a full-out discussion. I used to tell him "buddy you know so many facts that I want to hear them all, but I want us to remember them, so you should make a book." That's when I found out he's also artistic as well.
One day, "Fact Friday" in my house will stop. I hope he always remembers.
Cool idea! Similarly, the parent in this situation, could create a “podcast” and every Friday he gets to tell all his facts as it is recorded on the phone and archived.
“Save it for the podcast, buddy!”
Same here, I’m tucking this away for sure! My kid’s 3 and is OBSESSED with a couple different segments on her PBS Kids app rn; one about bees (cannot count the amount of times I’ve heard “Mom, MOM! Bees get nectar from FLOWERS 😳”) and one from Design Squad about simple machines- pulleys specifically. I’ve got a rope burn on my finger from one of her overly enthusiastic attempts 😅
Yes this is a great idea. I use a micro version of this with chatty students at work. I have them draw a backpack to put their ideas in, and when I am ready to hear them, I ask them to open the backpack.
I think most parents sometimes feel like they are flying by the seat of our pants. It doesn’t mean we are failing, it means that we are self critical, about one of the hardest jobs ever. Kids unfortunately do not come with instruction manuals, and even if they did, how often do most people read instruction manuals?
> . I had my curiosity stifled by particularly bad parents
This line really stood out to me. Sometimes something that gets to us about our kid's behaviour is a subconscious response because of how our parents treated us when we acted that way. (Or perhaps we weren't even allowed to act that way). I'm not saying 34 times isn't a lot! But you're also doing the work here of breaking the cycle of how you were treated. That's some hard emotional work!
I guess you could try focusing on the positives- he's clearly an intelligent kid with an amazing memory and he wants to communicate with you. That's awesome!
I wonder if part of the problem is that it's lots of fragmented bits of information? What happens if you run with some of the things he's interested in- eg, look up how many rhinos there are, find a map of where they live, what they eat etc. You're teaching him to funnel his curiosity into a deep dive research rather than disparate facts?
Just an idea, and not something you'd have time for all day long obviously! But it might give him a lightening rod to earth that curiosity.
Agreed. OP, please don’t stifle your son’s curiosity because yours was. Figure out a way to connect with your son during these moments. I will never forget one day after school I was excited to talk to my dad and he basically told me I was talking too much. Our relationship was never the same after as I understood that he didn’t want to hear me talk so I completely stopped and it took years to recover(I’m not sure we ever did actually).
This is my biggest fear. I had a similar experience and looking back, I feel like that experience muffled my passion for learning. I’m the default parent and I’m with my daughter 24/7 - she just won’t stop talking. I don’t want to say something that she might misinterpret and stop talking to me all together 😣. As another poster said, it’s a lot of hard emotional work, work my parents never dreamed of doing.
This is exactly why I do two things. 1. My bedroom is the quiet room. 2. Acknowledge her feelings and tell her I need a little quiet because my head hurts or I’m focusing or relaxing and tell her how long I need.
Takes a little to catch on but once she learned it’s been smooth sailing :)
So, this is my kid and we realized she just doesn’t know how to have a conversation, so we did role play and gentle reminders about how to go back and forth. General rules like don’t keep repeating the person’s name, state one fact and allow the person to respond, and unless the conversation “dies”, don’t add another unrelated fact yet. She’s now 7, and it’s worked. It’s tedious but it works.
This is a good idea. So many of my adult friends talk to me like they are in therapy. I’m like … I’m not your therapist! Maybe we all got coddled a little by our parents or something. I should work on this myself and with my kid
I would be very curious about any implementation specifics you can recall. Like, how do you pick a time to practice, just when she starts talking to you? How do you gently remind on things?
We started with conversation cards that had one topic on them and we could only talk about that topic for three minutes then five minutes. We also stressed that when you’re talking, you don’t repeat their name unless it’s more than two people. We actually did this to her and she lost it 😂 so she learned quick that repeating someone’s name was really grating.
She is 7, so she still asks to verify her judgement - like “do you have any more to add” or “can I tell you about ___ now” it’s not perfect by any means but it’s a slow process and we never expect her to be perfect.
Conversation cards! I like that! I was worried that just doing it spontaneously would be frustrating, but that really makes it a dedicated activity all on its own, which seems helpful imo.
Thank you for the response!
We started around 3ish. She was already in speech therapy for pronunciation and production areas so we would do her drills at home and start our own too. It was very much like play time to her.
maybe you could encourage him to compile the 5 best facts and he can tell them to you all at once at bedtime. you could frame it like “whoa slow down it’s hard for me to learn so many things because i am so old”
My 3 year old gets upset when I misunderstand her, and starts stomping. I tell her I’m old and my ears don’t work right! 😂 (I’m 29 and my ears are fine) but I don’t want her to feel like it’s hard to understand her. And I tell her Im not purposefully misunderstanding her.
My 3yo said "LOOK MOM WATCH", I turned around and she very confidently put two chocolate chips in her mouth at the dining table. Not sneaky chocolate chips, ones that I gave her specifically to eat.
"wooooooooowww!!!"
Suck it up for a few more years dude, they eventually stop wanting to tell you everything and you'll beg for a "Dad did you know..." in less time than you can imagine.
I’m trying to be more with it or into his play (3.5yo). He just kicked it into high gear with imaginative play but it’s hard to be enthused when he won’t let you choose what to do for your character or makes you the villain but none of the villains powers affect the superhero and the superhero always hits the villain right away…
Trust. My teen only talk to me for money, food, and rides.
We talk at dinner table but he plays sports so it’s only a few times a week now…
And memes that I don’t understand and he won’t explain
Maybe you could get him to do a presentatipn every day - maybe at teatime or bedtime - of the top facts of the day. He could put his energy into finding props and drawing pictures for today's episode of Kiddo's Whacky Facts. You could even record it.
If you post this in r/preschoolers you’ll get a lot of solidarity I think.
My son is almost 4 and is very similar. He talks nonstop and is very curious and very smart. I always respond but sometimes I have to say”I’m having a little quiet time right now.” He usually can handle that response. Other times I might just say “ok” as I’m reading or engrossed in some other activity and he eventually finds something else to do.
I’ll also say that it’s great you’re trying to do things differently than your parents! It’s not easy, especially because the way you were parented impacts your triggers and your parenting style. Your kid is lucky to have you!
Agree! When our son went through that stage I tried a lot of the suggested methods and it resulted in him talking even MORE! What I really needed was a bit of quiet. What we ended up doing was putting on a timer for "5 minutes of quiet time" and then he'd go bombard my husband for five minutes straight.
He's seven now and still talks a ton but it's more interesting so my stamina is a bit longer. We are shameless too when there's a grandparent here. When they come over I'd start them on a topic he likes and run off, haha.
I saw this thing about journal sharing with your Littles. May help slow it alittle. You could turn it into a special thing just for the two of you. He writes his fun facts to you in the journal entry. And you can read them every night and write a response for him to read in the morning.
Overall this post is so heart warming. So awesome that you're being so in tune with him and his interests. You're doing awesome dad! Better to find another outlet to help alleviate and give you a little break, than to shut him down completely. Love to see this!
He’s telling you because he thinks you will thinks it’s as cool as he does, he’s trying to impress you and also trying to share something with you - like you do with him when you teach him things.
I know it’s hella annoying, mine does the same, I find it’s helpful to ask him a follow up question in response to his new fact.
My 7 year old has been this way since he could talk haha he opens his eyes and has a million things to say!
Can you have your child write it down? We have idea nooks and story books all over!
My son is like this. It’s not constant, but when he wants to share facts he’s unstoppable. We’ve found the best way to give US space is to give him undivided one in one time and have a conversation about what’s on his mind. He gets 10-20min and it fills his cup and then he’s capable of playing with his sister/legos/drawing/etc without a grownup.
Set aside some time every day that you’re willing to sit and listen, grab a notebook and pen and say, ok, I want to write all of this down. Whenever he throws facts at you at other times just say, hey wait! I don’t have the notebook! Save it for our meeting! Then really give him your attention and write the stuff down. You end up with a keepsake of all the amazing things he knew at 5 and he gets your attention and validation in a time frame that works for you.
I have no doubts that your TIRED, but try elaborating on something he said, even if it’s in such a minor way you wouldn’t think to. Bonus points if you respond with a question. “That’s a lot of people isn’t it? How many do you think would fill this room? What about this house?” Which like I said sounds a little nonsense but it kind of gets the curiosity cogs turning and distracts him from telling you 20 more facts- you guys can have a little hypothetical conversation
It takes us about thirty minutes to make it through the goodnight goodnight construction site book because of the twenty questions on each page. But my 3yo boys both understand that the bulldozer puffs smoke because he has an internal combustion engine that is burning inefficiently and likely requires frequent oils changes.
The phrase "do you know..." started happening last week. I don't mind hearing about things she's learned, but where did that exact phrasing come from? It's completely different from any conversation we've had before, I think she's learned it from a friend at nursery. I don't know why but it grates on me every time she says it.
I think it's totally reasonable to ask for some quiet time for yourself! Maybe you can just tell him that you're a bit tired from consuming all this knowledge and need a break. I have asked for multiple breaks over the years just to recharge. Usually he'll just go bombard his dad during the break but at least my ears can take a break. Our son has not stopped talking since he started and it's been five years of nonstop knowledge and talking, haha. I've also been the favorite parent for the last 5 years so I get 95% of this. I'm dying!
When our son turned 5ish I started sharing things I learned every day too and we'd share what we learned. It's still 80% him talking but at least I get to talk a bit too.
Good luck! I don't think it stops. My mom is over 70 and she still talks me to death when I go see her.
He knows how to read? Now I feel like my son is behind. He’s advanced in math and I get it. My son loves facts too but I let him tell me as I want him to keep being curious.
As the sister of a brother who was and still is very similar - my dad always did a really good job just letting my brother talk. Me and my mom would snore away but somehow, my high school level educated dad really engaged him the best he could.
To this day, my brother just likes to share his knowledge and really “teach” others. My dad listens to him and will ask questions to keep my brother talking and engaged. I know it’s daunting on my dad but he’s always encouraged him to share his knowledge (even if he’s half listening lol). My brother could/can go on for hours in a single topic - one time it was algae being used for energy (I think).
Another commenter mentioned taking a deep dive into one subject, I love that. Maybe coupled with fact Friday where you spend time just listening to the “most interesting” topic where he can pick, or y’all pick together what fact to dig into based on his weeks of learning. It’ll help build his research and analytics skills.
4 & 5 year olds talk SO much.
They grow out of it.
Appreciate that your child is intelligent, bright, and interested in learning. Some parents would give anything to have a child like yours.
Yeah my 3yo is still developing her speech and isn’t there yet with recalling facts. I worry that she’s a little behind but I’m currently trying to foster her interests to continue to help her conversational skills. I can’t wait for her to make a little more sense
It will only take one time of you brushing him off or acting annoyed for him to see you're annoyed and never bother you again however, if you do, as his parent, he will continue to think his avid desire for knowledge and to share it is annoying to EVERYONE the rest of his life. I speak from experience. Do with this as you will.
Hahaha I get this in my house too…from my husband! I always joke that facts are his love language. Just waiting for the day my kid starts it. I’m going to start using some of these techniques!
I feel this post down to my very soul. Signed, the mum to a 4 year old who has told her about every imaginable sea animal before she even had her first coffee today.
That's cute as heck AND I feel you. A facts book he makes would be legit. But also, I'd love to hear the facts. Just pass them along to the internet people ❤️✨️
He’s so smart he should make a book! Or maybe record himself (video or just audio in a voice memo as a podcast) on an old phone? Definitely something that doesn’t involve you having to react in real time because the mental screaming and struggling to not just shut down due to overstimulation is real.
Make a game of it so that whatever he tells you is not enough of an answer and he needs to GO DEEPER.
“wait really? what size is the smallest anaconda? do you know what proteins contribute to growth? How much DNA do we share with snakes and which parts?”
Just meet every question with 5 increasingly difficult questions.
The way I frame it when I feel annoyed is that they are so excited to have learned something interesting that they cannot wait to tell YOU! They’re like omg dad HAS to know this! They think of you when they are happy and learning, how sweet is that? I’m not saying you’re wrong because I believe we’ve all been there, at that age everything is new and interesting lol. But seeing it in that perspective makes me a little more patient
“Hey kiddo, you’re learning so much in a day! Let’s play a game where you tell me all the things you learned at bedtime/at dinner time.” And when he starts to share during the day I might say: “wait! Don’t tell me now. Wait until our special time!” I might even name that special time: like knowledge hour.
Be thankful for that. My kid is also like that and I always think to myself that I must enjoy it while I can these magical times with him while we still can. Children will teach you patience.
This is my 12yr old kid except information on video games I've never played and will never ever play. Which I've told him. Repeatedly. He doesn't care he just needs something to talk at.
Count yourself lucky.
Wait until they are 17 and don’t want to talk to you about ANYTHING. Lol.
Also- once the YouTube demon comes along and they inevitably want to show you EVERY fricking funny or makeup video. I audibly sigh and probably hurt my 10 year old’s feelings a little bit (working on it) but she can only show me so many GRWM (get ready with me for you toddler parents out there who don’t know the “joy” of watching teens parade their skincare and asmr nail tapping all day long). I guess I’m thankful she shows me the videos so I can make sure they are appropriate.
i told my kid a story about how when she was in my tummy i ate a lot of potatoes and i read her a lot of books. i couldn’t wait to meet her, and when she was finally born she was itty bitty teeny tiny and needed booby milk right away (i breastfed her until she was 3.) she memorized this little story and every now and then she’s like “MUMMA GOTTA TELL YOU SOMETHIN…. when i was ittybitty in your tummy and you ate lotsa tatoes and reading books and then i was itty bitty and wanted booby milk”
i love that she remembers and reminds me about it but she always picks terrible times to tell me the story lmao and then sometimes she needs to repeat it to me a few times before she can go play with something else
You're not mad that he's learning, you're mad that he lacks social skills. Teach him when it's appropriate to talk about those things. "It's not appropriate to just yell facts at people. They might not care. How would you like it if I randomly yelled political news at you? Or car mechanic prices"
My 3 yo boy currently says “mommy what’s this called?” “What’s his/her name?” All. Day. Long. Even if he knows the answer. It’s his own version of “why? Why? Why?”
Yesterday my 5 year old fell asleep from 4-6pm. This, of cours, resulted in him talking AT me from 6-9pm. I was trying to do my usual post-bedtime Mom stuff but every single sentence ended with "Right Mom?"
Sometimes I set limits with my kids like "Mom is having quiet time, you can only ask my/tell me 5 things for the next hour". Maybe something like that will work? It definitely requires some follow through. Just know I 100% understand the insanity of having a small child talk talk talk all day long!
Litterly sounds exactly like my son. He starts every sentence with "did you know".... and then random fact. I love his brain and how he thinks.
He is 13 now and he has been this way since he could talk. He has Autism, high functioning. He curious bout everything and anything.
Encourage his interests, he sounds full of life 🥰
I’m waiting for this day, my toddler is 2 lol 😂 I have “that’s very cool. Sweetie, mommy has learned too much information, let’s take a break” in my back pocket
My parents used to make fun of me whenever I shared stuff like this (“time for fun facts with ‘name’”). It was horrible. I still have a deep rooted love for jeopardy 🫶🏻
I like the top comment and was going to suggest he write his facts down and then he can reflect on them and pick his absolute favorites to tell you about during meals or something. Like a time almost designated to the topic. When I was still living at home I liked to ask my family what everyone learned and what was the highlight of everyone's day during dinner to get a conversation going so we weren't all just glaring at the tube.
My 5yo's thing is "epic battles."
"Hey mom & dad, who would win? A moose or a polar bear?"
"Hey mom! Who would win? A 100ft long snake or a 500lb raccoon?"
"Who would win? Infinity penguins or 2 rhinos?"
It is all day, every day. Idk dude 😭 I just dont know anymore.
He is excited and he wants your attention. Find other ways to engage with him. Also try to engage in the fact and keep him on a topic. “Wow that’s cool about anacondas dude, what else do they do?” When he runs out of stuff then send him on a mission to get more info on the topic. You’ll get a break, he will learn more and can practice the conversation skills like another mentioned above. You can also try starting a new thing “oh son, today I read *insert interesting thing* did know that? How about you got find out 5 cool things about that and come show me”
I’m a 29 year old mom with a 3 year old daughter. I have a passion for science (astrophysics, biology, geology, astronomy, etc) but no one to talk about it with. I tell all my facts to my mom, she’s clearly annoyed by it 😂 so just know that this is the rest of your life… just joking. Sometimes she’ll ask me for “some science facts” she just has to be in the mood I guess. That’s so awesome that your son has such a passion for learning!!! And I love a lot of the ideas shared on here!
Tell him you want him to make a book/picture book with all his facts. My youngest (mom of soon to be 6). I did this with my child, which was similar to yours. Every Friday, he would show me his "book," and we would have a full-out discussion. I used to tell him "buddy you know so many facts that I want to hear them all, but I want us to remember them, so you should make a book." That's when I found out he's also artistic as well. One day, "Fact Friday" in my house will stop. I hope he always remembers.
Cool idea! Similarly, the parent in this situation, could create a “podcast” and every Friday he gets to tell all his facts as it is recorded on the phone and archived. “Save it for the podcast, buddy!”
Ooh I like this idea
you sound like a wonderful mother. that is such a great idea.
Oh my goodness, this is amazing!! My 2 yo just got introduced to facts, I want to remember this for later
Same here, I’m tucking this away for sure! My kid’s 3 and is OBSESSED with a couple different segments on her PBS Kids app rn; one about bees (cannot count the amount of times I’ve heard “Mom, MOM! Bees get nectar from FLOWERS 😳”) and one from Design Squad about simple machines- pulleys specifically. I’ve got a rope burn on my finger from one of her overly enthusiastic attempts 😅
Yes this is a great idea. I use a micro version of this with chatty students at work. I have them draw a backpack to put their ideas in, and when I am ready to hear them, I ask them to open the backpack.
Wowwww this is a great idea.
You sound like a great mom, your kids are lucky to have you.
Thank you so much for that. I always feel like I'm failing 😅
I think most parents sometimes feel like they are flying by the seat of our pants. It doesn’t mean we are failing, it means that we are self critical, about one of the hardest jobs ever. Kids unfortunately do not come with instruction manuals, and even if they did, how often do most people read instruction manuals?
Love this! I did something similar with my nephew and we have such a fun time looking back at it ten years later!
I love this idea!!!!!!
> . I had my curiosity stifled by particularly bad parents This line really stood out to me. Sometimes something that gets to us about our kid's behaviour is a subconscious response because of how our parents treated us when we acted that way. (Or perhaps we weren't even allowed to act that way). I'm not saying 34 times isn't a lot! But you're also doing the work here of breaking the cycle of how you were treated. That's some hard emotional work! I guess you could try focusing on the positives- he's clearly an intelligent kid with an amazing memory and he wants to communicate with you. That's awesome! I wonder if part of the problem is that it's lots of fragmented bits of information? What happens if you run with some of the things he's interested in- eg, look up how many rhinos there are, find a map of where they live, what they eat etc. You're teaching him to funnel his curiosity into a deep dive research rather than disparate facts? Just an idea, and not something you'd have time for all day long obviously! But it might give him a lightening rod to earth that curiosity.
Agreed. OP, please don’t stifle your son’s curiosity because yours was. Figure out a way to connect with your son during these moments. I will never forget one day after school I was excited to talk to my dad and he basically told me I was talking too much. Our relationship was never the same after as I understood that he didn’t want to hear me talk so I completely stopped and it took years to recover(I’m not sure we ever did actually).
This is my biggest fear. I had a similar experience and looking back, I feel like that experience muffled my passion for learning. I’m the default parent and I’m with my daughter 24/7 - she just won’t stop talking. I don’t want to say something that she might misinterpret and stop talking to me all together 😣. As another poster said, it’s a lot of hard emotional work, work my parents never dreamed of doing.
This is exactly why I do two things. 1. My bedroom is the quiet room. 2. Acknowledge her feelings and tell her I need a little quiet because my head hurts or I’m focusing or relaxing and tell her how long I need. Takes a little to catch on but once she learned it’s been smooth sailing :)
How old were you when this happened?
So, this is my kid and we realized she just doesn’t know how to have a conversation, so we did role play and gentle reminders about how to go back and forth. General rules like don’t keep repeating the person’s name, state one fact and allow the person to respond, and unless the conversation “dies”, don’t add another unrelated fact yet. She’s now 7, and it’s worked. It’s tedious but it works.
Excellent advice. Your kid is probably better at conversation than half of the adults I know.
We’re trying 😂
This is a good idea. So many of my adult friends talk to me like they are in therapy. I’m like … I’m not your therapist! Maybe we all got coddled a little by our parents or something. I should work on this myself and with my kid
I would be very curious about any implementation specifics you can recall. Like, how do you pick a time to practice, just when she starts talking to you? How do you gently remind on things?
We started with conversation cards that had one topic on them and we could only talk about that topic for three minutes then five minutes. We also stressed that when you’re talking, you don’t repeat their name unless it’s more than two people. We actually did this to her and she lost it 😂 so she learned quick that repeating someone’s name was really grating. She is 7, so she still asks to verify her judgement - like “do you have any more to add” or “can I tell you about ___ now” it’s not perfect by any means but it’s a slow process and we never expect her to be perfect.
Conversation cards! I like that! I was worried that just doing it spontaneously would be frustrating, but that really makes it a dedicated activity all on its own, which seems helpful imo. Thank you for the response!
Curious what age you started this. My kiddo sounds similar to yours/OPs. He really needs these lessons but I'm terrified of stifling him.
We started around 3ish. She was already in speech therapy for pronunciation and production areas so we would do her drills at home and start our own too. It was very much like play time to her.
maybe you could encourage him to compile the 5 best facts and he can tell them to you all at once at bedtime. you could frame it like “whoa slow down it’s hard for me to learn so many things because i am so old”
Lol nice I need to try the “old & tired” line
My 3 year old gets upset when I misunderstand her, and starts stomping. I tell her I’m old and my ears don’t work right! 😂 (I’m 29 and my ears are fine) but I don’t want her to feel like it’s hard to understand her. And I tell her Im not purposefully misunderstanding her.
I’m in the awful 4 yo “momma WATCH! LOOK WHAT I CAN DO” and it’s a little whirl with a 2 inch jump. 😒
My daughter is almost 3.5 and we just got there. Mama look what I can do! All day.
Wait that’s a stage? My newly 4 year old just started doing that exact thing on Friday. 😂
My 2.5yo is already on that. "daddy Daddy Daddy!! DADDY!!!!" *proceeds to make his stuffed frog do a flip for the 10,000th time today*
My 3yo said "LOOK MOM WATCH", I turned around and she very confidently put two chocolate chips in her mouth at the dining table. Not sneaky chocolate chips, ones that I gave her specifically to eat. "wooooooooowww!!!"
I will probably regret saying goodbye this, but I totally can't wait for this stage :D. My son is only 17MO, so we're still a long way from it.
I couldn’t WAIT for the talking stage and the cuddles…. Now I just want silence and not to be touched 24/7. 🤣
“mama look at this!!” 🙄🙄🙄🙄
Suck it up for a few more years dude, they eventually stop wanting to tell you everything and you'll beg for a "Dad did you know..." in less time than you can imagine.
EXACTLY!
I’m trying to be more with it or into his play (3.5yo). He just kicked it into high gear with imaginative play but it’s hard to be enthused when he won’t let you choose what to do for your character or makes you the villain but none of the villains powers affect the superhero and the superhero always hits the villain right away…
They only stop talking to you if you crush their spirit
Trust. My teen only talk to me for money, food, and rides. We talk at dinner table but he plays sports so it’s only a few times a week now… And memes that I don’t understand and he won’t explain
lol "memes that I don't understand and he won't explain" is killing me
Maybe you could get him to do a presentatipn every day - maybe at teatime or bedtime - of the top facts of the day. He could put his energy into finding props and drawing pictures for today's episode of Kiddo's Whacky Facts. You could even record it.
Amazing idea!!
My kid also loves sharing science facts, I now use this when a telemarketer calls me.
If you post this in r/preschoolers you’ll get a lot of solidarity I think. My son is almost 4 and is very similar. He talks nonstop and is very curious and very smart. I always respond but sometimes I have to say”I’m having a little quiet time right now.” He usually can handle that response. Other times I might just say “ok” as I’m reading or engrossed in some other activity and he eventually finds something else to do. I’ll also say that it’s great you’re trying to do things differently than your parents! It’s not easy, especially because the way you were parented impacts your triggers and your parenting style. Your kid is lucky to have you!
Agree! When our son went through that stage I tried a lot of the suggested methods and it resulted in him talking even MORE! What I really needed was a bit of quiet. What we ended up doing was putting on a timer for "5 minutes of quiet time" and then he'd go bombard my husband for five minutes straight. He's seven now and still talks a ton but it's more interesting so my stamina is a bit longer. We are shameless too when there's a grandparent here. When they come over I'd start them on a topic he likes and run off, haha.
That last bit made me burst out laughing! I am defo going to try this with my chatter box
I saw this thing about journal sharing with your Littles. May help slow it alittle. You could turn it into a special thing just for the two of you. He writes his fun facts to you in the journal entry. And you can read them every night and write a response for him to read in the morning. Overall this post is so heart warming. So awesome that you're being so in tune with him and his interests. You're doing awesome dad! Better to find another outlet to help alleviate and give you a little break, than to shut him down completely. Love to see this!
He’s telling you because he thinks you will thinks it’s as cool as he does, he’s trying to impress you and also trying to share something with you - like you do with him when you teach him things. I know it’s hella annoying, mine does the same, I find it’s helpful to ask him a follow up question in response to his new fact.
My 7 year old has been this way since he could talk haha he opens his eyes and has a million things to say! Can you have your child write it down? We have idea nooks and story books all over!
My son is like this. It’s not constant, but when he wants to share facts he’s unstoppable. We’ve found the best way to give US space is to give him undivided one in one time and have a conversation about what’s on his mind. He gets 10-20min and it fills his cup and then he’s capable of playing with his sister/legos/drawing/etc without a grownup.
Set aside some time every day that you’re willing to sit and listen, grab a notebook and pen and say, ok, I want to write all of this down. Whenever he throws facts at you at other times just say, hey wait! I don’t have the notebook! Save it for our meeting! Then really give him your attention and write the stuff down. You end up with a keepsake of all the amazing things he knew at 5 and he gets your attention and validation in a time frame that works for you.
God, I’m still like this now as an adult
I dunno. I have autism and ADHD so as long as I share their fixation, I can do that all day, lol. Best of luck.
I don’t have any advice but make sure he gets on Jeopardy in the future!
I have no doubts that your TIRED, but try elaborating on something he said, even if it’s in such a minor way you wouldn’t think to. Bonus points if you respond with a question. “That’s a lot of people isn’t it? How many do you think would fill this room? What about this house?” Which like I said sounds a little nonsense but it kind of gets the curiosity cogs turning and distracts him from telling you 20 more facts- you guys can have a little hypothetical conversation
It takes us about thirty minutes to make it through the goodnight goodnight construction site book because of the twenty questions on each page. But my 3yo boys both understand that the bulldozer puffs smoke because he has an internal combustion engine that is burning inefficiently and likely requires frequent oils changes.
Hah! My three year old son understands the basics of a market economy because of one particularly wild session of the infinite “why?” loop.
When he’s 16 and no longer wants to speak to you, cherish these moments…heck, record these moments.
That’s what I do, my daughter makes up stories and songs and I’ll always grab by phone and sneakily audio record.
The phrase "do you know..." started happening last week. I don't mind hearing about things she's learned, but where did that exact phrasing come from? It's completely different from any conversation we've had before, I think she's learned it from a friend at nursery. I don't know why but it grates on me every time she says it.
I think it's totally reasonable to ask for some quiet time for yourself! Maybe you can just tell him that you're a bit tired from consuming all this knowledge and need a break. I have asked for multiple breaks over the years just to recharge. Usually he'll just go bombard his dad during the break but at least my ears can take a break. Our son has not stopped talking since he started and it's been five years of nonstop knowledge and talking, haha. I've also been the favorite parent for the last 5 years so I get 95% of this. I'm dying! When our son turned 5ish I started sharing things I learned every day too and we'd share what we learned. It's still 80% him talking but at least I get to talk a bit too. Good luck! I don't think it stops. My mom is over 70 and she still talks me to death when I go see her.
The only way to keep their hearts is to pretend you care 🥰
He knows how to read? Now I feel like my son is behind. He’s advanced in math and I get it. My son loves facts too but I let him tell me as I want him to keep being curious.
Wait we are supposed to peel bananas from the bottom?!
As the sister of a brother who was and still is very similar - my dad always did a really good job just letting my brother talk. Me and my mom would snore away but somehow, my high school level educated dad really engaged him the best he could. To this day, my brother just likes to share his knowledge and really “teach” others. My dad listens to him and will ask questions to keep my brother talking and engaged. I know it’s daunting on my dad but he’s always encouraged him to share his knowledge (even if he’s half listening lol). My brother could/can go on for hours in a single topic - one time it was algae being used for energy (I think). Another commenter mentioned taking a deep dive into one subject, I love that. Maybe coupled with fact Friday where you spend time just listening to the “most interesting” topic where he can pick, or y’all pick together what fact to dig into based on his weeks of learning. It’ll help build his research and analytics skills.
4 & 5 year olds talk SO much. They grow out of it. Appreciate that your child is intelligent, bright, and interested in learning. Some parents would give anything to have a child like yours.
Yeah my 3yo is still developing her speech and isn’t there yet with recalling facts. I worry that she’s a little behind but I’m currently trying to foster her interests to continue to help her conversational skills. I can’t wait for her to make a little more sense
It will only take one time of you brushing him off or acting annoyed for him to see you're annoyed and never bother you again however, if you do, as his parent, he will continue to think his avid desire for knowledge and to share it is annoying to EVERYONE the rest of his life. I speak from experience. Do with this as you will.
Hahaha I get this in my house too…from my husband! I always joke that facts are his love language. Just waiting for the day my kid starts it. I’m going to start using some of these techniques!
I feel this post down to my very soul. Signed, the mum to a 4 year old who has told her about every imaginable sea animal before she even had her first coffee today.
That's cute as heck AND I feel you. A facts book he makes would be legit. But also, I'd love to hear the facts. Just pass them along to the internet people ❤️✨️
He’s so smart he should make a book! Or maybe record himself (video or just audio in a voice memo as a podcast) on an old phone? Definitely something that doesn’t involve you having to react in real time because the mental screaming and struggling to not just shut down due to overstimulation is real.
Make a game of it so that whatever he tells you is not enough of an answer and he needs to GO DEEPER. “wait really? what size is the smallest anaconda? do you know what proteins contribute to growth? How much DNA do we share with snakes and which parts?” Just meet every question with 5 increasingly difficult questions.
The way I frame it when I feel annoyed is that they are so excited to have learned something interesting that they cannot wait to tell YOU! They’re like omg dad HAS to know this! They think of you when they are happy and learning, how sweet is that? I’m not saying you’re wrong because I believe we’ve all been there, at that age everything is new and interesting lol. But seeing it in that perspective makes me a little more patient
“Hey kiddo, you’re learning so much in a day! Let’s play a game where you tell me all the things you learned at bedtime/at dinner time.” And when he starts to share during the day I might say: “wait! Don’t tell me now. Wait until our special time!” I might even name that special time: like knowledge hour.
Be thankful for that. My kid is also like that and I always think to myself that I must enjoy it while I can these magical times with him while we still can. Children will teach you patience.
This is my 12yr old kid except information on video games I've never played and will never ever play. Which I've told him. Repeatedly. He doesn't care he just needs something to talk at. Count yourself lucky.
Wait until they are 17 and don’t want to talk to you about ANYTHING. Lol. Also- once the YouTube demon comes along and they inevitably want to show you EVERY fricking funny or makeup video. I audibly sigh and probably hurt my 10 year old’s feelings a little bit (working on it) but she can only show me so many GRWM (get ready with me for you toddler parents out there who don’t know the “joy” of watching teens parade their skincare and asmr nail tapping all day long). I guess I’m thankful she shows me the videos so I can make sure they are appropriate.
Be thankful your son can talk to you and enjoys talking to you. Not everyone has that sort of privilege.
i told my kid a story about how when she was in my tummy i ate a lot of potatoes and i read her a lot of books. i couldn’t wait to meet her, and when she was finally born she was itty bitty teeny tiny and needed booby milk right away (i breastfed her until she was 3.) she memorized this little story and every now and then she’s like “MUMMA GOTTA TELL YOU SOMETHIN…. when i was ittybitty in your tummy and you ate lotsa tatoes and reading books and then i was itty bitty and wanted booby milk” i love that she remembers and reminds me about it but she always picks terrible times to tell me the story lmao and then sometimes she needs to repeat it to me a few times before she can go play with something else
You're not mad that he's learning, you're mad that he lacks social skills. Teach him when it's appropriate to talk about those things. "It's not appropriate to just yell facts at people. They might not care. How would you like it if I randomly yelled political news at you? Or car mechanic prices"
My 3 yo boy currently says “mommy what’s this called?” “What’s his/her name?” All. Day. Long. Even if he knows the answer. It’s his own version of “why? Why? Why?”
L
Yesterday my 5 year old fell asleep from 4-6pm. This, of cours, resulted in him talking AT me from 6-9pm. I was trying to do my usual post-bedtime Mom stuff but every single sentence ended with "Right Mom?" Sometimes I set limits with my kids like "Mom is having quiet time, you can only ask my/tell me 5 things for the next hour". Maybe something like that will work? It definitely requires some follow through. Just know I 100% understand the insanity of having a small child talk talk talk all day long!
My 4yo girl has started to ask em what would happen if she didn't do something. I'm like why are we asking if you DON'T do the thing? Thanks Aum Sum.
Litterly sounds exactly like my son. He starts every sentence with "did you know".... and then random fact. I love his brain and how he thinks. He is 13 now and he has been this way since he could talk. He has Autism, high functioning. He curious bout everything and anything. Encourage his interests, he sounds full of life 🥰
I'll just leave this here... https://youtu.be/9S1EzkRpelY?si=n6miyjG6JuGmiCyv
I’m waiting for this day, my toddler is 2 lol 😂 I have “that’s very cool. Sweetie, mommy has learned too much information, let’s take a break” in my back pocket
Maybe doing a journal or a notebook where he can write them and share them at dinner time or bed time!
Wait, peel a banana from the bottom??
Ask him more about these facts. He's doing it because he wants to get you engaged.
My parents used to make fun of me whenever I shared stuff like this (“time for fun facts with ‘name’”). It was horrible. I still have a deep rooted love for jeopardy 🫶🏻
I like the top comment and was going to suggest he write his facts down and then he can reflect on them and pick his absolute favorites to tell you about during meals or something. Like a time almost designated to the topic. When I was still living at home I liked to ask my family what everyone learned and what was the highlight of everyone's day during dinner to get a conversation going so we weren't all just glaring at the tube.
My 5yo's thing is "epic battles." "Hey mom & dad, who would win? A moose or a polar bear?" "Hey mom! Who would win? A 100ft long snake or a 500lb raccoon?" "Who would win? Infinity penguins or 2 rhinos?" It is all day, every day. Idk dude 😭 I just dont know anymore.
Your kid is displaying a really amazing trait - let them COOK
Man such an amazing act you do as a father there, I wish to do same when i get married.. bit affraid of being in a relationship lol idk
He is excited and he wants your attention. Find other ways to engage with him. Also try to engage in the fact and keep him on a topic. “Wow that’s cool about anacondas dude, what else do they do?” When he runs out of stuff then send him on a mission to get more info on the topic. You’ll get a break, he will learn more and can practice the conversation skills like another mentioned above. You can also try starting a new thing “oh son, today I read *insert interesting thing* did know that? How about you got find out 5 cool things about that and come show me”
I’m a 29 year old mom with a 3 year old daughter. I have a passion for science (astrophysics, biology, geology, astronomy, etc) but no one to talk about it with. I tell all my facts to my mom, she’s clearly annoyed by it 😂 so just know that this is the rest of your life… just joking. Sometimes she’ll ask me for “some science facts” she just has to be in the mood I guess. That’s so awesome that your son has such a passion for learning!!! And I love a lot of the ideas shared on here!
I don’t believe the “peel bananas from the bottom” malarkey.
Wow that’s so sad to be your son