Anyone who has raised a toddler or been around one knows how much they love to talk. Toddlers will speak to anyone and anything within earshot. They especially love speaking to their parents because they believe what they have to say is the most important thing in the world, and of course, it is!
When my daughter was a toddler, I’d pick her up from daycare, and she would ask me to turn off the car radio to tell me the news of her day. This is a sweet, endearing ritual that not all adults necessarily appreciate, especially if they’re in the middle of a conversation with the parent of an interrupting toddler.
One online user expresses frustration with other adults talking over their toddler in an unpopular opinion thread. Surprisingly, this opinion is more popular than one would expect.
Table of Contents
1. Wait Your Turn, Please
One mother describes how she handles an interrupting toddler: “If my kids are interrupting a conversation for anything other than an emergency, I usually have them wait their turn.”
2. Let Me Chase My Kid, Please
The only thing toddlers love more than the sounds of their own voices is running off in public, like Usain Bolt at the Olympics. Some parents on the thread justifiably complain about adults who think their words precede a toddler’s words and expect the conversation to continue even as they’re chasing their little one in a public space.
3. A Teachable Moment
Instead of choosing on the spot whether to continue an adult conversation or allow interrupting toddler to take over the talk, one parent suggests using it as a teachable moment by silently communicating with the toddler.
First, wordlessly pat the toddler’s hand to acknowledge their presence, then continue the conversation until you’re ready to address the toddler. This is also known as the Bluey method, named after the cartoon character who taught this valuable lesson.
4. There Are Other Adults in the Room
Several people had no problem prioritizing their toddler’s conversation over other adults, saying that parenthood has made them more antisocial, and they like it. They love hearing what their kids have to say!
5. Dueling Voices = Overstimulation
It’s one thing to listen to a toddler going on and on about everything and nothing. It’s another thing when an adult decides to chime in and talk over or in tandem with said toddler. More than a few people say this sends them into sensory overload.
6. Can I Get an Amen Up in Here?
The idea of prioritizing your child’s voice over adult voices has the agreement of multiple users, with one saying, “It’s very irritating when other adults don’t give you a moment to parent when needed and understand that your child is your number one priority.”
7. Recognize the Humanity of Children
A pet peeve of another user is the failure of some adults to recognize children’s humanity, choosing to overtalk or ignore them instead of recognizing them as “autonomous beings.”
8. Adults First
A different user takes the opposite position, saying they “will talk over my interrupting toddler until she gets too loud, and then we have a quick convo about interrupting.” This tactic can lead to the next entry.
9. Ignore Me at Your Own Peril
One user muses that they’re so loud today as a grownup because adults always ignored and talked over them as a child. If that’s not a cautionary tale, I don’t know what is.
10. Manage the Disruptions
Anticipating the actions of an interrupting toddler is an approach one employs to allow themselves the space to pay attention to their little one and sustain an adult conversation. They either stop the conversation early or hand their toddler off to another adult so the person they speak with has their undivided attention. It sounds like a win-win! What is your opinion?
