Let’s face it, whether you’re 8 or 80, refraining from interrupting someone takes awareness, practice, and often a lot of control! Whether you’ve been engaged in a conversation where you just can’t wait to get your point across, or involved in a debate when you’ve strongly felt the need to correct someone when they’re wrong, we’ve all interrupted from here and there.

But when it comes to our little ones, you may notice that they don’t have much control at all over their tendency to interrupt others, whether they’re talking to adults or other children. Being patient, waiting for others to talk, listening and responding in good time, are crucial social skills that all children must develop as they grow. But however important these skills are, we recognise it can be hard to know how to prevent your child from interrupting.

So, before we delve into what you can do as their parent or caregiver, let’s understand a little more about why children interrupt.

Why do children interrupt?

There is more than one reason why children will interrupt. However, at the preschool age, most children will interrupt because they have not yet developed the self-regulation skills to take turns or to realise the needs of others.

Here are some further reasons why your child may have the tendency to interrupt:

Language levels

Children at the preschool age will sometimes struggle to not interrupt others simply because their language levels are not developed enough yet. Children with low levels of language will find it hard to wait their turn because they constantly feel the need to say what they are thinking at the time.

Excitement

Children are particularly excitable little creatures, and when a child is excited by something, it can be very difficult for them to control it and keep their thoughts internal. However, keep in mind that as your child grows and learns to control their thoughts a bit more, it’s OK for them to occasionally interrupt when they’re excited — don’t see this as a problem.

Attention Seeking

Children crave attention more than anyone else, so when they interrupt, keep in mind that they might just be trying to get the attention of adults or other children around them. Exhibiting attention-seeking behaviour is sometimes simply a child’s way of feeling seen, heard and validated by others.

Habit

Habits are a natural part of life, for both adults and children. While habits can also be good when practised correctly, some little children may tend to interrupt simply because they have formed a ‘bad’ habit. This might be because those they are regularly in social situations with don’t seem to mind, or haven’t asked them to wait.

Now that we’ve looked at why children interrupt, let’s look at what you can do to prevent this from happening with your own child.

How do I prevent my child from interrupting?

Always bear in mind that responding to your child with regard to their interrupting will depend on their developmental and skill level. You know your child better than anyone, so always lead with your gut instinct when deciding how to approach them about the subject.

Take these points into consideration:

Be a role model

Your preschooler looks up to you, and will no doubt be very good at copying! Therefore, it’s important that you take note of your own behaviour, especially in front of them. If you show your child that it’s possible to wait your turn when listening to another person talk during a conversation, then they will quickly learn that this is the best way to behave.

Use story and puppets

The use of stories and puppets is a fun, practical way to teach your little one the lessons of life — including not interrupting and waiting one’s turn! For example, you could try telling a story where a character is trying to talk about something, but every time they try to talk, another character comes along and interrupts them. After you’ve finished the story, ask your child to reflect upon its meaning.

Positively acknowledge when your child waits

Children have many lessons to learn as they grow, but they won’t learn them nearly as fast without positive acknowledgement from time to time. Knowing when to praise your child is just as important as teaching them to behave, so make sure you make a positive comment when you can see that your child has waited for another person to talk during a conversation.

How do I respond to my preschooler’s habit of interrupting?

Keep them quiet and polite with Unii's tips.