What to Do for Children Who Talk Too Much in Class

Find out how to help children who talk too much in class from home.

Reviewed and approved by the psychologist María Alejandra Castro Arbeláez.

Written by Marisol Rendón Manrique

Last update: 27 December, 2022

When children talk too much in class it’s also likely they aren’t paying enough attention in school and their academic performance may suffer. Sometimes children are so eager to socialize they forget to wait for recess, lunch, or other moments when it’s appropriate to do so.

Nonetheless, talking in class is disruptive. It creates problems for the teacher and it can distract other children in the class as well.

“Listening plays a fundamental role in comprehension, specifically in relation to instructions. The instructions should be listened to carefully, so the student can then act in turn. Especially in the preschool years, there are key moments when the general attitude of the students toward listening to the instructions plays a role in their comprehension.”

–David Perkins (cited by Gloria Fonseca)–

To know whether your child speaks too much in class, you need to be in constant communication with his teachers. This isn’t just a behavioral question or a purely social issue, it’s also an important quality in developing his ability to listen.

You’ll find recommendations below that’ll help children realize they shouldn’t talk at inopportune times. Your children will also better recognize when they should be attentive in the classroom and concentrating on something.

How should a parent react if a child is talking too much in class?

Find the reason why the child is talking too much in class

To begin addressing this problem you have to figure out why your child has a tendency to talk too much. This problem can become more complicated if it’s not handled properly. For example, some of the most common reasons for talking during class are:

• Feeling like they don’t get enough attention from their teacher or classmates.
• Feeling demotivated during class because they need more challenging activities or activities better suited to their learning style.

• Having difficulties understanding the teacher’s instructions or class material. The teacher’s writing on the board can also be a problem.
• Feeling restless or the need to stretch or relax their muscles to be able to concentrate again.
• Lacking interest in the topic the teacher is teaching.
• Lack of assertiveness on the part of the teacher.

Practice modeling appropriate behavior for children who talk too much in class

If your children talk too much in class, you can do exercises at home that will help improve their behavior at school. It’s fundamental that you teach them to wait, to listen, and to control their impulses.

To start, prevent your child from interrupting conversations and ask him to wait his turn to speak. A good opportunity to model this kind of conduct is to play a board game and ask him to wait patiently for his turn to interact.

Maintain a calm environment at home

Any correction of your children’s behavior should be done in a respectful and courteous way. Children feel less anxious and have less need for attention when there’s a calm environment at home that’s free of heated discussions and tension.

Assure also that there aren’t any distractions that prevent children from concentrating on their activities.

Assure there are no vision or hearing problems in children who talk too much in class

In many cases, children who talk too much in class have trouble hearing or seeing well. The first thing you should do is rule out any physical reason that affects children’s behavior at school.

After verifying that the child’s health is normal, you can begin to think of how to intervene on a social level.

Teach children to follow rules at home

One way to assure that children abide by the rules at school is to also make children abide by them at home. All children need to be taught to respect norms. They also need discipline so that they become emotionally healthy adults.

Most importantly, you need to be patient in implementing the rules and you need to do so with consistency.

Although it can be upsetting to receive notice from the teachers that your child talks too much in class, it’s a situation that can be remedied if you work together.

Finally, you should support your children in their process of adapting to life at school. This will help them learn to listen and to get along better with their teachers. Moreover, they’ll learn to interact with others in a healthy way.