How to stop kindergarteners from constantly tattling?
Kindergarteners interrupt independent work every couple of minutes to report minor grievances like name-calling, touching items, and petty remarks. This constant stream of interruptions makes it impossible to manage the classroom or keep independent work time running smoothly.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Talking things through with the students and asking them to talk to each other themselves
- 2Switching to level 0 working conditions
- 3Teaching students 'how to give a bug and a wish'
- 4Using a tattle box for written notes
- 5Using a desk closed sign to prevent students from approaching
- 6Using an organizer on the board with different modes
- 7Yelling out reminders to keep hands to themselves
- 8Playing the 'mind your business' song (MYOB by Mr. Mike) from YouTube
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I am a first year kindergarten teacher and I am dealing with a huge tattling problem! Whenever I send them to do independent work, they are constantly coming up to desk “___ said poop” “_____ said my name weird” “______ isin’t doing what there supposed to do” The most annoying to me is “____ said a bad word!” and the word is nothing close to a bad word!”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 31How to handle disrespectful student micro-aggressions and boundary-crossing
- 15How to stop classroom interruptions from photo and video documentation
- 7Why teachers can't break up school fights
- 3How to stop hallway distractions when door windows can't be covered
- 4Students constantly forgetting materials, am I overreacting?
- 22What do you call students who copy or police classroom instructions?