My child is constantly loud but their hearing is fine
The relentless noise literally prevents parents from hearing themselves think and severely frays their nerves. This constant volume creates poor etiquette in public settings and drives families completely nuts.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Get the child's hearing and ears checked by a professional.
- 2Make the child immediately re-do and practice the behavior correctly three times in a row.
- 3Gamify quiet behavior using point systems or poker chips for rewards.
- 4Set firm, consistent physical or logical consequences such as writing apology letters or doing pushups.
- 5Enroll the child in physical activities like yoga or martial arts to improve body control.
- 6Use steady verbal cues like 'I can't hear you because your voice is too loud'.
- 7Searching for wide open outdoor spaces with zero hazards or steep hills where the child can safely roam.
- 8Considering leaving the child at daycare until closing time to minimize difficult interactions at home.
- 9Giving in to nighttime food demands and bringing a banana at 2am to avoid extended screaming.
- 10Walking away and removing all attention when the child bites or scratches.
- 11Implementing a 'three strike' rule for dangerous wandering before immediately packing up and going home.
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“In addition to it being generally poor etiquette in most public settings, it is fraying our nerves as parents.”source ↗
“I recently started going back to work full time, my baby is now 17 months old. I feel like in the past few weeks things have become unmanageable :(”source ↗
“It’s more about him being truly out of control and not manageable now.”source ↗
“He wanders to private grounds, streets, etc and I just have to manage one tantrum after another when I pick him up and carry the other direction. We do this until I freak out and we go home”source ↗
“he bites, pulls my hair, scratches, truly hurts me and laughs.”source ↗
“Even just entertaining him after work until he goes to bed is just a freaking second full job. I don’t sit down until he’s in bed, and then I actually go to bed too.”source ↗
“I am at my limit and started saying bad things to him… like that he should finally stop crying, or that he’s stupid. I don’t want to be this kind of mom but I am REALLY running out of patience :(”source ↗
“My 9 year old is sooooo loud and his hearing is fine”source ↗
“It drives me nuts”source ↗
“Ugh. It’s a lot - I literally can’t hear myself think sometimes.”source ↗
“sometimes (and more often than not) I think to myself if I should pick him up at the latest possible time (6.15pm), because I just can’t manage him.”source ↗
“Mine was a terror at this age”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 13How to cope with an intense, high-needs toddler
- 13How to cope with a constantly talking, high-energy child