Parenting Help 101 - Telling Your Children Not to Interrupt

It can be a very frustrating business, and stretch your parenting help skills, to try and teach your children not to interrupt. They need to understand that there are times when it is acceptable to interrupt (such as in an emergency) and times when it is not (when they are bored). It is one thing understanding this however, and quite another to put it into practice, especially if you have a child with high energy levels or who is highly verbal. So you need to re-visit some basic teaching about what constitutes good manners, and explain to the child that they need to wait for their turn to speak.

Be Reasonable

The first thing you need to do is to be reasonable in your expectations. Young children cannot easily hold onto a thought for longer than just a few minutes. You need to let your child know that you will give him or her your attention as soon as you can, and then ensure that you keep your promise.

Be Available

If you are not available to listen to your child for some reason, for example when you are the phone, then think up ways they can occupy themselves while waiting for your attention.

Be Clear in your Expectations

If you do have to make a telephone call, or you have a visitor with whom you are having an important conversation, then you need to take steps in advance to avoid trouble. Tell the child that you are going to make a call, or that you need to talk to this person, and give them an idea how long you expect to be. Check whether there is anything they need before you start your conversation. It is important that you stick to this time frame, and if the conversation is going on for longer, excuse yourself from it briefly so that you can check on the child. Tell him or her that you need to bit more time than you thought, and ask again whether there is anything they need before you go back to the conversation.

You can use reading as a tool for teaching children manners. There are plenty of books on this subject, so read some together. Then talk about the story and what the child has learned from it, and what they might do if they come across a similar situation.

It is important in parenting to understand that children learn from examples around them. If you or other family members are always interrupting each other, and your child observes this, then it is going to be very hard for them to learn not to do the same. The things you do are a strong influence on your child's behavior, so ensure that you wait for your turn to speak, and if you do inadvertently interrupt then be sure to apologize.