Is It Normal for Kids to Talk Silly?

My 3 and 5 year old boys do the same thing. I have found that if I leave them alone (at home only) they get bored of it quickly and move on to better things. If they do it in public I tell them quietly that they may do it when we get home and they usually stop. They are catching on to what is ok at home and what is ok in public. They are also not being as silly now that I stop caring. It does take awhile to grow out of it but they are very normal.
J.

I think there is definitely nothing to worry about...

I am a teachers assistant at an elementary school and it is amazing to see the kindergarteners giggle at the silliest things... They make farting noises and giggle so hard you think they are going to wet their pants... the older kids that may be around laugh right along with them.

I think the craziest thing is trying to teach K-3 to read expecially when you are trying to teach the word "but". They immediately burst into laughter and you have to tell them that it is not the same word as your rear end... LOL

Just relax... I know from experience it is very embarrassing in public.

Totally normal! At least that's what I tell myself! I have two little boys, almost 2 and almost 4. When we were teaching the baby words for body parts, i.e. nose, mouth, head, arms, etc., my older boy got all excited and said "And that's your BUTT!"
His big attention getter now is to tell people he's just met "You have a crack in your butt!" He's teaching it to the little one too. I try to discourage it or ignore it, and it's slowly going away. I sometimes have a hard time trying not to laugh at the expression on his face though. I do stop him from name calling, reminding him that it hurts people's feelings and that's a mean thing to do.
But at the same time I don't want him being embarrassed about his body parts either. I try to teach him the correct names for parts, and teach him that even though some of them are private, nothing is a big deal. I'm hoping that when he's growing up and going to Doctors for checkups, he won't die of embarrassment like I always did, things in my family were shameful and taboo to talk about.
I think lack a response will help a little, but boys still think that's funny when they're 20!
But take heart, there's NOTHING wrong with your kids at all!

yes, your children are VERY normal!!!
I have 3 boys and yes you teach them there is a time and place for potty talk. I had a friend that let her children talk potty talk etc in the car where noone else could hear them! I thought that was a great idea.
Just you wait, there is a series of books called Captial Under Pants! and it is full of potty talk! My boys love them!!!
Your daughter could have play dates with older girls and that could pull her out of hanging out with her 2 year old brother and acting younger, but seriously, our children grow up so fast, I wouldn't worry about it and enjoy them young!
I think that you are blessed to have 2 healthy children!!!
Enjoy your weekend,
T.
www.tesabartell.myarbonne.com

I think it's a phase. My son went through it for awhile where it was poop and farting and burping. The others went out of style, but burping is still his favorite thing to do and as loud as he can...no matter where he is. At least he excuses himself.
I agree with the other moms who say that the words are only as powerful as the power you give them. My son went through a phase where EVERYTHING was stupid. It was a new word he learned around age 2 and was trying it out...until it got on my nerves. We finally simply banned the word in the house to the point that when I'd get mad at something or someone and substitute stupid for the real word that I'd hate to hear coming out of my toddler's mouth, he'd most often call me out on it and say, "Mom! YOU SAID A BAD WORD!" I understand there's a big social difference between stupid and poop, but the lesson is the same. If you freak out, kids prey on that and will use it to get a rise out of you and get your attention. Just relax. They'll grow out of it.

It's just fun for kids to talk about potty behavior for some reason. I've heard some stories of my husband camping with my brothers and if someone passes gas they think it's hilarious. I simply don't understand the humor, but I don't see anything wrong with it either. My almost 3 yo son gets the biggest kick out of the bird poop on our car. He likes to talk about poop, too. I just let him enjoy it and don't shame him for what makes him laugh, and I even get in on it with him sometimes even though I don't necessarily think it's funny. I'm bonding with him on his interests. I don't really see it as being naughty, but you may have different rules than I do. Set some limits to the behavior if you're that uncomfortable, but I wouldn't demand that they never use those words. In fact, you want them to feel comfortable talking to you about their bodies.

Thanks for asking this! My son (nearly 3) and daughter (4 1/2) think "poop" and "pee" are the funniest words EVER! I was getting really mad and frustrated! The other day, they were saying those words back and forth in the car and thought it was just hysterical - laughing and laughing! I thought, well, at least they aren't fighting.

I think the car idea someone posted is great! I will try that. I've been stressing that we don't use these words in public and that they're impolite, but I think the idea of the car being "free silly time" will work with them.

As for the tantrums - my daughter never had terrible twos, but around 3, she became a terror. Very frustrated and angry, tantrums, etc. And she wasn't even in school or daycare. Maybe your son is in a stage like that. He may be more frustrated now because he's in school and doesn't get the one-on-one attention he's used to. Also, he may not be learning all his bad behaviors at school - it may be that he tries so hard to behave at school and must keep himself under control that he kind of loses it at home and lets out all the pent up frustration with you, unfortunately. I think it's pretty common. I can't offer much advice - it was a stage she outgrew when she learned better control of her emotions and how to better deal with anger and disappointment. Good Luck!

As the mom of 2 boys 8 and 2 I believe you have hit upon two of the funniest words in the young male mind. (maybe not limited to young) It makes people laugh and they like the attention. My boys are not allowed to talk like that outside of the house and the 8 yr old knows his limitations. The 2 yr old takes his cues from his brother. I think it's totally normal. My oldest thinks he can hide better than anyone, especially from me when I come home from work. If I don't find him in the first 5 minutes I announce "I'm going to say the word!" really loud BUTT! and he starts giggling where ever he is hiding. It's our strange fun! As for kids starting school - every mom has the perfect angel for a child at home so long as they have never interacted with other children - oh the things they teach each other. Again all is normal and as long as the children grow up with boundaries and learn what is proper going out behavior and what is ok at home, then you're doing a good job as a mom.

K.,
I think silly talk is quite normal. butt and poopoo get responses from people and things turn into butt head or poopoo head around 3 and 4 yr old. all quite normal. I try not to encurage it but don't make too big a deal out of it as long as it is not down right nasty or mean.
my 3 yr old has pick a few bad habits from preschool but not many and they haven't been too bad.... it was a hard coices finding a place that wouldn't make my life more dificult but preschool seemed better then daycares.
Pam

I would explain the rules to them again - no hitting, name calling, etc. Since time-outs didn't work and soap can have really bad effects (on the news a while back a mom did this and her child had an allergic reaction to the soap and the child died) I would use a point/reward system. I would give them a point for every time they hit, name called or whatever they get a point and when they do something nice/say something nice they get a point taken away. At the end of the week if they have no points then they get to pick (from a list you make to fit your budget/schedule) a fun thing to do. Once they get the hang of this and see it is better to earn fun things they should do a lot better with each other.

I hope this makes sense and of course you can take this idea and "tweak it" so it works for you! Good luck!

I think it is probably very normal for your children to most likely be repeating what they are hearing elsewhere. kids don't make up words like that, they are parroting someone. Continue with timeouts when they speak this way and let them know it is not ok. One other thing, please do not put soap in your childrens mouths, did you know it can be harmful if swallowed and most likely a young child will swallow it? Not lecturing just informing.

I feel better knowing other people are going through this stage too.

My 4 year old son, has picked up on certain words and knows they get him attention. His favorite, "pee pee caa caa".

When he says a word he knows he not supposed too say, I tell him "Inappropriate" and he sometimes stops. If not I reiterate and get him involved in another activity. If I redirect his attention and play with him for a few or involve him in what I'm doing, the behavior usually stops.

As others have said, this is and attention getter, and the kids are looking for a reaction from you.

So you're upset that they refer to their "pee pee parts" (as you put it) as poo poo and butt butt. How is your using the word pee pee any different? Try using the proper names with them and calmly explain that although they are not bad words they should only be used appropriately (at home, in a bathroom, at the doctors, etc). Your 2 year old most likely copying the 6 year old. Your 6 year old can easily be copying behavior from kids at school.

Explain the words and thier proper use. If it's that important for you to get them to stop then introduce a form of punishemnt that really means something to them such as every time they use the words they have to put a favorite toy in your custody and will only get it back when you feel they are ready.

In my opinion 'butt' is not a bad word unless you use it to refer to a person such as saying butthead. Still not a bad word, but not very nice. They use 'butt' in reference to certain cuts of meat, so why is it bad to use in our every day language? I think this word thing can get out of control. Next thing you know, it'll be a bad word to refer to our body parts using their actual names.

I say, don't stress over it and don't make such an issue of it at home and maybe they'll see that it doesn't get the rise out of you that they are looking for and therefore it should stop.

My darling daughter talks like that too. Uses silly words, talks baby talk, says poo poo head stuff like that. It's a phase I guess.My daughter also slaps her butt and dances around...embarrissing in public yes but I have not worried about it. My siblings have also gone through that phase. How can you know what is appropriate if you don't test boundaries a little? Now if my daughter says something majorly inappropriate(like s*^t)then I turn to punishment. Hope that helps

We got some great advice on this one when my son was in preschool. His teacher, who is also a therapist, said to take the power away from it by calling them "bathroom words." The kids can only say them in the bahroom.

Explain it to them as the new rule at a time when it's not happening, then quietly, and without anger, remind them when they start that those are bathroom words and if they want to talk like that, they need to go into the bathroom.

Words only have the power we give them. By choosing our battles, we save the power struggles for times when they're really needed. This age is short...enjoy the giggles you hear coming from the bathroom, and don't worry about it too much!

As for the tantrums, consistent, calm and quiet are the key words. Recognize his anger, feed it back to him with things like "Wow, you look like you're feeling angry." Make soothing sounds to him, and when he's done say things like "I bet that was hard. I don't like feeling so mad. Do you?" Teach him to express his feelings. Ask him if he got all the angries out or if he needs to stomp and wiggle some more. Do it together. You will probably wind up laughing together. Just MAKE SURE you don't ever tell him not to feel what he's feeling. It's so important that we don't ask our kids to hide their feelings or stop feeling them. It sets them up for a lifetime of being out of touch with themselves, stuffing things down...not good! Especially with our boys. They learn early on that they shouldn't feel, and this leads to all kinds of problems later on. The feelings aren't wrong. He just needs to learn healthy ways of expressing them. This is a process that takes a lot of patience on our part, but is so important.

Good luck!

I think I might have missed the boat on something if butt and poo have all of a sudden became soap/mouth offenses. How else would you have them refer to these complicated and often taboo parts of human nature? Butts and poop are something that they know they have, and that no one ever talks about. The fact that people make such a big deal out of it only encourages the behavior. Why don't you talk to them about it instead of freaking out. And as long as it's in private why can't they say butt and poo. When my kids got to that age I would just explain that there are times and places where that kind of behavior was appropriate and times when it wasn't. Then I would get into the act and find away to say butt in every sentence. The kids would be rolling with laughter and once it was no longer a taboo or a big deal I've found they rarely say it.