Trouble in School: Kid Won't Stop Talking in Class

MommysComeUndone posted an interesting question to the Momtourage Q&A boards today: What do you do when your child won't stop talking in class? Don't these kids understand that Gossip Girl is just a TV show?! Can't they be like vampires and just keep a diary?? My teenager also suffers from verbal diarreah in school. When I was growing up, the doll of the day was Chatty Cathy. You'd pull a string on her back and she'd talk...drove my parents crazy. Sometimes I wish my daughter had one of those 'chatty rings' on her back cause I'd disable the bloody thing.

Just last month the trouble in school started, Allison's grades started reflecting her problem with talking in class. She spent so much time socializing during Math, Orchestra, English and French (I told her next time at least have the sense to chat in French) that she dropped about 4-5 points per grade average in each class on her report card! It was quite a shocker. Her Social Studies teacher even told her to think of his class as Un-Social Studies till she could learn to keep her fraternizing to a minimum.

I took meetings with her teachers and found out, much to my dismay and embarrassment, that she was so busy talking in class that she was missing hearing homework assignments, crucial information for tests, driving the other students bonkers, etc. It wasn't like she was bored with the curriculum and not being challenged either. She's in advanced classes, but all o fa sudden she was having trouble in school. So, I had her seat assignment changed in every class to the front row, in some cases I had her moved right next to the teacher. I also took away a movie date she had with her girlfriends. I told her she could earn it back when I get better reports from her school. Three weeks later, I'm happy to report that her socializing has seriously abated. It's not completely gone but it's on the run...but her mouth isn't.

After conferring with several friends of mine about their school aged children, reading articles posted by celebrated children's psychologists and checking various sites online, I've come to the conclusion that kids talk during class for one simple reason: they lack discipline. There's no big psycho-social under current here people, no emotional problems, nor an illness that they've suddenly mysteriously contracted: they're just not disciplined enough to regulate themselves. They're just rude and immature. Simple. I'm going old school on in-school behavior here my friends. If I had pulled any of this nonsense in school when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's my parents would have gone berserk...needless to say I behaved quite well in school...everywhere for that matter. Manners and discipline need to be enforced: whether by taking away privileges; money; stuff; vacations; or by modeling more appropriate behavior; or by having their seat assignment changed; etc.... Discipline comes in many forms my fellow parents....choose one.