Talking in the 3rd Person

Aiden talks in the 3rd person about 90% of the time. For example, he says stuff like, "Aiden will go get the ball" or "Bring Aiden the ball & Aiden will throw it." I *know* he understands "I" & "me" because he occasionally slips up & uses them correctly. Every time he refers to himself in the 3rd person, we say "I" or "me" (whatever is appropriate) & he'll state the sentence correctly. My other son, Conner, always uses "I" & "me" appropriately, so he hears it from him & us. I notice my husband & I tend to speak in the 3rd person around them, as most parents do, so we're trying hard to work on our speech as well (we got in a rut when they weren't saying Mama, so I over emphasized it...'Bring that to Mama', 'Mama's tired', etc etc).

So, do I keep on reminding him EVERY.SINGLE.TIME or let him figure it out on his own? I've spoken to his daycare teachers about it & they're also working on reminding him.

On a side note, he's quite advanced in speech. He's intelligible & pronounces sounds that, according to charts, he shouldn't be doing for a few more years. He speaks in full, long sentences. He's WAY ahead of Conner. So, I'm not worried about his speech overall.

It's just the talking in 3rd person that's driving me batty!

Is it normal? Or is it just him??

 

Mine still do this sometimes. It's a normal developmental thing that kids go through. They'll self-correct in time. I wouldn't even bother reminding them - you've got enough to stress out about already without micromanaging language development! Just take care to model correct speech yourself ("I'm going to make lunch for you" and not "Mommy is going to make lunch for you") and they'll sort it out.

 

I agree with Holly. Very normal and I wouldn't bother correcting him, just make sure you're talking the way you want him to.

 

Thanks! Glad to hear he's 'normal' !

 

My kids are sesame street fanatics and it drives me crazy that Elmo talks in the 3rd person (and also that Baby Bear has such speech problems). I keep wondering why a show that has so many other good things in it would have characters that aren't modeling the best speech and language.

I agree with others that your son will eventually sort it out.

 

I agree with everyone else, it's normal. I've seen several of my kids go through this phase & they all eventually outgrew it.

 

i think they do that to show how common it is... if he keeps hearing it correctly, he'll self-correct when he's ready. try not to worry!

~~jl

 

Side note: Beth, I totally understand about how kids' shows have characters with incorrect speech or speech impediments. For example, I despise The Wonder Pets. What's up with the chick thing & it's lisp? The last thing I need is my kid saying "It's Sewious"! My husband has banned it for that reason. I think it's great that kids WITH a lisp can see a character 'just like them', but I just hope other kids don't pick up on it & use it in their day to day. To be honest, I hadn't even realized Elmo talks in the 3rd person (we don't watch much Elmo/Sesame Street), but that does bug me, now that you say it. We're supposed to be modeling good speech, including grammar & enunciation. Shouldn't childrens' shows do the same? Kids pick up on things so quickly. Around where I live, people say "I seen it" a lot (vs I 'saw'). I'm trying SO hard to stress to my kids the CORRECT way to say it, but it's going to be a tough battle since we're in the minority!

However, now that I'm trying not to, I've noticed that it's really hard NOT to speak in the 3rd person b/c I've done so for SO long. I'm working on it & it's getting better. I've also noticed a slight improvement over the past few days. We always praise him when he says it correctly, so maybe that's helping, too! Now we're noticing Conner correcting him ! Ha ha ha.

 

I struggle with this too. It's really a hard habit to break. The funny thing is that I don't do this at school when I'm working with kindergartners, just with my own kids at home. That means it's a "new" habit for me that developed when I had my own kids.

 

Oh, totally! When I step back and listen to myself, I sometimes can't believe the way I'm talking. You just fall into "parent-ese" so automatically. I swear it must be hardwired or something! :laughing:

 

Mine still do it too...only they refer to themselves as T-Rex and Spinosaurus. Sooooo, yeah. Your kids- normal. Mine- the jury is still out.

 

Ha, TRex & Spinosaurus. LOVE IT! What phenomenal imaginations!

I'm getting better with speaking in the 3rd person myself. And we're noticing large improvements in Aiden, too (I don't think those 2 things correlate as much as he's just finally getting it). Maybe we'll all be out of the 3rd person soon (well, except Daddy...he's STUCK in it worse than Aiden!)