Screaming for fun

Please tell me this is a phase! A&B have started screaming just for the heck of it. They have screaming contests and laugh. It is awful! Makes me feel like my ears are going to bleed. I've lost it and yelled "Stop screaming!" which I know is totally counter-productive. The only thing that stops it maybe 50% of the time is if I sing our "let's be quiet" song or some other distraction. I've tried ignoring it, but they are doing it for each other's amusement and don't seem to care whether or not I am reacting. Saying No and such just feeds it.

Help!!

 

Please tell me this is a phase! A&B have started screaming just for the heck of it. They have screaming contests and laugh. It is awful! Makes me feel like my ears are going to bleed. I've lost it and yelled "Stop screaming!" which I know is totally counter-productive. The only thing that stops it maybe 50% of the time is if I sing our "let's be quiet" song or some other distraction. I've tried ignoring it, but they are doing it for each other's amusement and don't seem to care whether or not I am reacting. Saying No and such just feeds it.

Help!!

 

I, too, hope it's a phase. Mine have started doing this recently too - just a high pitch as loud as they can scream. They especially get each other going at meal time.

I can sometimes get them quiet by doing the "quiet old lady whispering hush" line from Good Night Moon (they really like to do the "hush" part), but it sometimes just works for a moment and then they're back to screaming.

I can only assume it's a phase, because I don't know many adults who scream like that for fun . . .

-Rachel

 

My guys like to do this too, but I guess it doesn't bother me as much. I figure they have energy to release and they need to get it out someway. Since we are pretty much inside all day due to cold weather, they don't get a chance to go outside and scream/run around. Of course we do a lot of large muscle activites indoors, but it's just not the same. So I pretty much just ignore it and let them have at it. However, if it is driving me/DH nuts (like last night at dinner) we just left the room and they cried for us. We told them to stop screaming, and came back in the room. They started again and we left, they finally got the picture and stopped.

My mom often uses "use your inside voice, not your outside voice" with them, but it doesn't seem to help to much. LIke I said, without much outside time - they need to let off steam some other way. Good luck!

 

Honestly, I just join right in. My 3 kids and I sit there and scream and giggle for a few minutes, and then we all get bored with it and we move on to reading a book or doing a puzzle or something.

Try it - it's a good way to release a little pressure by screaming WITH the kids, not AT them

 

quote:
Originally posted by Amy A:
My guys like to do this too, but I guess it doesn't bother me as much. I figure they have energy to release and they need to get it out someway.


Oh, I don't mind it so much when they are playing. It's at the table and in the car that are the problem screaming times, when it really gets to me.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Whoa Mama!:
Honestly, I just join right in. My 3 kids and I sit there and scream and giggle for a few minutes, and then we all get bored with it and we move on to reading a book or doing a puzzle or something.

Try it - it's a good way to release a little pressure by screaming WITH the kids, not AT them


I've done it. They think it's funny and it does kind of break the tension, but DH "caught" me and said I shouldn't be encouraging them to scream. It was at the table though, which is when I don't want them to scream, but I was at a loss and didn't want to scream at them either.

 

OMG! It has to be the age, mine have started this too. Thing is they do it and look at Isabel to respond with a scream and she does and then all three take turns seeing who can be louder. They like to do this a lot while I'm driving. It can drive you crazy, but then I think about how all 3 are interacting together and I try to put my "no's" on the backburner for a few minutes.