The constant repetition. The constant repetition. The constant repetition.

[Teeki]

Is doing my head in! Why does DD think I need to hear things a million times? Eg I was heating her lunch in the microwave, when she asked what I was doing. I told her I had her lunch in the microwave because it needed to be heated up. This was met with "My not want heated up! My not want heated up! My not want heated up!" I told her it was frozen and needed to be heated so she could eat it. Her response was "My not want heated up! My not want heated up! My not want heated up!" etc. No matter what I say to try to get her to understand that I get it, I acknowledge what she's saying, she keeps repeating.

Like when she was playing on the swing in DS's room: "My play swing! My play swing! My play swing!" Me: "Yes sweetie, I see you on the swing." "My play swing! My play swing! My play swing!" "Yes A, I know you're on the swing." "My play swing!" You get the picture. Even simply saying to her please stop, I have heard you, doesn't always work. Why does she think I need to keep hearing it?

It's the same with games. We were playing with her Peppa and George toys, when Peppa went down the slide and got stuck between the couch cushions. I made George go down the slide and pull her out. DD decided she liked that game, so it is repeated daily, endlessly. Everything has to be the same. She has a few games that she goes through, but it is still mind-numbingly boring.

Is this normal for her age? It's really starting to get to me.

[CoNNiE_Melb]

Definitely normal... My DS is 3 and a bit and repeats things a million times!

If someone doesn't acknowledge what he is saying, he will say it 100 times if he has to to get acknowledgment.

Or as we drive down our street he will describe every basketball ring he sees the same way EVERY TIME!!!! 'Ooh basketball ring fall down, someone has to pick it up mummy' or 'That basketball ring has no net mummy'. Yes, we know this, we've had this discussion 4 times already today!!!!

[AnyDream]

I don't know whether it's "normal" or not, but I went 90% of the way to Crazyville with my DD1 who was compulsively verbal. In fact, if she didnt have anything to say, she would repeat things & even make random noises.

I have in more recent times wondered whether this wasn't part of a sensory issue, like a stimming behaviour.

Some of the strategies we used
* insert music - it gets them listening differently. Sometimes I would even sing the thing I wanted to say
* give her other types of noisy play - eg drums, percussion instruments, keyboard. Rule was she had to play them in her room or outside
* teaching that there are speech cues - like checking first that someone is looking at you before you talk. Phrases like "look at me" and "watch my face" can help with checking that people are listening
* take a break - build more kid-free mummy time into your routine & get more sleep so you've got more in your tank to cope with it, because it can be quite stressful being bombarded with all that chatter.

Good luck, it will pass eventually & it will be a joy to have a DD who always wants to chat to her mum.

[Lenny]

Oh yes. At that age they do all kinds of attitude things. I think it is frustration and desire to control etc. You describe it well though, they just get stuck on repeat.
Plus you have a little one which may just be enhancing her desire to 'get heard'. Having a sibling is changing her too. Upturning her world and she is just old enough now to realise that the world doesn't revolve around her and you can't read her thoughts.

DS wants peanut butter sandwiches everyday. Seriously. I can whip up a culinary delight - he'll take the comfort and safety and familiarity of a peanut butter sandwich. They like the same book. Over and over. Ad nauseum. And if you hide it, they'll find it. Repetition seems so boring to me too, but the kids love it. I used to have to do the exact same goodnight kiss routine with DS or he'd never let me out of the room. Same thing, every night. And mixing it up a bit just made him unhappy.

[RainbowRiver]

Lol my 6yo still does the same thing!!

[~Hestia~]

Yep my 4 year old is very repetitive! Tells me the same thing a million times, asks for something a million times Drives me crazy!

[MummyNaomi]

Very normal!! I used to repeat what DS said back to him, then he would stop saying it over and over, it was like once I said it too he felt acknowledged

[Teeki]

Thanks everyone. In one way it's nice to know it's normal - I don't want there to be anything 'wrong' with her. But on the other hand, am I seriously going to have to go through this with DS too??

I think today it got to me worse because we were both in rotten moods. DS and I didn't sleep well, and DD was wanting full on attention but only when I was feeding or changing DS. I did my best to play with her and engage her but everything was wrong today. Finally we got to nap time and she woke up in a much better mood, we had a great afternoon and the repetition eased off - when I acknowledged her the first time she stopped

Will just have to keep my cool and hope we're all in good moods lol.

ETA: Missed your post MN. I do that with DD too. Also she'll say what's this Mum? And when I tell her she asks again. Goes about three times until I answer with you tell me, she answers herself and stops the questions. Then later she'll have the same question and my first answer is you tell me, stops the repeating from the start

[JLeigh29]

DS went through a repetition stage like that. He seems to have passed that, but still repeats stuff when he gets excited. He repeats anything DH says to him when I'm around, and vice versa. 'Daddy just said ....' Yes, I know, I'm right here. I can hear!

I too think its part of DS' coping strategy for sensory issues - he talks to himself constantly, and I think it's to 'fill in the empty space', iykwim. If there's a loud noise, he yells until it's over. White noise helps here - having the radio/music on. So on 'those days', we have a lot of music playing! Today I mini-vac'd the entire house just so I could NOT hear his voice for a few minutes!