# Do obnoxiously talkative children exist? I know lots of adults, no kids with this trait. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927 "2011-02-02T19:08:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/1 "2011-02-02T19:08:31Z")
It strikes me that, while I have known a lot of adults inflicting unneccessary amounts of conversation on me, with children it’s wholly different. Even with children who know me well and trust me, and who are younger than the adolescent period where adults just don’t get it, it’s introverted me who has to work at drawing them out. Do you know any children who are aggressively garrulous the way a lot of adults are? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/2 "2011-02-02T19:20:42Z")
You’re joking right? I’d ask if _non_-obnoxiously talkative children exist. You’re obviously not asking kids the right questions, or perhaps they just don’t trust you. Once they get going they don’t stop. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/3 "2011-02-02T19:24:14Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > Do you know any children who are aggressively garrulous the way a lot of adults are? Oh hell yeah. When my youngest niece was about 10, she could talk for hours without actually saying anything. She’s more normal now. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/4 "2011-02-02T19:26:22Z")
Do some \*other \*kind exist? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/5 "2011-02-02T19:35:31Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > You’re joking right? I’d ask if _non_-obnoxiously talkative children exist. You’re obviously not asking kids the right questions, or perhaps they just don’t trust you. Once they get going they don’t stop. Well there’s the sort of conversation normal in interacting with children: transactional conversation while playing with them, questions from them when they want information, appeals from them when they want something period. That’s not what I consider obnoxiously talkative. Children pestering me for me to do something - not talkative, just rational goal-directed behaviour. Adults talking for the sake of talking - that’s what I don’t encounter in children. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/6 "2011-02-02T19:38:53Z")
My ears positively _jangle_ from the non-stop talking I get around my house! But I don’t think they talk just for the sake of talking. They think they have something to say. (And they do.) Kids are shy around folks they don’t know well. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/7 "2011-02-02T19:43:35Z")
Oh heavens, I used to “jokingly” remind my son that he wasn’t required to talk until there was no more oxygen in the room! If he could think of nothing else to say for a short span, he’d just say “Hi Mom.” “Hi Mom.” “Mom? Mom? Hi!” “I love you Mommy.” “Hi Mom.” over and over and over again. When she was between the ages of about 3 and 8, my younger sister did the same thing. And I’ve certainly noticed similar behavior in kids who aren’t related to me. Maybe you don’t spend much time around kids? ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/8 "2011-02-02T19:50:18Z")
You have clearly never met any children with Asperger Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/9 "2011-02-02T20:01:17Z")
Heh. Try hanging out on the set of a TV, commercial or industrial shoot with kids. All very talkative - I guess obnoxiously so if that kind of thing annoys you. I kind of enjoyed the high energy level myself. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/10 "2011-02-02T20:04:08Z")
Oh hell yes. My sister-in-law used to irritate the hell out of me with her non-stop talking. I used to actively avoid her when she was just dating my brother and when they first got married. I would skip out on thanksgiving and birthdays just to avoid her because it was so annoying. She’s not as bad as she was but she still annoys me although now I have learned to mostly tune her out. She will still interrupt a movie or tv show we are watching at family gatherings. For instance we’ll be watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer during Christmas and during the show, not commercials mind you but the actual show, she will go, “Oh Tahssas Mom I saw the cutest purse the other day at Target and it has this blah blah blah” and we’ll end up missing out on ten minutes of the show. My nephew does the exact same thing. It was cute at first when he was first learning to talk but now he is seven and it is annoying. He is a good kid and does well in school except that he gets into a lot of trouble for talking. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/11 "2011-02-02T20:06:05Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > You have clearly never met any children with Asperger Syndrome. Really? I thought that that would clam them up. My last GF’s daughter is slightly autistic but needed an off button installed. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/12 "2011-02-02T20:06:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I know lots of adults, no kids with this trait. Your lucky on the kids, if not the adults. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/13 "2011-02-02T20:11:04Z")
I’d say the percentage of adults who won’t shut up about equals the percentage of kinds who won’t shut up. I can take it for a while, but then I get stabby. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/14 "2011-02-02T20:37:39Z")
Yes. Try teaching with a couple of them in the classroom. Although I would never do it, of course, the articles I sometimes see about teachers duct taping kids mouths shut always interest me. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/15 "2011-02-02T20:38:51Z")
Both my sons had one friend each who would obnoxiously talk non stop. One talks at the speed of light but would at least only talk to the kids. The other needed to talk at us adults and would drive us batty. They’ve both toned it down a little as they get older but they still talk a lot. My husband talks a lot just for the sake of talking and I heard that he was like this as a child. His mother told me of once when he was waiting for a ride home from a friend’s house and the mom made him wait on the porch because he was so annoying. I think in general annoyingly talkative adults were annoyingly talkative kids. People don’t usually just start jabbering later in life. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/16 "2011-02-02T20:50:43Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > You have clearly never met any children with Asperger Syndrome. Which in itself is rather unusual. The highest estimate of prevalence I can find is 4.84 out of every 1000, and yet you can’t swing a dead cat on this board without hitting a self-described Aspie or someone closely acquainted with one or more of them. And believe me, I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/17 "2011-02-02T21:06:41Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Do some \*other \*kind exist? 😕 I wonder if this discussion will break down to “who loves/likes/dislikes/hates children”? I like kids and like spending time among them, in general. Some are shellmouthed, some are motomouths, some are in betweeen. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/18 "2011-02-02T21:22:39Z")
I remember shopping at a supermarket a couple of years ago. I happened to be wandering up and down the aisles at the same pace as a woman with her son, about 4 or 5, in her trolley. The kid didn’t let up for one second - just a constant barrage of questions, opinions, pointless observations and imaginings. The mother would politely acknowledge an occasional comment. As I walked past to leave her looking at something I smiled and said, “To think just a few short years ago you couldn’t wait for him to start talking.” She laughed and said, “He’s like this all the time. He loves the sound of his own voice.” ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/19 "2011-02-02T22:28:09Z")
I worked in a computer store over the holidays and there were a lot of these kids. Though I will say for everyone that had this trait, there were those who didn’t. And it seemed the obnoxious talkative kids were evenly divided between boys and girls. But then again if I was getting an Xbox or a computer I’d probably be like that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927/20 "2011-02-02T22:41:45Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Which in itself is rather unusual. The highest estimate of prevalence I can find is 4.84 out of every 1000, and yet you can’t swing a dead cat on this board without hitting a self-described Aspie or someone closely acquainted with one or more of them. And believe me, I’ve tried. I think autism-spectrum disorders are more common among high-IQ individuals and their children. I’m willing to bet this board skews above average. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-obnoxiously-talkative-children-exist-i-know-lots-of-adults-no-kids-with-this-trait/569927.md?page=2)