It’s a simple fact of life – children like to make noise. Whether it’s singing a song, shouting for the sake of shouting or having a tantrum, children are wonderfully and delightfully noisy! As a parent, the last thing we would want to do is discourage or dampen their joyful spirit. However, there are times when our children’s noisy antics can test our patience and make performing even the simplest of tasks near impossible.

Some of the most effective ways of dealing with this problem is by using ‘I’ statements or the ‘Energy Drain’ techniques. For example, when your children are noisy you can say:

– ‘I’ Statements: “I listen to children who speak in the same tone of voice as mine” or “I organise play dates for children who can stay calm and won’t be screaming when their friends are here”.

– Energy Drain: “All this noise you are making is giving me an energy drain”. And soon after, you can explain the consequence of giving you an energy drain by adding for eg.: “It’s such a shame, I really wanted to take you to the park today, but given that my energy was drained by the noise you were making,  we won’t be going to the park now.”

These techniques have the advantage of showing your children that there are logical consequences to their actions. It also encourages more respectful communication between you and your child because it focuses on ‘control-ables’ rather than relying on punishment and empty threats.   

These are just a few examples of our Best of Parenting Tools. You can find more ideas and solutions to typical parenting challenges in our book ‘Kids Don’t Come With a Manual – The Essential Guide to a Happy Family Life‘.