Selective hearing and children
I have come to the conclusion that children have an amazing ability for selective hearing. After having five children I have found that those moments of selective hearing usually relate to whats in it for them or is it something nice.
1. I would ask my children if they’d like a banana, pear or some fruit and get no response. Then I would ask them if they’d like a Cadburys Twirl and all of sudden their ears open up and you get an instant yes please!
2. We are going to be late for nursery! Get your rucksacks! Not a moment of deviation from watching CBeebies. Ok girls we can call at the shop and get a magazine?! Then they move into fast forward and are ready in seconds!
3. When talking to my older children I constantly am trying to remind them how important it is to manage their money properly so they get as much use out of it as possible. The response is normally yeh, yeh! I just know they haven’t heard and what happens? I get a phone call asking if I can lend them some money Dad I’m broke!
4. Also with my older children I shout from the kitchen that their tea is ready, come and get it! Not a word. Why? Well headphones are on and they’re glued to the laptop watching games of thrones. The next sentence sometime later is my food is cold dad. I’m not surprised! It’s been 20 minutes since I told you it’s ready!
5. As your get older and children get into relationships this is a minefield. When it goes wrong and they come up and ask your advice beware they won’t listen to anything you say because of course you simply don’t understand and they will go off and do exactly what they want.
This is just a few examples of when your children have a selective hearing process. To some extent you can forgive toddlers because their concentration levels are lower, but in my experience it gets worse as they get older.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with your children and listening.
5 Comments
Agent Spitback
July 21, 2016 at 11:30 am
Hahaha….Yep, I have them here too. I can yell and yell that it's dinner and no one comes. The minute I whisper softly, who wants ice cream? Everyone's in the kitchen. Makes no difference the younger or older children, they're all the same! #bigpinklink
threedifferentdinners
July 21, 2016 at 8:20 pm
I think it might be hereditary….my grandad could never hear you say "time to go to bed" but could always hear you ask if he wanted a beer!
Now I have 2 kids who can hear the fridge opening a mile away but can't hear me shout come here now!!!
threedifferentdinners
July 21, 2016 at 8:20 pm
#bigpinklink
alan herbert
July 23, 2016 at 2:13 pm
Oh yes. It's not just my kids then Nige.
Can shout up the stairs to them and no response. Talk to Mrs OMG in a normal voice "Shall we treat them to a takeaway?"
Three little people beside me saying "Yes Please!"
Slightly disappointed to learn it gets no better as they get older.
Tom Gilchrist
July 3, 2018 at 3:25 pm
Yikes. My daughter is 3 and I had this fantasy she’d just start “hearing” me as she got more and more socialized at school…like by 4. You took some wind out of my sails, but great post nonetheless!