My 3-year-old talks in third person: How can I break this?

My son is almost three and talks phenomenally. Better than most kids his age. However, he speaks in the third person. Ex: “(name) likes this or (name) wants this” How can I break him of that? Also, he talks really fast and repeats himself over & over. His dr says he might need speech therapy? Anyone deal with this? We’re hoping to enroll him in preschool next fall, so I want to help him.

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Sounds normal at that age

My daughter used to do the same thing. It’s normal.

That is normal… He’ll get over it with time…

LEAVE HIM BE!!! He is himself! If he is communicating and being understood, then leave it alone! Praise him! Dont pick apart his personality, love all the things that make him him!!

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He’s just a toddler, hun. Nothing to worry about

Leave him be or let him know how to say it and then give him his wish when he says it

I wouldn’t go about speech therapy yet, once he goes to school it will help him with his speech, when he gets to kindergarten if it still continues the preschool or kindergarten teacher will recommend to you an actual speech therapists until then, I would just correct him and say, "I want this not (name) wants this"and ask him to slow down consistently when he is talking

my son and nephew do the same , it’s not concerning at all :blush::blush:

It is a normal stage. My daughter has done it and still does it every now and again.

Either people complain because their kid don’t talk,or their kids don’t talk the way they want them to. He’s three, leave him alone

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It’s just a phase. He’ll get out of it eventually. Kid’s do the funniest thing’s at this age :slight_smile:

My niece did the same, they grow out of it, he’s still young and they still don’t understand the concept of me him her them, he’ll be fine

I started speaking with a ‘Boston-like’ accent at around 4. It lasted about a year and no one had any idea where I picked it up from. We knew no one from that area. Kids are odd and letting them be odd, as long as it’s not unhealthy to them or those around then is what makes them unique. :slight_smile: I’d be more concerned if he continues once he starts school.

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My 2 yr old just went thru this all my kids did. I had one that instead of saying “i want xyz” would say “my want xyz” they are learning to talk and when you talk to them you call them by their name so thats how he thinks he needs to talk.

Probably a phase. I would leave him alone. As long as everyone else in the house is talking normally he should catch on eventually

Yeh, all of mine did that at three. Now they are just older and continuously repeat themselves. The 3rd person is normal at their age. Soon it will be I want…

lol I had the same problem mom,my daughters in crèche so I guess from being around other kids she grew out of it…

My daughter is 3, almost 4 and has perfect speech, very smart, and started talking early in sentences. And she recently started talking in the third person too and I figured this was normal and will grow out of it. I haven’t been worried about it at all.

Sounds normal to me!
My 3 year old is a great talker and refers to himself in 3rd person but as characters he’s pretending to be. Ex: “Sonic will be happy if you give him chocolate.” (& he’s Sonic). I’d just let him keep talking the way he is, and he’ll grow out of it. Enjoy the cuteness of it.

My son did some of that. Just repeat the sentence with the correct modelling . It will usually correct itself that way. My son always said ‘me’ instead of ‘I’. We modelled and he adjusted. We are work long on his habit of her instead of she right now. These are all models provided by his speech therapist.

Mine doesn’t say the words you or I. She will say love mommy or love daddy never I love mommy or I love you.

They grow out of it, just correct them. :slightly_smiling_face:

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My 4.5 year old does this and has done this since he started to actually talk. Since turning 4, he’s slowly getting out of it and by himself. It is just a phase for a lot of kids. Nothing to worry about.

The repetitive thing is just a phase. When you notice him talking to fast, get him to slow down, take a breath and retry the sentence. I did this with both my boys, they are great now. Totally grew out of it.

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We have my 3.5 year old in speech therapy and it’s the best thing for him! I’ve seen a huuuuuuge change in how he speaks and does things so I’m happy we went with it. Id much rather deal with the issue now rather than when he’s older

My little boy did this, he grew out of it I used to think it was adorable

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My 2.5 year old does this … I figure it’s normal and just something they’ll learn soon.

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My two year old speaks in a French accent and she says things like “me did it”. Lol

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Damn,Im an adult and a mom of 2 and still speak in 3rd person at times. Nothing is wrong with that! For example, I will say… the arms are hurting, the back is inflamed… Naz needs live, naz is hungry… Its weird to many at first but once they know me, they get it! I am an accountant and fully functional in the professional world! Never once did it affect my life in any way.

Like Elmo!!! ‘My granddaughter does that too

My daughter’s speech therapist says talking in third person at that age is normal because they don’t understand pronouns yet. Just narrate everything he does while he’s doing it. If he’s putting his shoes away…say to him, “I’m putting my shoes away.”

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I thought it was part of speech development. Just demonstrate speaking in 1st person (pass that to me rather than pass thst to mummy) and correct him when he uses his name instead of me, my. Just remember even though his vocabulary is advanced doesn’t necessarily mean his development and understanding of language is too.

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My son did this alot and grew out of it. Hes 3.5 now

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Just a phase and completely normal let him go he will grow out of it

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Some of. The. Smartest. Kids. I know. Had. Friends

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My 4 year old does it, i do it myself sometimes :laughing:

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Its a phase my daughter did that when she was 3 to age 4 and just stopped out of no where, just correct him after he makes a statement he will catch on

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Teach him… i… me… you… donot use his name everytime you talk to him…

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My 3 year old talks with a British accent (thank you peppa) and honestly my daughter does this too but I think it’s because she’s repeats everything so like if I say Ryder likes this she’ll say oh ryder likes this
I think it’s just the age

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Encourage him to slow down when he talks but I wouldn’t worry about him talking in the 3rd person. It’s probably just how he hears things. Logically “Eric do you want juice” would be answered back “yes Eric wants juice”.

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My little cousin did this at about 2-3 she is 9 now and quickly grew out of it

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My 3 yr old does this as well, he always says (name) wants this, or (name) doesn’t like that. If you ask him if hes a boy or girl he says I’m (name). He also repeats the same words or sentences over and over. We are in occupational therapy and speech therapy and have an appointment for sensory/autism testing. Every child is different but if you’re concerned bring it up to his dr

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My daughter does this. I blame her dad because when he talks to her about himself he’ll say daddy. “Bring daddy the remote.” Or “daddy said pick it up.” Whatever it may be instead of saying “I” said. Shes 3 too.

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My twins both did that around that age. They grew out of it. Dr said it was a phase :slight_smile:

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Totally normal but… request a speech eval from your local elementary school… you dont need to wait until fall. Early intervention will help through the school system at age 3.

3 of our 4 kids did this. They all grew out of it before they started kindergarten. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.

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My daughter did this. It’s normal at that age. Demonstrate speaking in first person to kids. We also had her in speech therapy for the passed like year and a half and it has done wonders for her. She starts kindergarten next year and will no longer need her speech and developmental therapies.

My son did this, I thought it was cute. He stopped doing it on his own before he turn 4

My 2 year old does this but we started to correct her and slowly shes doing it less and less

ADHD sometimes manifests itself in this kind of talking even in an otherwise well-behaved child. Impulse control isn’t always physical or behavioral, it can be being a “chatterbox.” As for the third person, stop letting him watch presidential speeches!

Its normal, and should stop on his own timetable. If it worries you, of course discuss it with your dr. But ive known lots of kids who went tbru this stage. Just remember there is no normal when it comes to children. They are all so unique and special.

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My son will be 4 next Monday and he does it.

Relax they will grow out of it enjoy

Speech therapy will only help. Look into it.

My kids did it for a bit. But thats because i was doing it lol like “mommy needs you to come sit down”
So i just changed the way i spoke to them and they did too in time

My son was in speech therapy. He stuttered. Doctor said he might copy someone he heard. Mostly a phase. Perfectly normaly and will outgrow

My Grandson did this and eventually just stopped it by kindergarten…

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If you think about it, we as parents speak in 3rd person a lot. Mommy said, Daddy is, etc. maybe he’s picking up how others around him identify themselves when speaking to others. I think it’s something he just picks up on. He’s 3. I don’t think he needs speech therapy for it. Proper placement of words come with age.

This was short lived in both my kids. I think it was just a phase.

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My son did that around that age for a while…but he grew out of it…if there is extra help for him it never hurts☺just try not to stress out about anything yet!!

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Don’t break him of it, just enjoy it and smile about it with him when he’s older. Now that my boys are older, I wish I would have just enjoyed them more and ignored all the “advice” from child phycologists and therapists.

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They should screen him for speech when you enroll him in a preschool ( not daycare). It is probably just developmental right now and can be corrected. Sometimes when they are around other children at school and hear them talk they figure it out.

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I work in early childhood education. It seems he is not understanding the use of pronouns. Continue to gently correct him by re-staying the correct usage. He may need speech therapy if the doctor is suggesting it. Typically by age 3, they should have a strong vocabulary and be able to hold conversations. My son also went through speech therapy from the age of 2 thru 7th grade. He was also diagnosed dyslexic in 2nd grade. He reads on level now (10th grade), has parts in musicals and plays, and though is ADHD it has its benefits. According to his doctor, if diagnosed as dyslexic, the child will also have adhd but the opposite is not true. Take your doctors suggestions to heart unless you feel there is deeper issues that need to be addressed and they won’t hear you, then advocate for him and change doctors

My son when he was 2 had speech therapy, they said he was dyslexic but not writing backwards the words were scrambled in his head when he talked he talked fast and but got mad when we didn’t understand him I think it might help your son, no harm in trying
My son is 21 now and is doing great!

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My son did that as well. He will grow out of it my son started speech therapy at 3. He talks fast as well and stuttered when he was younger. Speech therapy has helped alot! If the school system has preschool they can evaluate him and out him in speech therapy so I strongly recommend it.

All u can do is keep correcting him and allow your dr to refer u to speech and language therapy.
He will get there xx

Dear Abby might know

If you are low income? Head Start helps with speech and may take him im.Helped my daughter with speech she has 20% hearing loss in one ear.son does also.Get hearing checked by Otolaryngologists Dr. Ear,nose,throat.they can help if he has any hearing loss.Get notes to document it for school records if he has any problems.Schools have help with speech problems.Prayers for him.:pray::pray::pray::pray:

I agree with Carissa Beth, he is most likely replicating you or someone in your family. If you or someone else has said things to him in the third person, such as a Mom saying, “you know Mommy doesn’t like it when…” Or “Mommy is so proud of you for…” Then he may just be following what he thinks is proper. If you find you or others do this, ask them to speak as you would normally to anyone else in conversations. As he goes to school, he will stop eventually using the 3rd person as they will not speak that way. My son also was a fast talker, turned out he did not need therapy, he was gifted. He had a high intelligence level when tested. Turns out highly intelligent kids speak fast out of fear of not getting everything out they are thinking and repeat themselves sometimes in cases when they feel it was not said properly. I did not know, it took the right psychologist to tell me. My son was put in speech therapy and considered in need of help in school. He was being placed wrong. Get him tested outside of school. My son is now 18, in accelerated classes in highschool and has 21 college credits under his wing.