Why do children talk to themselves?

It’s not only kids who talk to themselves: we all do. Just think about a busy day when you are cooking or shopping by yourself. You can probably remember reminding yourself that you mustn’t forget this or that, or that your cousin doesn’t like olives, so you better try a different recipe.

The difference is that as we get older, we tend to say these things to ourselves, inside our heads, and we call them thoughts.

Children learn from physical to abstract. In other words we learn by doing, touching, feeling and playing. This learning process is also true for language so when you hear your child saying stuff out loud they are just practicing. Talking out loud is just the natural way humans try out new words and sounds, experiment with meanings, and imagine themselves taking on roles and relationships.

Adults talk to themselves most when they are imagining a new or worrying experience. 

I wonder if you have ever heard yourself talking out loud, using phrases like these:-

“I’m a team player”

“I like responsibility”

“I can work on my own initiative”?

This is the sort of “talking” to ourselves we do before a job interview. It’s really common for us to rehearse the words we are going to use to see how they sound before we use them, and that’s mostly what your child is doing when they talk to themselves.

So how much talking to themselves should your child do?

The answer to this question is very simple.

As much as they want, and as often as possible!

Psychologists say that kids who talk to themselves often tend to be more intelligent. 

So relax; your child is a genius!