I need help with my Tattletale?

Question

He's only 3 1/2 and for some reason I thought this was supposed to start much later (age 5ish?). It has been going on for a while now but is getting ridiculous. It started when he was around his cousins but has now has gotten to the point that he is constantly tattling on the dogs. "Mama, Bella stepped on my toy", "Mama, Ludwig is looking at my chicken nuggets"... you get the idea.

At the rate he's going, I don't even want to think about how bad it will be when his baby brother gets a little older.

How can I stop this or how is the best way to handle it???

Answer 1

My almost-4-year-old is the SAME way.  He's been doing it for months.  I'm pretty sure its standard for this age so just give it time.  Right now they think everything is important and worth telling mommy.  When my boy tells me something silly like "Nova(our cat) is in my roooooom"  I just say in a sweet voice, "Its ok, no big deal."  I think with us telling him things are 'ok' he will eventually realize not everything is worth making a fuss over.  Eventually they sort out what is tattle worthy and what isn't.  Just bare with him, it's all a learning process.  I hope this helps.  Good luck.

Answer 2

I'm not sure this is the best way for you but when my kids started this I question them sarcastically , like did you get hurt are you bleeding then I would say ok then go play and stop telling on everything . Then they got so mad at me after a while they stopped and came when it was important . Good Luck !

Answer 3

i agree. the first thing i'd do it TOTALLY ignore it, show he's not getting any attention from it. if he persists or gets worse in a few weeks, i'd then say EVERY time he tattles: "i don't want you to be a tattletale" firmly, and send him to the corner for 1 min timeout each time he does it. continually make it clear that the only time it is ok to tattle is if someone is bleeding/choking etc. that's what my mom did when i was little (although i didn't really know the meaning of the word 'choke').

Answer 4

In our house you are NOT aloud to tattle unless someone is bleeding! :)  Actually if you tattle then you are the one that gets punished.  I have a 5 and 4 year old it I listened to them every time they tattled that's all I would get done doing.  If one tattles they they have to go to the corner for 3 minutes (my kids hate the corner) You would be surprised how this can cure the urge to tattle!

Answer 5

He will eventually outgrow it. My 2.5 year old is the same way.  I get told 1000 times a day that the cat is walking up the stairs or l*****g her leg, arm, etc. or that his brother hit his shirt (obvioulsy not causing any harm). I honestly just ignore it unless it is something that needs to be taken care of right away.  I find myself saying "okay" a lot!

** I found some useful information here:http://www.thecutekid.com/parenting/Tatt...

Answer 6

My daughter does this too and sometimes she lies and blames the dog for something she did herself. When it's something she did, I usually tell her that I know it was her and it's not nice to blame someone else for it. I then ask her to clean it up (or whatever needs to be done to fix it) and she will, like a good girl. Then I tell her to say sorry to the dog. lol  

But, if she's telling on somebody when it really wasn't her, as long as nobody was hurt by it, I will tell her "It didn't hurt anything or anyone, so don't worry about it."

And if it's another child getting into trouble, but it doesn't really effect her or any other kids, then I tell her, "They are not my child, so I can't do anything. Let their parents handle it." Of course, it would be a different story if the child was being mean to another child though. If the parents don't step in, then I will.