My Son Talks in Third Person!

"Hulk Smash"

All my three children went through this phase at around the same age. I asked my doctor about it, and she said it's just the normal process of experimenting with language and trying out different sounds and expressions. By the time he goes to school, he'll probably have grown out of it. If not, as his vocabulary increases, it will gradually fizzle out.

I believe it is just the age he is. My kids did not do this, but I have heard it and seen it before. If you are concerned you may mention it when he goes to preschool or kindergarten. It is kind of like kids saying "him" for "he". Another thing he may do at this age is call you and your hubby by first names or if he writes he may experiment with writing certain letters or whole words backwards. If it really bothers you you may tell him " Oh you are telling me 'I am thirsty'," but I do not think I would at this age.

you can ask your doctor but I think it is just a phase he is going through.

Maybe he just picked it up somewhere, like on television. I see athletes talk like that all the time. It's just a phase I bet, and I wouldn't be concerned. Think of it as one of his quirky attributes you'll embarrass him with when he gets older and has a girlfriend.

Like you say he is only four,I bet at school a teacher says does maurice want a drink or Jackon need a pencil he is just repeating what he has heard.He is shy and wants attention,Explain to him you love him and ask him to speak properly ,just explain it is not Jackson is thirsty as you will not answer him.Tell him to start a request with "please can I have." He should soon realise he gets no notice of him untill he says the proper words.Give him loads of cuddles.He is a bit insecure thats all.

I don't have kids of my own but I do have neices and nephews and two of them talked in third person at this age as well and they did not end up with any developmental issues at all or anything of that sort. The anti social part is probably just a phase as well but if that starts to occur around people that he knows, I would get that looked into and that's coming from personal experience ( I have an anxiety disorder and depression). Good job for being a concerned mama though! Take care.

I do think you might need to talk to a doctor about this, at least do some searching online

At first I thought I never personally knew a child in my life that went through the same but then I remembered my niece went through the same thing at probably the same age, so I guess it's really just a phase.

hi LovingMyBabies as hes only 4 I think its probably just a phase. My little daughter when she was just a toddler did that too but again she was brain damaged at birth so please do not think for one moment I am suggesting that with your son at all. my little girl would cry out"Pick baby up 'sometimes it was "Pick Lisa up mommy. Lisa wants a drink. She was born not breathing and the doctor refused to rescue her by C section so it took a half hour to get her to breathe. she consequently could not suck or nurse but I fed her formula with a spoon until she learned to drink from a cup. Your son is an entirely different situation.I would really not worry about it for awhile as he will probably change in time but if you really are concerned you might talk to your pediatrician about it.I really would just wait as I think its just a stagewhen I was little I was like that too and the adults would go around saying "she so bashful, shes so shy." I got the idea bashful meant I was really weird. to this day I am not comfortable in large crowds. I think some children just are not outgoing by nature and thats the way they will be as adults which is okay to me. I mean life would be really boring if we all were just the same.Shy adults are not necessarily a bad thing,I think its better than in your face adults who make people back off. lol lol lol

my son talks that way too..my 2 year old that is.. and i guess it is just a phase as i could also remember my other son going through this. he would say JJ wants water.. or JJ likes to watch Spongebob

May I ask who is jackson? Is jackson his brother or just an imaginary friend? Coz my daughter was also like this when shes about two or three year old..She would use other names even name of dogs to express what she really wanted to tell you. Like one time, she was kissing and hugging me while I was sleeping on bed then when I woke up i kissed her too and hugged her, then she suddenly said,"you know mommy Frudo is bad smell" and she turned her head away from me. or sometimes instead of saying "I like this" she will say " Laira like this" and she even speaks with an imaginary friends, some are real people some we dont know who. At first I dont know what to feel, should I be frightened or feel funny about it? But i think all these are just part of child's growing up stage but of course we as parent should be on guard and knows when to intervene and how to correct them. Babies or young child are just starting to build or know their identity, starting to learn communicating. I would say its their learning process so just correct him everytime and explain how he suppose to say what he said. Another point to consider is kids are a great imitator. maybe you also speak such way to him like " Mommy will change your nappy.. " they imitate us because they thought its the right way. But for you to aid your worries better see his pediatrician and ask his advise.

It is not unusual for a young child to go through describing themselves in the third person. it is a way of acting things out that they may be uncomfortable with. It will come to an end when something else comes along to replace the stimulation of the acting out.

It could very well be a stage, does he go to school or preschool? I know many kids who dont they tend to have these type of behaviours. I always compare myself to my siblings to these things. My two brothers never went to preschool, no activities, nothing, then my sister and I went to preschool, and a bunch of social acitivities dancing, skating, swimming so on. When my two brothers were younger (mind you they have an age gap one is now 30, and the other is 17) both have these exact behaviours the really person they only spent time with was my mother, to this day you can tell by their personality and behaviour the lack of social contact, behaviour they are very selfish, and sharing is down the drain , also work habits (not that they are I mean selfish badly, just little things it picks up). Whereas my sister and I were taught to go to these activities, taught to share not with each other but other kids, and so on. We have the most work ethics, and you share or compromise. I dont have kids, but this is my view on not just my family but those around me many with these traits at a young age, end up being worse as adults. But you can fix it now, with the anti social clingy type behaviour bring him to say the park, or preschool for a day or two over time he will loose these traits. In a college course I learnt many kids have these behaviours, but you need to break the habit before it goes any further. The third person I believe is a phase I know many friends kids who did it as well, just correct him.

That seems a bit unusual but I have heard it before....because someone addressed the child that way...if you haven't done that it might be just a phase.....

Aww when little kids do that I think it is so cute. Neither of my kids do that but my friends son who is 4 and a few months younger then my son talks in third person. Hes done it for quite a few months at least. It probably is just a stage. He has always been very clingy to his mother. He plays well with other kids now but was very scared to ever let go of his mothers hand up until about a year ago.

I suggest that with the 3rd person talking I would rephrase things when he says it. So like when he says he is thirsty respond with "are you thirsty" or "ok its good that your thirsty" He will hear you saying this about him but not using his name so he may start doing it too. I would just keep track of when he does it and maybe there is another reason he does this. Does he do it more in new areas? If he is anti-social start getting him out more and around more kids,show him that it is ok to be friendly and try new things. I think that this could all be a phase but to be safe just keep a little journal of when he does these things with details then this way if it doesn't stop you have something to go off of with a doctor.

I have never encountered this with my kids when they were small. They would say I'm thirsty. Maybe you should ask your doctor about this and see if it is something that kids do. It might be, just because my kids didn't do it doesn't mean it does not happen. Or ask a child therapist. I don't personally think you have anything to worry about. Maybe he picked it up from a cartoon on TV or something.