‘This is how I taught my son not to talk about himself all the time’

Katie’s son loves dinosaurs. “And that’s putting it mildly,” she says. “The more he hears and sees about those animals, the more he wants to know.”

Katie thinks it’s all fine, but sometimes she’s done with the Stegosaurus bullshit. He’s been chatting non-stop since he could talk. Combine that with his intense obsession with prehistory and you understand: I am getting exhausted. ‘

Time out

Katie tries to act enthusiastically when her son starts the umpteenth Dino Masterclass, but that doesn’t always work. “Moreover, I think it is important that he also learns to have a mutual conversation,” she says. “I don’t want him to become someone who finds a way to talk about himself again with every conversation.”

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And so she recently told him honestly that she needed some time out. “I said that I was impressed by his knowledge, but sometimes I also have to talk or think about other things that make me just as excited as he gets from dinosaurs.”

Respectful

His response took her by surprise. ‘He paused, then asked,’ If I want to talk about dinosaurs, will I say, ‘Is this a good time?’ That seemed like a great plan to moderate the flow of dinosaur information. ‘

Soon her son’s birthday. “Then we’ll talk about those beasts as much as he likes,” says Katie. But at all other times, he knows he has to ask first, as he’s been doing lately. He has shown that he can be reasonable and respectful. And that makes me very proud. ‘