My son's 10-year-old teacher has called me several times because he says he's really talkative in class and won't let the other kids concentrate. He's the same way at home but I thought it was just an age thing. Should I take him to a psychologist or does he just need more discipline?
Sometimes excessive talking is more about anxiety or the kid not having enough stimulation in class, but it could also be both of those things together with a lack of boundaries, so it's worth having a professional evaluate him before you assume anything. What I'd do is ask the teacher to give you specific examples of when it happens (during explanations, group work, free time?) because if it's only when he gets bored or when he has to sit still without doing anything, he probably needs different strategies than what they're using now, not just a psychologist or more discipline.
First thing would be to have a calm talk with your son to understand what's going on with him, because sometimes kids talk a lot when they're anxious, bored, or need attention - it's not always a discipline issue. If you also notice he has trouble concentrating in other situations, sleeps badly, or is constantly moving around, well yeah, it'd be good to have a professional take a look, but before that I'd try setting clear boundaries at home and at school (like visual signals to remind him to turn down the volume) and see if that helps. At 10 years old they still have tons of energy and some kids need more movement and stimulation than others, so don't stress too much about it, but if it keeps happening after you've made some changes, then yeah it's definitely worth checking out!
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