I open my eyes slightly while I stretch…still warmly buried under the covers. It’s dark…but I hear birds chirping outside so I know it’s morning. I check the clock. 6:15am. In about 15 short minutes, my youngest will climb out of his bed, go to the bathroom, then go back to his room to check his clock. He will see that it’s not 7 yet and get back in his bed. He knows he’s not allowed to get up until 7. So, he lays in his bed…singing, snapping, clapping, playing. One would think at 6:30 in the morning I would be annoyed. But I’m not. I lay there and listen to him…and I smile.
I know it’s early in the morning. I know he’s loud and it’s entirely possible he’ll wake up his brother. But I also know, a loud, singing child…is a happy child.
Ever since the moment he was born, he’s been loud. Seriously. The MOMENT! As a parent, you probably remember waiting to hear that first sound, squeak or cry when your child is born. With our oldest, it wasn’t immediate. It took a few seconds – which of course felt like a lifetime – before I heard him make any noise at all. With our youngest, he was literally born screaming. We still talk about the day he was born and how he filled that entire room with his loud cries, followed by loud snoring later that night.
Now, 7 years later, he isn’t any quieter. He sings while going to the bathroom. He hums while brushing his teeth. When he plays outside in the sandbox, the neighbours can hear him. When he gets hurt, I’m sure the entire STREET can hear him. He laughs loud. He eats loud. He sleeps loud. He is a LOUD child.
And while I’ll admit, we have tried to get him to be quieter, I’ve given up. Not because it’s a hopeless cause, but because I’ve come to realize that in the grand scheme of things…is it really that big of a deal? I mean sure, there are certain places out in public where we try to keep his noise level to a minimum because being loud isn’t appropriate, but at home…we’ve stopped.
He doesn’t make noise on purpose. He’s not doing it for attention. He doesn’t even realize how loud he is. It’s just him. And we love him just the way he is. I don’t want to stifle him. Or change him. Or make him feel like he can’t be himself. I want him to know there is a time and a place to be quiet, but when he’s at home…that’s his place. That’s where I want him to feel safe, happy, at ease, and free to be himself. I love listening to him play in his room and use his imagination. I love hearing his sweet voice sing in the car to songs he loves, or his excited squeal when he wins a game. And when I hear that loud, deep belly laugh while he watches his favourite movies…well, that’s just the best.
I realize a lot of people probably see “being loud” as a negative thing, but I disagree. If I’m being completely honest, I’m not exactly a quiet person and neither is my husband so it shouldn’t really come as a such a surprise that’s he’s louder than most. But to me, loud is just fine. Loud means he’s passionate. Loud means he stands up for himself. Loud means he’s not afraid to be expressive. And hey, loud means I pretty much always know where he is. 😉
If you’re also a parent of a naturally loud child, I encourage you to embrace it. There are definitely much worse characteristics your child could have. As I said earlier, a loud, singing child…is a happy child. I will ALWAYS encourage happiness.
Even if his kind of happy…is loud.
