interrupting cow

I should preface this by saying that I am calling NO ONE in the following a cow. There, now that’s out of the way.

So, are you familiar with the joke?

 Knock, Knock.
 Who’s there?
 Interrupting cow.
 Interrupting cow wh—
 MOO!!!

Okay, so I didn’t say it was a knee-slapper (althought I do think it's funny once in a while), but it has been on something of a constant replay in my head lately. Pic has a problem with interrupting. She just doesn’t really get the concept of waiting politely for a break in the conversation before she jumps in. She also doesn’t really get the whole saying, ‘Excuse me,’ to politely break in. I might be able to get her to say, ‘Excuse me,’ but she doesn’t then politely wait to be addressed, she just plows on.

Now, you might be thinking, ‘Hello, she’s four,’ but, really I’m trying to teach her somewhat decent manners and I REALLY don’t think that four is too early to teach her this. And, I don’t think that this would be too much of an issue for me, except…other people aren’t helping.

Here’s the thing: Whenever I’m talking with someone and Pic wants to interrupt and I tell her she has to say ‘Excuse me’ and then wait, almost always, the other person either turns to her or responds to her anyway. This is not helpful. I completely understand if the other person is trying not to be rude to her, but I’m never going to be able to teach her not to interrupt if this is how things continue.

Also, I’m really pretty sure that it’s not just other people. I probably do the same freaking thing, without realizing it. (Oh, sometimes it’s so much easier to notice flaws in others…sometimes.) However, I’ve really started concentrating on how I respond in these situations so that I won’t stop the conversation the second she starts talking.

So, a warning: If you and I are having a conversation and Pic suddenly wants to tell me about her wedding shoes or about her ladies, prepare yourself for a sidetracked lesson on interrupting and using our manners. ah, well, at some point in her life, I’ll have figured this out. They don’t just give out these Perfect Parent awards for nothing, you know.