Chatty Moms

Usually the moms in my storytimes are very good. They listen attentively, actively participate, and get their children when their toddler wanders behind me to knock over the piano bench or pull out the cord to the CD player. I'm very grateful to them for their politeness but this past week I don't know what happened but it was as if this storytime was the social event of the season and a good part of the ladies gabbed the whole way through. When over fifty people are in a room and a good percentage of them are talking the noise compounds on itself and during this storytime I was wishing for a microphone.

I'm pretty good at getting the kids to be quiet. I can do a wiggle rhyme: "I wiggle my fingers/ I wiggle my nose...etc. until "no more wiggles are left in me so I'll be as quiet as I can be." They really like that one and they are very quiet after it. But the adults don't respond to that. (Why would they?) I've heard of one librarian who does not let the adults in the storytime at all but I don't agree with that. A good many of the adults in my storytime really like to participate and I believe they learn a lot by being there.

One librarian suggested that I have the children turn to their neighbor and ask their neighbor to be quiet. That might work; I'll have to try it. Maybe a short talk at the beginning of storytime for the children AND the parents might control the behavior. I understand why the moms want to talk. Some of them don't get a chance to go out too much and this is one of the opportunities they get to meet other moms. They are probably bursting with things to say. So I should probably make a point that they can have all the time they want AFTER storytime to talk with the other parents while the kids are working or playing with their crafts.