Boys and energy levels

[hegsag]

I have a VERY active 3.5 year old boy. He is constantly moving, constantly! I serious thought there was something wrong with him because my 7 year old daughter was/is very different (calm). Is this just normal boy behavior? I never thought so until earlier today. We were at McDonalds and he was playing in the play area with 3 other boys and I noticed all 4 boys were bouncing off everything (including each other).

 

[jfoofj]

I think it varies from kid to kid... my DS is very calm and my DSS sounds like your son. One of my nieces is constant motion from the moment she wakes till bedtime and she is a climber.... babysitting her can be considered exercise!

 

[Jillpie]

I have three sons, and they were not like that. Is it so worrisome that you might want to mention it to your pediatrician, is this new behavior for him?

 

[hegsag]

He's always been very active. However, for the past 6 weeks we were having home renovations done and he was not allowed to go play in the yard. He has really become quite difficult but I am hoping it's because he was not able to go outside and run/play some energy off. The men finished the house today so I will wait another week or two to see if he calms down at all before calling the ped.

 

[nmmom95]

My DS6 has always been like that. He is fine at school, sits still, no problem, but at home, he is a whirlwind!

 

[All American]

I think it just depends on the kid. Most little boys I know do tend to be in the high-energy catagory. It's amazing how they can just go and go. I imagine your son is pretty normal and wouldn't worry too much. Some kids, boys especially, are just rambunctious.

ETA: Just read your other post. I could see how a big renovation and limited room to run would casue some cabin fever. I'm an adult, and it would be tough on me.

 

[2bearsmom]

I too think it just varies from kid to kid. I have two boys, one will be 8yrs old next month and one is 4 1/2yrs. My oldest was active when he was younger but nothing like my youngest! I think it is physically impossible for my youngest to sit still! I mean the boy is constant constant motion, from sun up to sun down. Not in a destructive or bad way either, just always on the go.

 

[shortbun]

He's always been very active. However, for the past 6 weeks we were having home renovations done and he was not allowed to go play in the yard. He has really become quite difficult but I am hoping it's because he was not able to go outside and run/play some energy off. The men finished the house today so I will wait another week or two to see if he calms down at all before calling the ped.

Take him to a playground every day for exersize. My son needs physical exersize every single day and if he doesn't get it....it's very hard on him. My son is 14 and he's a 4 sport participant. We have 2 going at the same time often. It's important. When he was little, I always had him in rec sports and gymnastics. If the weather was bad and school cancelled recess, I took him out or sent him out when he got home no matter the weather-he just dresssed for it. I recognized this need at about age 2 when we set up a climber(the big plastic outdoors type) in our living room on tumbling mats and he loved it all winter long-his behavior was so good!!! He was climbing the refrigerator and obviiously in need of activity, lol!

 

[jenrose66]

Boys are very active. I'm going thru the same thing. My son is just about 3.5 and he never stops...NEVER. It's getting worse as he gets older because he's about 35 pounds and he likes to horseplay with dad, and then he'll try to with me and he has some force behind him. I have a 9 month old son too, and he's the same way, he's like a bulldozer. he sees something he wants he goes for it and will use force if necessary

Funny because me and DH aren't really agressive or anything like that. I just chalk it up to little boy energy, DH says he was the same way when he was younger.

 

[mjkacmom]

I asked for ritalin when ds11 was 6 months old . I had a girl first, and thought there was something seriously wrong with him! Little boys are puppies in disguise.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

He's always been very active. However, for the past 6 weeks we were having home renovations done and he was not allowed to go play in the yard. He has really become quite difficult but I am hoping it's because he was not able to go outside and run/play some energy off. The men finished the house today so I will wait another week or two to see if he calms down at all before calling the ped.

6 weeks! Get that boy to a playground, zoo, something where he burns off some energy.

Heck it has been raining for 3 days and even my dogs are bouncing off the walls. They NEED a walk.

I have girls and they never played "calm" at that age either. They needed daily exercise outside. Parks and playgrounds were my lifesaver.

 

[JVL1018]

I am sure there are lots of calm little boys out there.
I don't have one of those.
Mine doesn't even sit still when we play a board game, he's always hopping around. LOL
I know he CAN, he does in school, but outside of school..and especially if there are other little boys around, forget it.
You should see where the kids line up before school-for the most part the girls are standing around chatting and the boys, like someone else said, are like puppies, never still.

 

[4formickey]

Boys can be full of energy and they need a outlet. In the schools now they always want to say that the kids are ADHD. They take recess out of the schools and limit their play time but they want every child to sit down all day and not move. This may be a little off topic but you child is normal ,don't let anyone say he needs drugs to bring him down. Just provide him with lots of playtime. If you look at the test for the adhd, every child would be on ritalin or baby crack let him play and enjoy your normal acting child.

 

[luvflorida]

Trust me, it isn't just boys that can be very active. I have raised one son and two daughters. My son was/is the least active of the three and has always had a calm, even temperament.

I've always used the following scenario when describing the differences in activity/temperament among my three kids. If each one of my kids ( let's say, at the age of two) was placed in a room with only a chair in it, and was told to sit in the chair until I came back for him/her in a few minutes, this would be the results:

My son would sit in the chair and not move from it until I returned for him. He has always been an easy-going, compliant child.

My older daughter would sit in the chair, but get bored after a few minutes. She'd probably get up and walk around the chair while singing a song, then get back in the chair. She'd have a big grin on her face (and never admit that she got out of the chair) when I returned.

My younger daughter would be out of the chair the second I left the room. She would also find a way to dismantle the chair and stack the pieces on top of one another. When I returned for her, she would be standing on the top of the pile of chair pieces. She has always been my active, don't turn your back on child.

In my case, it seemed like each child got progressively more active and feisty. No way were we going for a fourth child!

 

[mamacatnv]

My DS was born active and at almost 20 he is still very active. Getting thru school was a challenge, he has a tough time sitting still, even when sitting he is wiggling, tapping, thumping or something with his legs, feet or hands. He also never shuts up but that is a whole nother thread from last week.
There is nothing wrong with him, he is bright, animated and active, plain and simple.

IMO the best solution is lots and lots of activity organized and free play are both important - sports, exercise and lots of physical play. I think boys by and large are more active than girls. Watch groups of boys vs girls on the school playground. They do play differently etc.

We sent DS out in all kinds of weather he didn't care, we also knew the times and hours of every indoor play structure within a 25 mile radius.

My DD is a house plant in comparison

 

[Liberty Belle]

Boys can be full of energy and they need a outlet. In the schools now they always want to say that the kids are ADHD. They take recess out of the schools and limit their play time but they want every child to sit down all day and not move. This may be a little off topic but you child is normal ,don't let anyone say he needs drugs to bring him down. Just provide him with lots of playtime. If you look at the test for the adhd, every child would be on ritalin or baby crack let him play and enjoy your normal acting child.

That's not at all true and I take offense at your calling Ritalin "baby crack."

We are currently having our son tested for ADHD. He is not like the other boys in his class, as much as it pains me to say it. I wish he were. I wish his energy level was just a normal boy level, but it's not.

People with views like yours make life much more difficult for those of us with children who do indeed have ADHD and, believe me, our lives are difficult enough.

 

[disneyfan123]

I have a very active 2 year old boy who is constantly on the go and I know other families with boys that say the same thing. One person commented to me that they would not be surprised if my son has ADHD simply because he would not sit still and wanted to explore the doctors office and I told them they were jumping a little too quickly to diagnose that based on a toddler! As a teacher I know ADHD is over diagnosed simply because it is easier to medicate than be creative at solving the problem. Some children learn in different ways and as a teacher I need to be creative to keep the childrens attentions. Now I also know there are children in my school who do have ADHD and require those supports, but there should be better testing to determine that before we start to medicate.

So to answer your question: Terrible twos should include terrible threes - they are exploring the world and needing to burn energy, all the while getting into everything!

 

[Liberty Belle]

I have a very active 2 year old boy who is constantly on the go and I know other families with boys that say the same thing. One person commented to me that they would not be surprised if my son has ADHD simply because he would not sit still and wanted to explore the doctors office and I told them they were jumping a little too quickly to diagnose that based on a toddler! As a teacher I know ADHD is over diagnosed simply because it is easier to medicate than be creative at solving the problem. Some children learn in different ways and as a teacher I need to be creative to keep the childrens attentions. Now I also know there are children in my school who do have ADHD and require those supports, but there should be better testing to determine that before we start to medicate.

So to answer your question: Terrible twos should include terrible threes - they are exploring the world and needing to burn energy, all the while getting into everything!

Thank you. I wish more teachers felt as you do.

 

[KristiKelly]

I think it depends on the child. Our DS is very calm compared to our 2 girls. I think anytime you get more than 1 child @ a McD playland they are hyper X 10 - I think they pump something in the airvents. DS12 drinks a Mtn Dew Vault everyday before school since 4th grade to wake him up - you couldn't offer me $100 to give DD9 that - I'd ring her neck.

 

[barkley]

That's not at all true and I take offense at your calling Ritalin "baby crack."

We are currently having our son tested for ADHD. He is not like the other boys in his class, as much as it pains me to say it. I wish he were. I wish his energy level was just a normal boy level, but it's not.

People with views like yours make life much more difficult for those of us with children who do indeed have ADHD and, believe me, our lives are difficult enough.

i agree wholeheartedly. i KNEW something was amiss with our ds and grew so frustrated with people constantly telling me it was just because 'he's a boy'. boy or not, when a child is in perpetual motion to the extend that they cannot, despite being tired and relaxed, get their body and mind to slow down and sleep-it is not normal.

with our ds it was CONSTANT-at home, at school, at every activity-in utero!!! i know every pregnancy is different, but that boy moved constantly when i carried him such that co-workers and family would remark about how my belly was constantly moving.

i do believe adhd is incorrectly diganosed in some cases but i could never understand why anyone in their right mind would want their non adhd kid on meds-it does'nt work the same way with non adhd kids, they are stimulants that will make a non adhd kid bouce higher, move faster, and become adrenniline fueled nightmares.

with our ds, i knew something was wrong-and when after exhaustive months and months of testing to rule every other possible factor out kept coming back to adhd and we did a trial on meds it was a life changing experience. my ds could finaly stop fighting his mind and body in order to do the activities he wanted to do, could finaly lay down in bed and go to sleep, could finaly stop having people pass judgements on him that he was just a poorly parented/misbehaving kid.


good wishes with your son's testing-know that like with any other medical issue you are doing the right thing in seeking competant professional help for your child. i doubt that if this thread had been posted with a parent's concern that their child was'nt gaining weight normaly because of their energy levels, or had opposite/dangerous other than normal reactions from the majority of the population to common otc (like benadryl and other cold or flu meds) and dental meds (novacaine/nitis oxide) as well as surgical sedatives anyone would dare to make a nasty remark about a medication used to treat and protect their child. despite the fact that these can be very common symptoms/concerns with adhd kids people are unaware or ignore them and just focus on what they incorrectly perceive to be the illness/treatment.