Question On 5-6 year Olds? Help!

[CamColt]

DS will be turning 6 in a couple weeks. For the past month, he has been going through this awful stage of touching and playing with(=ruining) everything in sight. When we go to stores, I am constantly telling him to stop touching things...literally, like once every 2 minutes. Same thing at home, I say "You know you arent supposed to touch that" over and over. Whether its suds in a sink, or Christmas candles in the window, he just cant keep his hands off stuff. My throat is actually sore today, because I have resorted to yelling at him. He doesnt listen to talking and its nonstop!

So has anyones kids ever gone through this stage, and how did you get them to stop? Its driving me nuts!

 

[C.Ann]

Hmmm.. First thing that comes to mind is in the store, I would tell him he had to ride in the cart until he can be a big boy and not touch things he isn't supposed to..

At home I guess I would just try the "time out" route every time he touched something until he finally got the message..

 

[snoopy]

Uhhh, I think that is the nature of BOYS in general, CamColt.

Mine touched everything until he was about 6. He still has great difficulty standing still for any length of time.

The little one is into everything. I made the HUGE mistake of taking him to the Yankee Candle store the other day - he made me a nervous wreck so we were in and out very quickly.

 

[JESW]

uhhhh..sorry to say this, but that's boys! My DS just turned 8 and he STILL touches everything! And he must have a problem with his hearing because he doesn't hear what we tell him not to do. (selective hearing)

When he came in today he kicked his wet boot off onto the kitchen floor. I told him not to do it - he says ok - and then proceeds to kick the other one off in the same spot! I could go on and on with stories like that....

I don't think they ourgrow it...at least some of them don't. DS was the one the teachers had to keep telling not to touch his friends. He can be very demonstrative and when he was younger he loved to hug his friends. But now the schools have a "no touching" rule so we had to always tell him to think of other ways to show his friends he liked them.

He is still hard to take into stores...

Good luck!

Jill

 

[aahmom1]

My boys are 8 and 10, I'll let you know when they quit touching everything, I think it's a boy thing. Eventually they'll get taller and they'll HAVE to jump up and touch everything.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Duct Tape cures this

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by snoopy
Uhhh, I think that is the nature of BOYS in general, CamColt.

I don't think this is a "boy" issue at all.

I think it's an age issue and/or PERSONALITY of the child issue. I've seen both boys and girls go through this phase, at about the same age; 5-6.

I have 2 boys and they NEVER were the type to touch things or get into things that were not for them. I've seen little boys AND girls touching and picking up things they shouldn't be.

All kids test their limits, AND their curiosities grow as they get older. They just need reminders to not touch things that they shouldn't be touching.

 

[CamColt]

UGH! So, it sounds like there is a good chance this wont stop soon. Im more tolerant when his younger brother does stuff like this because I expect from a 2(almost 3) year old, but at almost 6, I feel he knows better...especially when I say it 50 times. Thats the other thing, the word "stop" means nothing to him.

JESW, that boot incident sounds just like something he would do.

Alex, dont tempt me!

 

[SonjaB]

I'm with Alex, duct tape.

Seriously, my six year old is required to keep his hands in his pockets in stores. If it's a grocery store, he has the option of keeping his hands in his pockets or riding in the cart. I know.....mean mommy.......but we've had a couple of near misses (of the you break it, you bought it nature) that made this necessary for now. My ten year old is over it for the most part and a lot more careful when he does touch.

CamColt, I don't know if this will help, because all children are different, but when I find myself saying something too many times, my son stops taking me seriously. Three has to be my limit before laying down a consequence or he thinks I don't mean it. Sometimes you just have to try different approaches until one sticks. GOOD LUCK!!!! (we moms need all we can get, LOL!)

 

[CamColt]

Thats a good rule to go by, Sonja. Thanks for the tip. I was sort of starting to feel that way, like I was saying stuff so much that it was losing meaning and he was ignoring me.

 

[NHAnn]

Originally posted by SonjaH

CamColt, I don't know if this will help, because all children are different, but when I find myself saying something too many times, my son stops taking me seriously. Three has to be my limit before laying down a consequence or he thinks I don't mean it. Sometimes you just have to try different approaches until one sticks. GOOD LUCK!!!! (we moms need all we can get, LOL!)

...this was well put..I was trying to say the same thing but it kept coming out wrong ....so I kept hitting the back button.

It's been 10 years since my DD was that age, but the point is if you say something over and over it gets "tuned out" if there are no real consequences. I've seen girls as well as boys do this, sometimes just to push mommy's buttons, not because "they can't help it"! This is true even with teenagers .........
not to scare you or anything

Seriously, there have to be age-appropriate limits and age-appropriate consequences for going beyond them. But be reasonable and pick your battles.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Well let's see....so far this year with my 8yr old it hasn't been the
touching so much. It's the 'I'm big enough to wander off'' attitude. Don't think I need the duct tape so much now, as a LEASH!
(There's nothing like being paged over the Walmart paging system.... by your kid!)
Kim