very hyper 4 yr. old boy

[made4more]

he's almost 5 actually, August 4th.

I keep him with me all day now because i cannot trust him out of my sight. ever. not even to put a glass in the sink when i'm in the livingroom cuz he'll do something he knows he's not supposed to do like quickly pour the water on top of the crayons first, or throw a crayon in the skillet. I seriously have no clue when either even happened.. aparently he's not with me ALL the time but i sure thought I was keeping him in here.. i swear, he's like this :dash.. youll only get it if youve seent he movie.

Anyway what in the world do you do with a kid that is SO hyper.. this is intensified if he doesn't nap at naptime. he's like a monkey that ate crack or something.. really - he even sounds like one. maaack....... ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh... <-----------------the loud noises he makes.

IO try to keep him involved in what I do, esp lately. dishes, laundry whatever it is- I give him chores/stuff to do while i'm working to keep him bu sy. we can't really go outside because it's mudd and.. and well i hate outside?????? It just reminds me of how alone I am.. this big world and noone but me and some kids talking about airplanes and flying. *insert pouty silly face*

so how do you contain the energy of the 4/5 yr. old boy and keep him from embarrasing the heck out of you in pyublic?

[Joanne]

Between the napping issue and the impulse control, any additional concerns that might point to special needs?

[swimming with sharks]

4/5 year old boys NEED to be outside to RUN and RUN and RUN. He's could be hyper cuz he needs to burn off his energy. :shrug3

[cbmk4]

echoing the possibility of some special needs. Do other people think he's unusually hyperactive or has an usually short attention span?

How is his sleep quality and quantity at night? Any chance he could have sleep apnea or some other reason to not be getting enough sleep (like at least 9 hours?)

[blessedwithboys]

4/5 year old boys NEED to be outside to RUN and RUN and RUN. He's could be hyper cuz he needs to burn off his energy. :shrug3
:yes If my boys do not spend at least 2 hours/day in intense activity, you'd think they were monkeys possessed by demons. Very creative monkeys.

I ensure that they get that 2 hours (in the winter we go to the gym or the zoo where they plow the paths, or we have play dates), but in good weather they get 4-6 hours outside.:phew

[made4more]

I was just remembering that he did a lot better when we had him completely off sugar, but it was so darned expensive because I had the others on the same diet.. I can't let them eat things he can't.

I really don't think he's "abnormal," he's can really focus if you put him to something or if he's playing a game with mama like candyland.. or stringing beads. Sometimes his actions seem a little bit uncontrollable/involuntary but for hte most part he's a pretty cool dude. It's just that some times he gets these bursts. and he does it to strangers too. like a lady at the cmas party at the school was talking with me and her wanted her attention so he kindof growled "EEEEHHHHHHH." kindof embarrasing. :shifty

4-6 hours, for real? I can't let him out of my sight so I guess I'll be spending a lot of time outside this summer. blech.

[Peridot]

Maximus has a lot of thiose behaviors...and a magnesium deficiency. When he has a mag supplement he's much more in control of himself.

[blessedwithboys]

It's just that some times he gets these bursts. and he does it to strangers too. like a lady at the cmas party at the school was talking with me and her wanted her attention so he kindof growled "EEEEHHHHHHH." kindof embarrasing. :shifty

4-6 hours, for real? I can't let him out of my sight so I guess I'll be spending a lot of time outside this summer. blech.


My 5 yo GROWLED at my midwife last year. :giggle Seriously. Like a caged animal. Thank goodness she has 3 boys and just one girl.

Yeah, 4-6 hours in good weather. I have a fenced yard so that is a lot easier. We keep a lot of weird stuff in the yard for them to mess with, like a bunch of bricks in the corner, because bugs come up under them, 3500 bug jars, scrap lumber for making robots, etc. The big trampoline is my life saver though. If we don't have a lot of time to be outside they jump on the trampoline for a while and it burns a lot of energy. The swingset is popular too, but not as big of an energy burner.

[mommylobster]

Maximus has a lot of thiose behaviors...and a magnesium deficiency. When he has a mag supplement he's much more in control of himself.

How did you discover this?

[illinoismommy]

Get Him Outside.

[Peridot]

His behaviors were so entirely weird, and he was getting so scarily skinny- I thought maybe he had a dairy allergy...so I startewd researching that.

One of the Mommas I talked to told me that the behavior I described her son's magnesium deficiency. In googling everything to death (:giggle) I discovered that most kids with ADD also have a significant mag deficiency. I have ADD, am pretty sure Maximus has it, and I've had good results w/magnesium, so decided to trial it for him.

The results spoke for themselves- loudly and clearly.

ETA- sometimes getting outside is harder than it would seem to be. Especially if you have a runner.

[Rabbit]

Simon has those behaviors. So he's being evaluated. And we're moving, into a house with a yard, and a sturdy fence, so that he can go outside quickly, without worrying about matching socks or brushed hair.

[andrea_r]

I was just remembering that he did a lot better when we had him completely off sugar,

Then cut out the sugar, for everyone. It's probably not just sugar, but artificial colorings as well. Look up the Fiengold diet.

Red dye sent my kids right into a tailspin, so did chocolate. It was like winding them up and watchign them literally run around in circles.

[AngelaVA]

Do you have a backyard with a window you can watch him through? IMO 4 years is old enough in most neighborhoods to play in the backyard with Mama keeping a close eye from inside. He needs to be outside, possibly more sensory play as well (playdough, sand, water etc). Also, is getting him into an athletic activity a possibility? Gymnastics, karate, soccer, whatever he is into???

I would try the feingold diet, maybe not the elmination of the natural salicylates but for sure ALL artificial colors/flavors and preservatives and also sugar.

My child is very hyperactive and she has vitamin deficiencies and other things going to too, we had to do a lot of labs to find that out though, I would start with the increased outside time and diet changes.

I thought of one more thing, we are just starting coconut milk kefir (we are casein free - if you are not the dairy kind is much easier to find) and in my reading I learned that a lot of people who drink kefir regularly do not crave sugary stuff because the kefir helps get rid of the yeast in your body that is feeding sugar cravings so...if you do want to go off of sugar that might be something to try. My girls like it in the blender with a banana or some berries.