Please tell me your 4 year old is the same - Hyperactivity

CantWait wrote: Anthony is turning 4 in a couple days and is always hyper, always on the go, never listens or sits still. At soccer and gymnastics he's never doing what he should be doing. Ron is driving me nutts cause he wants to take Anthony to a doctor to get checked out for ADD. Problem is I don't believe in ADD AT ALL. Regardless of age, certainly not 4 years old.

Am I the only one who's got a 4 year old like this?

luvmykids replied: I think it's a boy thing more than age.....Colt was like that through spurts of ages three through now. We've finally gotten to the point that he can focus and kind of snap out of it. IMHO it's a matter of them understanding self control and appropriate behavior/listening and I'm not sure they really grasp that yet at four.

Chase-N-Paige replied: Count me in too for the hyper 4 year old. I think they are learning so much at this age, sometimes too much for their own good LOL My daughter Paige is on the go 24/7 (expect when sleeping!) and can she talk. I love her to pieces but sometimes the best thing for her is to get her focused on a task, a very quiet task, like crafts, coloring, play doh, just something not so active but active for their minds. Down time is the key to settling her down or she would just go, go, go...

I have to say at this age I can't see diagnosing a child with ADD but i guess a doctor could. I doubt your son has it though. He sounds like a happy and active little guy. Tell dad to take him out for a game of tball outside and get that energy out. Mine did that tonight after dinner with Paige and now both are almost asleep!

Alli

Anthony275 replied: i have ADD, but i was never like that when i was 4. i didnt really talk a lot until I was 5.

sparkys2boys replied: I dont think its ADD MArie at all. Its boys being boys!! If it keeps up or gets worse then maybe yes Ron may have a concern with reason , but for now I think it just him being a lil boy!!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Nope...totally sounds like Tanner too! Usually docs don't diagnose that in kids under 6 anyways because all the "symptoms" of adhd are that of a child this age. I know it's nerve wracking, and boys are crazy to begin with. I've been told it doesn't get better... . Boys are just boys...always on the go. I feel the same way about adhd, esp. in young kids.

Just an FYI...ADHD is with hyperactivity (which is what I think you are referring to)...ADD is more of just a lack of attention span but without hyperactivity.

CantWait replied: I guess I was referring to both ADD and ADHD. Robbie was never like Anthony (and I know I shouldn't compare the two), it's just that when people say it's a boy thing I never had to experience it with Robbie.
This past week, Anthony was in Gymnastics for 3 hours, plus we went swimming and he was still crazy, although he did take a nap.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Marie I feel your pain.

Emilie is exactly like this. Never sits still, never quiet, never just shuts up. She's always singing or humming or making stupid silly noises, or fidgeting or tugging at something.

Even when she's in time out, she twirls her hair or fusses with her nails or something.

The only way I can get her to just stay in one post is put nailpolish on her. She's such a girl, she wouldn't want to ruin her pretty nails. Until I tell her they're dry that is, then she peels it off.

Not ADD.

Just very active.

ADD are active, but more... duuuh... like.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I think its boys being boys. Wil is not quite three and OMG, he is a non-stop, hyper, dramatic, little monkey! And I know its just going to get worse. There was one night where he was so wound up, hitting his head and fists on walls, jumping off furniture and babbling at the top of his lungs - but having fun with it...So I said to DH, "must be a boy thing, because I certainly don't remember being like this as a kid". DH said yes, it's definitely a boy thing, he remembers being this way. He said that sometimes there is so much energy built up inside, that hitting a wall with your fist just feels like the appropriate thing to do at the time. I just laughed. Wil met another little boy (who was three) at the park yesterday and they were growling like monsters and throwing mulch at each other even after several times of his mom and I telling them to stop. They were just having fun...And his mom and I were like "boys being boys, what can you do".

Anyhow, I wouldn't go as far as taking him to a doctor. I don't believe in all that ADHD/ADD stuff either. I hear from all my friends who have boys that they HAVE to get their boys outdoors early to let off steam. I never really believed it until this year, when Wil turned into one of those kids. If we're not out the door doing some type of activity by like 10am or earlier, major chaos around our house.

ETA: I just wanted to add that I think you're doing the right thing Marie by keeping him busy with lots of fun activities. It's obviously what he needs. And it's great that the sports are such a positive way for him to get out that energy, teaching him that excercising can be fun but also a healthy way to let off steam.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied:
Wow, this is so not Logan. He likes to get outside and get dirty, but he's never off the walls. I must have gotten lucky. I take him to the park or to the pool regularly, but if we stay home for a day or two, it's no big deal. I am so fair skinned that I burn through sunscreen and it's been too stinking hot here to do much after 10am. However, I am sincerely looking forward to getting my little munchkin back soon. The house is awfully quiet without him chattering.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Yeah I got lucky with Zach. He's only this way when he's around a boy his age who is this way.

Usually he's my quiet helpful one.

C&K*s Mommie replied: My girls are like this at times, together. But mainly our youngest one is like this the majority of the time. It may just be a boy thing, but Rocky and I have girls who are like this too. So it may be a young child thing as well. I have no advice, just know that I am here in the Southern USA pulling my hair out too.

luvmykids replied:
That has a lot to do with it when Colt is acting like that, he's generally pretty mellow but we have bouts of the off the wall thing. I think he gets sick of all us girls and has to really tear it up when he gets around boys

A&A'smommy replied: He is just being a 4 year old... alyssa is nearly four and she wouldn't do what she was suppose to be at tball and there was another girl like her too... alyssa was always running around the field chasing one of the coaches and playing in the dirt.

redplaydoh replied: Add Lucas to the hyper-active list. I know I'm repeating myself, but I know his hyperactivity comes from his frustrations regarding the psycho-motoric disorder. He can't get his body to do what his mind wants him to so he feels out of control and acts out. At 4 they don't have the skills to cope with frustrations in a better way.

We've started playing games (simple card/dice type games) with him and it has helped him so much. At first getting him to sit through a game like Old Maid or Fish was a nightmare. Now he can and will sit through several games....