tips to calm your over-tired sensory seeking 4 y o?

[Anonymous]

4 yr old DS has no diagnosis at the moment but he is sensory seeking especially when tired. This ends up making bedtime totally chaotic as he falls apart. Obviously the real solution is not to let him get so tired ... but on those nights when it ends up happening, are there any techniques to calm or soothe that have worked? It's especially rough as he starts dropping his nap at school and I don't realize he needs an earlier bedtime on time!

[Anonymous]

My 6 year old loves soft minky blanket. We have the weighted kind but that's something that you may want to discuss with your pediatrician. Some people don't believe in weighted blankets for safety reasons.

[Anonymous]

That's not sensory seeking. That is overtired and trying to stay awake. Earlier bed, snack, bath, book, bed.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. But lie down with him and hold him.

[Anonymous]

Follow the same pm routine every day. Every day.

[Anonymous]

Most kids that age fall apart completely (1) when overtired and overstimulated and (2) at bedtime. If he has more difficulties than most, try to stay ahead of the game. Be structured. Remind him of the routine. It's hard to know what you mean by sensory seeking -- is he whirling around? Is he seeking loud noises? Keep on him about his routine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not sensory seeking. That is overtired and trying to stay awake. Earlier bed, snack, bath, book, bed.

Lol. If it were as easy as "bed book bath" I wouldn't be here. He is sensory seeking and it gets much more pronounced when stressed in any way. Also likely ADHD dx in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most kids that age fall apart completely (1) when overtired and overstimulated and (2) at bedtime. If he has more difficulties than most, try to stay ahead of the game. Be structured. Remind him of the routine. It's hard to know what you mean by sensory seeking -- is he whirling around? Is he seeking loud noises? Keep on him about his routine.

As in, literally cannot stay still or stop moving or cooperate in any way. I realize the answer is not to let him get overtired but sometimes it happens before I realize it.

[Anonymous]

How about a weighted stuffed animal? I gave my son one when he was 3 and he still has it nearly 10 years (and an ADHD diagnosis later). This is it although I bought it from a different website:

http://www.toystoolsandtreasures.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=148

[Anonymous]

For my (now diagnosed ADHD 7yo) sensory-seeking boy at that age, 2 things helped. First, make sure he gets physical activity! For our kid at that age it was riding his bike up and down our block for 20 minutes after school. Find something that wears him out physically and have him do it as soon as you walk in the door.

Second, we got him 90% of the way ready for bed earlier in the evening so that our actual bedtime routine was much shorter. Our routine was: arrive home, physical activity time for 20-30 min, free play for 20-30 min, then a fast shower (at that age I would literally atand outside the curtain and say "Wet!" Then countdown from 20. "Soapy!" Countdown from 20. "Rinse!" Countdown from 20. "Water off!" We washed hair only 2-3 times per week usually). Get dressed in pajamas and choose bedtime story while I fixed dinner (usually with much dawdling on his part, which worked in my favor since I was making dinner). Then after dinner all we had left was brush teeth and read a story.

Finally, for those times when he was just really done, I would sit on our rocker and pull him on my lap facing me. He would sit with his head on my shoulder and I would alternated giving him super tight hugs and patting/rubbing his back. This kind of affection/stimulation is the only way I ever found to bring him down from being an antsy mess.

[Anonymous]

I've swaddled my older kid. I used a bigger flannel blanket and swaddled him until I felt his body relaxed. He loved it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips! Reversing dinner and bath/pjs time is a great idea that might work great all nights. Love the idea of swaddling, weighted toys & blankets too.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried a body sock https://www.amazon.com/Abilitations-Dynamic-Movement-BodySox-Large/dp/B0042SYWMI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468347105&sr=8-3&keywords=body+sock? My kids, SN and NT, loved it. If you're seeing an OT, the office should have at least one you can try.

We first tried it at the OT's office (they had several). The kids called it the 'starfish' - you can see why once they're in it. It was one of the absolutely best purchases we made. It worked wonders when they were getting out of control, especially around bedtime. Sometimes when they initially put it on, they would get even a little crazier and when that happened, we'd make them lay on the floor so no one got hurt. That craziness only lasted a minute or two and then blessed calmness. None of them liked a weighted blanket and the beanbag chair wasn't enough. My youngest initially refused to put it over his head - that was fine. It still really calmed him down.

[Anonymous]

Make the room as dark as you can, as early as you can.

[Anonymous]

Mine still loves what he calls "a quiet drive". After bath and PJs, into the car. Usually no more than 30 minutes. No talking, no radio. Just quiet roads. I try to stay off the main roads as much as possible. He's still in a car seat so he is snuggled up and just stares out the window. I think it just lets him unwind and of course the rocking motion of the car has always helped him calm down.