The toddler who just won't sit still, runs away & is generally hyper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm tempted to say it's a boy thing. My son was exactly like that and at 3.5 is much better at focusing now.

You know he's 18 mos, right? Totally typical. And if he's not a snuggle monster then he could care less about sitting on your lap. Instead of a nanny a few days a week, maybe AM daycare? They normally have "circle time" when they sit and read books and do similar activities. If he sees other children modeling this behavior, maybe he will be inclined to go along?

Also - my pediatrician called my son "kinetic" if that gives you any clue of the level of activity my son is engaged in. I know it's a cause of concern for you, embarrassed at playdates because I was the same way, but I just let folks know ahead of time that my son is very active, etc.

As far as the climbing, it's not the safest thing and you can start time outs if you want - he won't sit there, you will have to hold him there, and be consistent! Consistency is key. If you're out and about and he misbehaves, immediate time out! I don't know that he will understand what you're telling him but immediately removing him from whatever he is doing will send a message.

Time out because he wants to explore?! That is HORRIBLE advice! Why would you do that to your poor toddler when he just wants to roam around and climb on things like playground equipment?
My 1 year old DD loves to go down the slide. Sitting down, laying on her back (feet first), laying on her stomach. I'm not going to punish her for that because she's "too young"! I'm going to help her to make sure she is safe while she does it (though I am trying to change the 'face first' method).

She climbs on all sorts of equipment meant for "older" kids. That's how they learn. I would never dream of punishing her for it. I spot her, make sure she is safe, and PRAISE her when she does it well.

Agreed. Toddlers naturally want to explore, climb, figure out the world around them. They learn this way. This is not something to punish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm tempted to say it's a boy thing. My son was exactly like that and at 3.5 is much better at focusing now.

You know he's 18 mos, right? Totally typical. And if he's not a snuggle monster then he could care less about sitting on your lap. Instead of a nanny a few days a week, maybe AM daycare? They normally have "circle time" when they sit and read books and do similar activities. If he sees other children modeling this behavior, maybe he will be inclined to go along?

Also - my pediatrician called my son "kinetic" if that gives you any clue of the level of activity my son is engaged in. I know it's a cause of concern for you, embarrassed at playdates because I was the same way, but I just let folks know ahead of time that my son is very active, etc.

As far as the climbing, it's not the safest thing and you can start time outs if you want - he won't sit there, you will have to hold him there, and be consistent! Consistency is key. If you're out and about and he misbehaves, immediate time out! I don't know that he will understand what you're telling him but immediately removing him from whatever he is doing will send a message.

Time out because he wants to explore?! That is HORRIBLE advice! Why would you do that to your poor toddler when he just wants to roam around and climb on things like playground equipment?
My 1 year old DD loves to go down the slide. Sitting down, laying on her back (feet first), laying on her stomach. I'm not going to punish her for that because she's "too young"! I'm going to help her to make sure she is safe while she does it (though I am trying to change the 'face first' method).

She climbs on all sorts of equipment meant for "older" kids. That's how they learn. I would never dream of punishing her for it. I spot her, make sure she is safe, and PRAISE her when she does it well.

Agreed. Toddlers naturally want to explore, climb, figure out the world around them. They learn this way. This is not something to punish.

Meh. To all the people who say it's normal toddler behavior to be busy -- chances are your toddler is busy in a normal toddler way. Some of us have kids who are NONSTOP. It's very different, rarer and potentially not just normal toddler behavior. Like some of the other parents on here, my son only runs and never walks, never ever sits still (at dinner, he constantly is in and out of his chair; when doing floor puzzles, he's bouncing around the whole time). He can't sit still at circle time even at 3.5. No amount of "let him run in the backyard to burn it off" changes his behavior. Discipline doesn't work, because he's a very happy easy going kid, but because despite how hard he tries, he is physically unable to stop moving. My suspicion is that we are in for an ADHD diagnosis soon -- not yet, because his behavior isn't that problematic at age 3 so long as I'm on him all the time. Not sure if ADHD will stick, because he has exceptional attention span for any and all activities -- he just needs to move while he's doing it.

So yes, all toddlers are very "busy" in the sense that they don't sit still for 10 minutes at a time like china dolls, since they are real living humans. Few toddlers are "busy" in the sense that the OP and others have described on this post, and the behavior is really not that normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm tempted to say it's a boy thing. My son was exactly like that and at 3.5 is much better at focusing now.

You know he's 18 mos, right? Totally typical. And if he's not a snuggle monster then he could care less about sitting on your lap. Instead of a nanny a few days a week, maybe AM daycare? They normally have "circle time" when they sit and read books and do similar activities. If he sees other children modeling this behavior, maybe he will be inclined to go along?

Also - my pediatrician called my son "kinetic" if that gives you any clue of the level of activity my son is engaged in. I know it's a cause of concern for you, embarrassed at playdates because I was the same way, but I just let folks know ahead of time that my son is very active, etc.

As far as the climbing, it's not the safest thing and you can start time outs if you want - he won't sit there, you will have to hold him there, and be consistent! Consistency is key. If you're out and about and he misbehaves, immediate time out! I don't know that he will understand what you're telling him but immediately removing him from whatever he is doing will send a message.

Time out because he wants to explore?! That is HORRIBLE advice! Why would you do that to your poor toddler when he just wants to roam around and climb on things like playground equipment?
My 1 year old DD loves to go down the slide. Sitting down, laying on her back (feet first), laying on her stomach. I'm not going to punish her for that because she's "too young"! I'm going to help her to make sure she is safe while she does it (though I am trying to change the 'face first' method).

She climbs on all sorts of equipment meant for "older" kids. That's how they learn. I would never dream of punishing her for it. I spot her, make sure she is safe, and PRAISE her when she does it well.

Agreed. Toddlers naturally want to explore, climb, figure out the world around them. They learn this way. This is not something to punish.

Meh. To all the people who say it's normal toddler behavior to be busy -- chances are your toddler is busy in a normal toddler way. Some of us have kids who are NONSTOP. It's very different, rarer and potentially not just normal toddler behavior. Like some of the other parents on here, my son only runs and never walks, never ever sits still (at dinner, he constantly is in and out of his chair; when doing floor puzzles, he's bouncing around the whole time). He can't sit still at circle time even at 3.5. No amount of "let him run in the backyard to burn it off" changes his behavior. Discipline doesn't work, because he's a very happy easy going kid, but because despite how hard he tries, he is physically unable to stop moving. My suspicion is that we are in for an ADHD diagnosis soon -- not yet, because his behavior isn't that problematic at age 3 so long as I'm on him all the time. Not sure if ADHD will stick, because he has exceptional attention span for any and all activities -- he just needs to move while he's doing it.

So yes, all toddlers are very "busy" in the sense that they don't sit still for 10 minutes at a time like china dolls, since they are real living humans. Few toddlers are "busy" in the sense that the OP and others have described on this post, and the behavior is really not that normal.

Not disagreeing. But if discipline doesn't work for your kid since it's an inability to sit still, I'm not sure how the advice of putting a naturally active (whether "normal" active or more than that) kid in time out for climbing is helpful or appropriate.

[Anonymous]

It’s not just a “boy thing”! I have a daughter who is two and acts the same way!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just a “boy thing”! I have a daughter who is two and acts the same way!!

You brought this post back to life from 2011 just to say this ^^?

[Anonymous]

Not a boy thing. Both of my kids were like this (boy and girl).