My son is like this and the only thing that calms him down is intellectual stimulation. He can play two hours of soccer and he’ll be even more hyper. But one game of chess and he’s calm.

List all of the snacks that work for your energetic boy, please!

Yes. Mine is 6 and his what I call ---buzzing--- is increasing but we manage with lots of outdoor time, reducing screen time, reducing treats. We focus on walking to school, walking home from school, hes enrolled in sports with 3 day week practices for 2 hours, only outdoor/nature camps, etc. He can do a 6-7 hour outdoor nature camp day and he still wants to play when he gets home. His only off switch is for sleep.
He's been a boy-boy since infancy.

Yesss. So much intensity! I wish I could borrow like 5% of their energy. I have two elementary school aged boys and while there are times when I'm totally overstimulated, exhausted and my ears are ringing from the sheer volume...I know I will also miss this age. There is something so awesome about being that uninhibited.

That being said, one of mine has ADHD and the difference between his and his brother's ability to self-regulate when in an excited mood is extremely obvious. He just can't turn off the weird animal noises or stop being physical when he wants to. It's a major, major effort. I do agree that there is something about screens that seems to increase agitation and crabbiness for him. I don't see that impact as much on his non-ADHD brother.

Try to go with the flow when you can and remember this too shall pass!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To those saying it’s the age, when does this get better? I did a venue whole class party last month and was kind of embarrassed at the behavior of the boys. So loud, so obnoxious, and some of the girls in attendance were not happy. I’m a little relieved to hear it’s not just me, but the age.

The problem is that you brought them to a stimulating environment and expected them not to be stimulated. It’s understandable. The current culture is to do big parties.

We had a whole class party this month. We held it at home (3,000 sq ft), so fewer kids came (Only 8, but we invited everyone). I just put out all their best toys, including about 75 lbs of bulk Lego. The kids were sooooo quiet and played with Lego the entire time. We paused for pizza and cake, and then they all played Lego until it was time to go home. One mom of a boy with high energy told me twice how much she loved the party. She didn’t have to redirect him once. She just socialized with the other adults the entire time. Multiple parents told me how lovely it was, but that mom really, really liked the setup.

I wonder if any of the kids thought it was burning, or “not that special,” though? I know the adults love it but kids often enjoy mayhem for special events.

Do I care? My kid thought it was the best party he ever had. Even if he would have preferred that I splash out for a huge even, the world does not revolve around what children want. We need to pull back from the idea that everything has to be the best, the biggest, the most entertaining. There are kids on the planet who never have a birthday party, or a new toy. My bff growing up had birthday parties with penny tosses and pin the tail on the donkey. Those were great parties. I loved them.

100% normal. 1st and 2nd grade boys are nuts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To those saying it’s the age, when does this get better? I did a venue whole class party last month and was kind of embarrassed at the behavior of the boys. So loud, so obnoxious, and some of the girls in attendance were not happy. I’m a little relieved to hear it’s not just me, but the age.

The problem is that you brought them to a stimulating environment and expected them not to be stimulated. It’s understandable. The current culture is to do big parties.

We had a whole class party this month. We held it at home (3,000 sq ft), so fewer kids came (Only 8, but we invited everyone). I just put out all their best toys, including about 75 lbs of bulk Lego. The kids were sooooo quiet and played with Lego the entire time. We paused for pizza and cake, and then they all played Lego until it was time to go home. One mom of a boy with high energy told me twice how much she loved the party. She didn’t have to redirect him once. She just socialized with the other adults the entire time. Multiple parents told me how lovely it was, but that mom really, really liked the setup.

I wonder if any of the kids thought it was burning, or “not that special,” though? I know the adults love it but kids often enjoy mayhem for special events.

Anonymous wrote:To those saying it’s the age, when does this get better? I did a venue whole class party last month and was kind of embarrassed at the behavior of the boys. So loud, so obnoxious, and some of the girls in attendance were not happy. I’m a little relieved to hear it’s not just me, but the age.

The problem is that you brought them to a stimulating environment and expected them not to be stimulated. It’s understandable. The current culture is to do big parties.

We had a whole class party this month. We held it at home (3,000 sq ft), so fewer kids came (Only 8, but we invited everyone). I just put out all their best toys, including about 75 lbs of bulk Lego. The kids were sooooo quiet and played with Lego the entire time. We paused for pizza and cake, and then they all played Lego until it was time to go home. One mom of a boy with high energy told me twice how much she loved the party. She didn’t have to redirect him once. She just socialized with the other adults the entire time. Multiple parents told me how lovely it was, but that mom really, really liked the setup.

Harness that energy and channel it into a sport or hype him up to do maths!!! Yay you. Go boymom

(Op did you grow up with girls or as an only child? Lol)

To those saying it’s the age, when does this get better? I did a venue whole class party last month and was kind of embarrassed at the behavior of the boys. So loud, so obnoxious, and some of the girls in attendance were not happy. I’m a little relieved to hear it’s not just me, but the age.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Reduce screens to almost zero
2. Look at his diet - dyes like Red #40, Yellow #5, etc. can wreak havoc on behavior
3. Does he just need to blow off steam after school since he's held it together for so long all day? Maybe he needs to run around the block at full speed to get some energy out.

Lmao

I laughed too.

I don’t know if that advice was trolling, but NP and I have noticed that cutting out cheap treats and screens do help my kid be calmer and more normal (what I remember from own childhood). He gets plenty of food dye through birthday parties and treats sent by in-laws, and we just do regular cookies and ice cream and baked goods that contain normal whole food ingredients. And he gets daily screens at school. But cutting all that stuff out at home day to day has been great for us. YMMV

Anonymous wrote:I think it's the age. I love my first grader and her friends but they are A LOT when they get together.

Yep! It’s the age. Some kids are calmer but I find that to be the outlier.

I can tolerate my 8 yr old but all the others are very annoying it comes with the territory.

Same, but my son does have adhd. As someone else mentioned he cannot dial it back on his own. If your son can, I wouldn't worry about it.

It’s just nonstop misery but I only brought it on myself.