Whats normal? 5 year old boy

elaine373

I was almost relieved to read this becaue i have a 4 year old son who just doesnt stop. I have started on him eye q ( fish oils) to see if it helps him to control his impulsive thinking/actions and concentration. But these takes weeks and weeks before they work.Its really exhausting and i know his behaviour is more than just an energetic little boy. He is my 7th child so i am not inexperienced. I know all children need routine and i intend keeping a schedule of activities etc so he knows what to expect.So many children are labeled as having adhd and i wary of saying i suspect my son has this, but i know he is hyperactive.Too young to assess him for adhd or similiar. I did tell my doc to write down for future reference that i suspect he may have an attention defecit disorder.I have a 3 year old energetic grandson, but in my opinion he is `normal`whatever that may be,Because he stops to think, whereas my son doesnt. If you are concerned that your little lad is more than `normally energetic` then i would see your health visitor( i know he is 5 but i am sure they will still advise) Good luck with calming him down and i hope the fish oils work for him.(and mine)lol

Katie~baby

My friend has a little boy who is so highly charged hes hanging off the ceiling most of the time! Ive tried to explain to her little boys need exercising. Whilst most little girls are happy to sit and play dollys (although not mine!! lol) little boys love to run about outisde come hell or high water!
If you have a car pack a load of wet weather gear and go to the local field with a football! He will love rolling in all that mud, then when he gets home you can give him a nice warm relaxing bath, warm drink and bed!

nickij_2

Having a child who is extremely active is very tiring for the parent. My es has adhd and was hyperactive WHEREVER he was, WHOEVER he was with - he had no control over his actions. This is one of the criteria for diagnosis. He is now on medication as we used constant behavioural techniques with very little success, cut out all additives from his diet, gave him fish oil etc etc and medication was our last hope. Fortunately for us it worked. From experience I would -
-try to have the same routine to each day, including weekends, especially mealtimes and bedtimes - hunger and tiredness just make things worse
-praise every possible thing you can, and be specific - 'well done for sitting so nicely/ helping mommy make lunch/ listening to what I said' etc so he knows what to do to 'be good' and gets positive attention for it
-be consistent and specific with discipline - 'I have asked you NOT to hit and you did it again so now you can sit on the stairs for 5 minutes to think about what you did - we do not hit' etc and keep doing it.
-star/sticker charts/marble jars etc to reinforce good behaviour - star charts are particularly good to remove bad behaviour as you can draw a picture on it to remind him of what he should do
-have plenty of activities to hand - get him to help make a list of things he could do when bored, and remind him to chose something off his list
-go to places where he has chance to run/jump/climb without you having to say no all the time - mine love the woods, a walk by the river, go to different parks, etc even in the rain - kids don't mind!
-have healthy snacks available/books to read/small bag of lego etc handy for appointments or places where you have to hang around so they have something to do
Hope this helps, all I can think of at the moment.

Rachie_B

nats3006 wrote: »

least i know wots to come i have got 2 boys, ds1 is 3 who is already a cheeky so and so!! and ds2 who is 7 months!!

Dont worry not all boys are like this

Just like not all girls sit and play nicely !

Being "hyperactive" isnt a gender thing lol

Prudent

nickij- has given excellent advice. I teach children with adhd and was going to make all the suggestions in her post.

amandada

I think it's a 5 year old boy thing! My DS is exactly the same. I can only echo what the others have said about playing in the rain-my ds loves it!
One of the things which seems to burn up a lot of his energy in exchange for not too much of mine is to send him out on his bike or scooter for "races" against the clock.....uses up a lot of his energy, and I only have to shout random encouraging remarks;)

arthur_dent_2

I have a very lively and headstrong little girl who is 5. She too hates being cooped up inside and I love it when the spring/summer arrives and she can get rid of some of that excess energy outside. I can only think that the other mums also feel this as it is a huge group of about 12 children who all play together!

Bicycles are a godsend, worth every single penny.

smitty2702

Hi

I have a 5 yr old DD and a 3 year old DS who both bounce off the walls if cooped up. I mwake sure we walk to school and home where possible as this helps, I get the oldest to have activities to do. I also do beat the clock things and yes just send them out in whatever weather! If we are stuck indoors for whatever reason I found music TV or Radio to be good as they jump around dancing to it! get him to roll newspaper balls and throw them into a washing up bowl, have a "fun bath" with measuring jugs spoons, all sorts to entertain him. those tub tints are good as are the crayons they can draw with.

HTH

Claire

crockpot

Thank you for all that.

Advise taken and noted.

It has stopped rainning- i know they could have gone out- but house was already full of washing- could not face any more wet stuff!!

Mornings are busy but fine.

I was a SAHM for 6 years, been back at work for nearly 2- I need work for me time, plus money does help.

Have been trying to praise him more and it has worked!!

Also had got out of giving them a bath every night- going to go back to it and see if it helps.

Thanks again