restless toddler...

[♥ms.pacman♥]

ds is 22 mo and just seems SO restless lately. he often yells. throws things. not really in anger or anything (sometimes he is laughing as he does this), just out of boredom, it seems. i try to give him crayons and paper or coloring book but he barely colors at all..he seems to want to just bang the crayons against the table (he is very entertained by this). lately mealtimes have been a hassle..he barely eats anything and just wants to throw or crush the food in his hand, bang forks and spoons against the table, pour water out of his cup onto the floor, etc.

he used to be like this only when he was tired, like around 1pm (before nap) and them after 7pm. but lately it seems like he gets like this as soon as he wakes up! i do think he gets more than enough sleep (11-12 hrs at night, then 2-3 hours nap, so 13-15 hrs a day), so i don't think that is the issue. i try to engage him by reading books, but usually he cannot seem to pay attention for more than a few seconds...then he gets distracted by something else. sometimes he literally runs around the house yelling at the top of his lungs and stomping his feet. it would be hilarious if it didn't wake up/freak out my DD!

i see other ppl's kids post pics on facebook how their toddler (similar age) is actually sitting down and coloring a drawing (!!!) or doing some other activity (finger painting, etc). i'd be amazed if i could just get DS to actually sit down and do any sort of activity. it's like, if he is not asleep, and not watching TV, he has to be running around. he doesn't even want to sit to eat, he eats many meals standing in his learning tower (and now he can climb in and out of it on his own, much to my dismay!).

the funny thing is, he seems REALLY advanced in other ways...he's known all his ABCs for months, he can speak in full, coherent sentences (he will say things like "the giraffe was eating a piece of lettuce!"). So its kinda puzzling why he still can't do a lot of simple tasks that i see a lot of other kids his age do...

any suggestions/thoughts would be appreciated. i tried putting a sensory tub together and while he was intrigued for a little bit, he then went back to running around and being restless. I do try to take the kids on walks every day and while he's super calm on the ride in the stroller, once we get back home he's back to climbing the walls. I don't know how much of this is just a "boy" thing (my DD is the polar opposite of him and is so easy to deal with in comparison, it's shocking). especially when dh is out of town, more and more i've had to resort to letting him watch PBSKids just so i could have 30 minutes of time where i could nurse DD and put her down to sleep without a shouting toddler running in and out of the room. i wish i didn't have to use TV so much (it seems like it's the ONLY thing that will calm him down lately) but i don't know what else to do.

[twowhat?]

I think that different kids just have different personalities. I have friends whose children were like that as toddlers, including girls (basically just could never sit still, including at mealtimes). And then on the other extreme are kids like mine who are generally active while at home but just this past weekend waited patiently for 2 HOURS in line to ride a horse carriage. At that ageI think it's completely normal to have no attention span.

Nothing you mention sounds ilke a concern. There will be plenty of time later for him to be forced to sit still and write letters or draw:) Maybe just get him as much outside time as possible to burn off that energy, or maybe get something like a trampoline or other active type of toy.

It's a good thing he sleeps so much otherwise you'd be super WIPED (if you aren't already)!!!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I think that different kids just have different personalities. I have friends whose children were like that as toddlers, including girls (basically just could never sit still, including at mealtimes). And then on the other extreme are kids like mine who are generally active while at home but just this past weekend waited patiently for 2 HOURS in line to ride a horse carriage. At that ageI think it's completely normal to have no attention span.

Nothing you mention sounds ilke a concern. There will be plenty of time later for him to be forced to sit still and write letters or draw:) Maybe just get him as much outside time as possible to burn off that energy, or maybe get something like a trampoline or other active type of toy.



oh i've definitely been taking him outside everyday..but it's exhausting bc i also have DD as well so i usually have to hold her at the same time, or let her hang out in the stroller (she only lasts for so long before wanting to be held). i'll probably try just going in our backyard though that way i can sit and hold dd and let him play. he really loves being outside.

i would love to get a trampoline for DS (i think he'd love it), but DH vetoed the idea bc he thinks they're too dangerous (especially for a kid like DS who has no concept of being careful :)).

i do wonder what those moms who don't use TV at all (especially SAHMs who have younger children as well, and have to be around multiple children alone for 12+hrs a day) deal with a toddler like my DS. is there some technique that i am missing (to keep a toddler safely occupied for 20-30mins)... because right now often i feel like i would literally go insane if i could not have DS watch TV. often times watching WordWorld is the ONLY thing that will calm my DS down and have him sit down quietly for more than 30 seconds so i can have a chance to scarf down my own dinner or give DD a bath and put her down to sleep. the times i try to put DD down without DS watching TV usually involves DS destroying something (in addition to my sanity ;)).

[twowhat?]

I think modern trampolines are way safer than the spring trampolines of the "olden days" - I'm tempted to do a search here to see:)

At that age one of my friends with triplets had this idea that worked for a few days: she cleared out the playroom, and threw ALL the pillows and couch cushions in the house in there and let the kids go at it. She has 2 girls and one boy (who is ALL BOY haha) and the first day they played for 45 freakin' minutes! Worth a shot - though I will warn you that when I tried it with our girls it lasted all of 10 minutes. But then again, ours are just NOT physical, not climbers, etc. But - it might be something that appeals to your DS.

I totally wouldn't feel bad about TV. My coworker's daughters go to an in-home daycare, with 6 kids ranging from infant to 4 years old. The DCP is a saint, makes their lunches from SCRATCH every day, and even manages to do preschool lessons for the older kids in the afternoons while changing diapers and burping babies. But even SHE uses 30 min of Dora or Diego at the end of the day during the pickup scramble to keep all the kids in one place for safety reasons (so they're not all charging the door when a parent arrives). I used TV when the girls were just MONTHS old so that I could bathe them one at a time. Don't feel bad. What's wrong with a little educational programming? :) You just do what works.