HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLPPPPP ! hyper, hyper, HYPER ACTIVE 15 MONTHS OLD.................?

Question

My son is 15 months old, and he is extremelly active, he is always on the go, he won't listen and obey commands, he climbs on whatever he can put his feets on, he is the most restless kid I've ever seen. You tell him not to do something and he still does it, and loves to do the oppsite of what you tell him to do. Also he loves to be loud and very, very, very noisy either yelling or playing with toys that he can bang around. I was wondering if anybody has this problem ?. How can I deal with this? what can I do to improve his behavior? Is it normal for some kids to behave this way? I seriously need help, because I have no clue of what to do.

Answer 1

This is more common than you would think at that age. My daughter was the same way. Discipline is the only way that you will be able to calm him down, but don't expect results too soon. He's too young to understand consequences or be able to stop himself from getting in trouble. Remove as many temptations as possible. For example, if he likes pulling flowers out of the vase, move the vase out of his reach or get rid of it altogether. He may need more exercise also. Try taking him to the park, even if you have to bundle him up. The more busy you keep him, the less he'll drive you crazy. Make a rule on noise. He needs to be able to be noisy, but there can be a time or place for it. You can limit noisy play to his bedroom OR make a "noisy time" from say 1pm to 1:30pm where he can make as much noise as he wants. Make sure you're setting reasonable boundaries so that you aren't constantly enforcing them. Most importantly, praise him when he IS being well behaved. Point out what he's doing and clap and say "good job being quiet" or "great job not touching those flowers!" A little positive reinforcement can go a long way.

Answer 2

Not every child who is active has ADHD! I wish people would realize that. Some children are just naturally more active than others! Maybe you could try to bring him outside and throw a ball and let him run after it, or take him to a park and let him do some climbing. It helps my 2 year old to wear himself out when he's being too active. Also the screaming is probably just because kids like to hear themselves make noise. It's not that big of a deal, put him in the hallway and let him run down the hall and scream if he wants. He'll be out of the way, and maybe it won't bother everyone so much.

Answer 3

Don't listen to that boys will be boys crap! OMG I hate that. I have three boys and they weren't allowed to get away with things just because they were boys!

Listen, sounds like you have a regular 15 month old. Girl or boy. You can try some time outs. If he's banging his toys take them away for a short time and tell him why you did that. If you really don't know what to do try taking a parenting class, they can really help.

Just be loving to your child and discilpine with love. Time outs, naughty chair ect. Take the toys away that he's banging. He'll grow out of this, but it will take you teaching him other things to do. When he gets loud try suggesting another activity that is calming.

Answer 4

Sounds like a normal boy. Try the time-outs. Take noisy items away from him. Redirect his attention to more acceptable activities.
Look into his diet. Does his episodes come after sugary or refined snacks? I think more parents would be surprised at the change in their childrens' behavior if they started replacing refined, sugary snacks with fruit and whole grains. I'm not trying to be condescending here - sometimes a diet change is honestly enough to improve a child's behavior.

Answer 5

That's not hyper active, that is a normal 15 month old child. Of course he doesn't "listen" to what you tell him he's NOT an adult, his little mind doesn't work like an adult's mind what you told him 5 minutes ago is forgotten. That is WHY you need to be consistent. You deal with it just like every parent with intelligence deals with it, with patience and consistency. It is called PARENTING...I also suggest parenting classes since you say you have no clue.

Answer 6

I have been a mom for 27 years (4 kids) and a licensed child care provider in my home for 20 years. Some children are much more active than others. 15 months old is a little young to be expected to obey most commands, except for the most basic ones. What your son may need is a more structured day. I am sure you are exhausted trying to chase after him all day long. If you can re-think your interaction with him and plan activities for him before he gets into things, you will be able to redirect your energy to a more positive outcome. As an example: Your son is a climber so provide an appropriate outlet for that. Take him to the park (even in the winter, the park is a great place to go) or buy him a climbing structure. If you can't afford a new one, look in your newspaper want ads, check for a Freecycle in your area (go to yahoo.com, click groups and do a search for "the name of your town" Freecycle), and look on the bulletin boards at your local stores. Your son has very little concept of what is right and what is wrong and you have to teach him those values. So, when you get frustrated after telling him for the 100th time to not climb on the kitchen counter, know that he isn't doing it to be naughty, but he needs something else as an alternative. Many children are extremely impulsive and do whatever catches their fancy. A general consensus of when children reach the "age of reasoning" is not until around 5-7 years old. Developmentally he is not ready to make good choices without your help quite yet. Avoid just telling him what to do (or not do!) as much as possible. Instead, go to him and physically remove him from the unwanted behavior with as postive words as you can come up with then redirect him to an appropriate and acceptable behavior. Example: He is playing with the computer keyboard. Go to him, take his hand or arm and say, "The computer is for mommy and daddy to use. Let's go to the family room and build a tower with your blocks." You may have to adjust your day some so that you can get up before he does to get a head start on him. Spend your time reading him stories (even if he only sits for 30 seconds at first), taking walks outside, dancing, singing, putting puzzles together, and whatever else you can think of. As for the loudness, you need to set the acceptable guidelines for that. If it is OK for him to yell outside, tell him that he can yell outside, but inside he must use his inside voice. He'll need to be remind many many times. Consistency will be your key. Every time he yells or is too noisy, remind him to use his inside voice. Eventually it will become routine for him with fewer reminders. Bottom line suggestion is spend more energy guiding him to appropriate behavior before it gets out of hand and you find yourself always telling him "no", "stop", or "don't".

Answer 7

It's totally normal. Welcome to parenthood....lol! One way I look at it is that there are thousands of children born every year totally disabled or those that become paralyzed. Children get cancer, are run over by cars, die every day. I am so thankful that my child CAN run around, and be a fart, and annoy me.

The way we dealt with it was making sure that the kids had plenty of people to play with, LOTS of outdoor time, and a break for ME. Getting out of the house one night a week for a few hours will seriously SAVE your sanity.

God bless, you surely already have been blessed. A website to help you appreciate.
www.weloveyoujoel.blogspot.com

Answer 8

I had a child like yours. It is exhausting, but he's quite normal. I hope you like to play with your child, because he needs to be occupied to keep from being bored. Boredom leads to destructive behavior.
He's too young to be obedient on a consistent basis, but you must be consistent with discipline nonetheless. Childproof your home to the greatest extent possible, to minimize the number of times you have to say "no" to him. Create a structure for his day when there is loud playtime (ideally two or three 10-15 minute sessions), and play loudly with him during this time. When loud play time is over, tell him so, and correct his behavior EVERY TIME he gets loud during "quiet play time." Say to him "Loud play time is over for now, we'll do it again after lunch."
I love the story "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. We called our loud playtime "wild rumpus" because those words were used in the story.

Some ideas for constructive playtime:
Stacking blocks and knocking them down
the big lego bricks called duplo
Remove all books from a bookshelf (this is constructive play to a toddler!) Put books back on shelf. They don't have to be neat, just back on the shelf. Neatness will come as he gets older, if mom helps develop it.
Repeat same exercise with toys/toy bin.
Extended bath/play time.... use shaving cream to fingerpaint on the tub walls, provide different sizes of cups to fill and pour. Include a funnel and some crazy straws in your bath play.
Sandbox (see below for how to have an indoor sandbox)
Buy a Little tykes slide. Use it indoors in winter and outdoors the other 3 seasons.

** Indoor sandbox: Go to your local hardware store (I use Lowes) and buy one bag of play sand and a plastic storage container with a lid, about 4 inches deep. Put a couple inches of sand in the plastic container and add sand toys. Voila, indoor sandbox, just like the preschools use. Play on a smooth floor surface (NOT CARPET!!) for easy clean up.

Do you have an indoor rec center with a swimming pool? If so, get a family membership and make use of all the facilites. Pick one or two days a week to go there. This helps develop a schedule for both of you. It is well worth the cost to preserve your sanity!

Answer 9

oh my gosh, i feel your pain!! my fiance's other son is hyper active, and i used to live on the 4th floor, and all i wanted to do was open up my balcony window, and let him run out it!!! (oh my, that's so mean) but sumtimes kids cant help it. have you tried ignoring him? he may do it just to get attention. also, if ur home is roomy enough, designate an area just for him, preferably not out of your sight, but just far enough where he can be by himself, and let all that energy out!!! there's may not be very much you can do seeing as how young he is, but just give him as much space as you can to let him unwind! maybe if u take him to the park, and let him run wild, he may be tired and fall asleep by the time you get back home! :)
well, good luck! dont pull your hair out!

Answer 10

MY YOUNGEST SON WAS THE SAME WAY. WHEN HE DOSE SOMETHING WRONG IT'S TIME OUT. TIME OUT DOESN'T START UNTIL HE IS QUIET. FOR HIS AGE I'D SAY 2MINS FOR EACH OFFENSE. STICK TO YOUR GUNS. EVERY TIME EVEN IF IT'S NOT CONVENIENT FOR YOU.

THEN TRY TO GET HIM INVOLVED IN PUZZLES, COLORING, PLAYDOO, WHAT EVER WILL KEEP HIM BUSY. HE MAY JUST WANT SOME ATTENTION. TRY READING BOOKS TOGETHER JUST KEEP HIS LITTLE MIND BUSY LEARNING. THAT SHOULD HELP A LITTLE BUT IN THE END YES BOYS WILL BE BOYS...IT'S OUR JOB AS MOTHERS AND FATHERS TO TEACH THEM TO BE MEN.