I have a 21 month old boy who i think may have ADHD.?

Question

I don't know much about ADHD yet i have to do my research on it. Just this morning i took him to the library for some fun and out of all the 15 kids there he was the ONLY one not paying attention and running around, trying to get out the door, etc etc. this is not the first time its everytime i take him to a fun group. He is just off doing his own thing. I'm in tears right now because it just gets so tiring having to chase him constantly and i don't want to stop taking him but for the first time i even had a mom give me a dirty look today. I just picked him up and left.

Answer 1

You know it sounds like hes just like all the other 2 year old boys I know. As they progress thru this year he will settle down more. Storytime is somewhere we havent taken our 2 ane 1/2 year old as he doesnt sit down either.

Answer 2

Your son is 21 MONTHS old. He has a short attention span. What you seem to think is fun is not fun to him. Find a play group that plays outside in a park, or just go to a park full of kids and meet new people. It's okay that he wants to run around and play, that doesn't mean there is something wrong with him.
The mom who gave you a dirty look, she's the problem. If she can't handle the fact that a toddler has energy than she has more problems than you do. When I'm out and someone's kid is acting up I don't give dirty looks. I have 3 kids and it can be a handfull.
You need to do things that will keep him interested, not what YOU think he should want to do. Maybe he only likes it when you read to him. It could be confussing if you only read to him at bed time, then you put him in a room full of kids he doesn't know and want him to sit and have a book read to him when he's not tired. Just a thought.

Answer 3

I know that ADHD is not a made up thing, but a child can not be labeled that way at 21 months old. Most 21 month olds have lots of energy. The only time I have ever seen a child younger than school age that truely acted like he had ADHD was not disciplined and his mother just let him go until she couldn't handle it anymore. In addition, his cousins and aunt laughed at him when he did those cute things that turn into monsterous things later on. Now at the age of 4, he's a monster child and everyone other than those relatives dread seeing him coming. Sitting in the library is not a fun thing especially for a small child. If you must be in a situation where your child has to sit for a period of time, you have to sit beside him and not allow him to run amuck. Most importantly, you need to find some fun things for him that are fun (like play groups at the park or gym).

Answer 4

Almsot every 21 mo boy has ADHD. It's called toddlerhood.

There is a reason that our library storytime is for ages 3+ and preschool doesn't start until 3. They have story time for 2s and the kids are much more like yours (and he isn't even 2 yet)..

The problem here isn't him, but your expectations (something I struggled with and had to learn about the hard way, I often expected too much). He's just not ready for that type of activity at 21 months. He's not even 2. You can't fit a square peg into a round hole. Take him to the park instead.

And don't even try to shop.

RELAX. You have an active all-boy boy. I feel your pain - as my son was the same way. I just knew preschool was going to be a diaster and yet - he was a "teacher's favorite." But even with that, I remember peeking in and seeing all the kids playing a game and he was up doing exactly what you are saying - AGGG! And he was 3 1/2 at the time. I went hardly anywhere during my sons 2s & 3s. But then 4s came. YEA!

Now that he is in K he's the kid they put kids that have behavior problems next to so that he can be a role model. He is academically 2 years above his grade level and the kid that all the teachers love. MY KID?? Who knew!!

So just relax and don't get worked up. He'll likely be just fine.

(PS - I would probably have shot you a dirty look too, but not because your child was inappropriate for his age, but because it is silly to try and bring a 21 month old to a story time and expect him to behave).

Answer 5

21 months old is too young for anyone (even professionals) to diagnose disorders such as ADD or ADHD. If you think your child has one of these disorders, then you possibly will treat the child differently than you would if you did not think they have one of these disorders. It is important to keep that in mind.

At 21 months, there are things that you can do to modify your child's behavior. For example, when you take the child to the library when they sit in a circle and read to the children, sit with your child, and whisper to him while the book is being read saying things like "wow, did you hear that!" and "uh-oh- I wonder what that Curious George is going to do now!!" This will keep the child focused on what is going on.

Also, when you take the child to the library to get books, engage the child. Take books off of the shelf and say "look at this green frog on this book" (this will eventually help with recognization of colors and animals), and it will engage the child. I am not sure how you do things yourself, but often times parents let the children wander through the aisles of books expecting the child to pick out books. Children need guidance when it comes to such things.

The best way for your child to learn that running around, not paying attention, etc. are not acceptable behaviors, is for you to keep the child focused and learning what is expected of him. For example, if you go to the grocery store and the child gets bored, and starts running around or acting up, then you could make a picture grocery list for your son to hold and try to pick out. Also, engage your son as you shop. Many parents race around the store hoping to get the trip over with as fast as possible, but ignore the child sitting in the cart. Engaging the child keeps the child involved, which will not only keep them from getting bored, but also will show them that helping Mommy or Daddy can be fun and is something that they will continue to do.

So I suggest to you, that you do not worry about what disorder your child may or may not have, but rather find ways to modify the behavior by engaging the child, promoting imagination and creativity, and by keeping the child focused on what is needed to be the focus.

At his age, he is exploring his surroundings, and many times when too much stimulation is around, their focus is not where it should be- it is the old "Oh, I see this, and now I see this, and oh man, look what I just found!" syndrome-- to much stuff to do, and not enough time to do it in-- that is another thing- you may want to go to the library early enough to allow for the child to explore and run around before the book readings, so the child does not feel the need to run around right then to explore.

Good luck to you :-) You are blessed with a gift of a son, and I know that you will always cherish him, no matter how frustrating it can get.

Answer 6

As a child I had ADHD, and I was diagnosed pretty quickly because of how disruptive I was. I was given a low dose of 20mg of methylphenidate (Ritalin) per day and it helped a lot. You don't necessarily have to go this route nowadays. There are other medications that are non-stimulant than can be of some help. I wouldn't be too worried about him because kids with ADHD are often very gifted and just need a little extra attention.

Answer 7

he is too young to diagnose with adhd. he probably has it but he is just tooooo young for meds or anything like that. i have a 6 year old little boy who has the same problem. it is hard to make them mind in public or anywhere else. i know u need the company and want the companinonship but his behavior will esculate to the point u dont want to take him no where. try telling him if he is good and sit thru this play group u will reward good behavior but if he acts up u will go home and he will go down for a nap. but it may work may not. but dont take him to his pediatrician because u may be in the early stages of terrible twos. when the parents give u dirty looks tell them he is active two year old and that if it bothers her so much make another time to take her perfect child to another play date. after all he is still a baby trying out his boundaries and he is still going to push u to the point of distraction... i hope this helped and god bless u...

Answer 8

lisa,

don't cry you are just tired

Don't expect your child to react like everyone elses

My son was NOT even human until he turned 4 years old

I couldn't do the mommy and me thing

he hated it, and hated kids, and had so much energy i though OMG what can I do.

Listen it gets better, trust me

My Oldest ADHD is 11 years old

and i had him checked for ADHD by a specialist
you know what he said to me, its not your kid

its YOU,
after that he proceded to tell me that your child is too young to know for sure, he needs to be school aged, and when he goes to school the teaches will have him evaluated

but it takes years, now that being said he was evaluated and they determined he is fine, NO ADHD and honestly I think he does but its mild now not reason enough to medicate him

I can recommend this I have 2 more children now each of them are diffrent

My 2 year old is great he listens and follows the rules
My 1 year old is a nut, and eats off the floor, dirt grass , rocks its all good to him

it make me crazy but i gave up

your kids aren't what you want them to be ,
they are who they are
right from the beginning.

And just because you think he should like Mommy and Me
????

C'mon you already know it, if you don't like ice cream, then you don't

but sometimes after some time passes and you try it again
you do,

Don't be so quick to diagnos him, give him a chance to grow develope and change

Heck they don't call it the Terrible 2's for nothing!!!!

they lasted from 1.5 til 4 for me

things that i would do to relax, take him to MC"D's and let him play, NO sugar

you get to relax and watch him play like a cookoo bird

fenced in parks, and playgrounds are great for the busy kids

if you want to take him to mommy and me, do it in the afternoon after he has had time to play

let him get his energy out first

another thing to do is to take him to the pet store but keep him strapped in the stroller, if its earlier in the morning, let him loose and don't chase him

just keep him within eyes
reach

dirty looks, who cares what they think,

you don't know her and she doesn't know you

let her think what she wants

if you need to talk just email me

and if you can, get a friend to help you watch him
while you sleep.

trust me its not as bad as all that, it could be worse,
he could have REAL problems, thank god he's ok right

Good Luck Hun

Meg
Mom of 3 boys and expecting again

Answer 9

I'm not into the ADHD theory. First of all, not all 21 month old kids want to sit in a friggin' library setting. I can barely do it and I'm 35. For goodness sakes - why are you in tears instead of taking him to the park. It sounds like YOU wanted to go to the library.

Answer 10

One thing i noticed about America is that one teensy thing wrong and they have a disease or syndrome for it. Like if someone's tired all throughout the day he/she has chronice fatigue syndrome, no it's called lazy. No your son does not have ADHD. He's 21months old this is how a 21 month old kid should act. He's a kid cut him some slack.