Help with my hyper 4yr old?

Question

I have a son who is now 4 he is very hyper most of the time he has not taken naps since he was 2 when bed time comes I tried really hard to get him on a schule but he will not settle down I force him to sleep around 11pm sometimes its later then I have to get him up around 7:30a.m. to pick up the 11 month old I babysit to get him to sleep we tried laying him our bed and he cries and wants to watch t.v. we let him for a little while the we turn it off and he cried one more min. we say no we tried getting a big boy bed for his room he want even sleep in it I have to set in the recliner hold him like a new born baby and make him go to sleep my friend tells me he might have adhd but I refuse to put him on medication and have him druged up way to many side effects so thats out of the question maybe someone know a home remedie or something any advise? am I alone on this or has anyone else had or having this problem

I keep him very busy my husband and step son races dirt bikes so were at the track and he rides his bike a lot and loves to run and play I take the kids to the park alot and we have a above ground pool that we swim in sometimes he will go to sleep easy but very rarely thanks for the advise on the Melatonin do you have any info on that I might check into it I feel like as a parent is my responiblty to handle my own son and not put him on meds thats why I am scared to tell his dr. about it cause i am scared there gonna try and make me I am also homeschooling him next year my brother was like this and the school made my parents put him on it and he turn very aggressive

yeah we have cut back alot on his sugar he gets yorgut instead of icecream he loves his veg. tomatos he will eat like a apple he love zuccine and broc. and all kinda stuff we stay away from any red drinks coo-aid they say the red dye is bad to make them hyper and as far as soda he get caffine free when he drinks it

Answer 1

I have 2 sons who have trouble falling asleep due to autism. recently, a physician recommended trying melatonin to help them sleep. It has really helped. One of my sons used to be awake until 11 every night. Now he falls asleep within about a half hour. Melatonin is a natural substance that is already in our bodies. There are no negative side affects. I bought it in a liquid form at our local Walgreens. For a 4 yr. old, the recommended dosage is a half of a mg, which is 500 mcg.

Answer 2

The drugs used to "calm" kids down can have a decidedly permanent side effect...some might consider it a reasonably good thing, some might not. The drug(s) can cause a permanent "mellowing" of the kid...that's what they did with me. I show many of the signs of a clinical depression, but I am not depressed. Last time I was given the drugs? Over 30 years ago.

Best thing to do is get him involved in some organised activities where he can safely expend his energy. Monitor his diet *closely*, and make sure he does not eat too many carbohydrates, since they are broken down into sugars, and that will just cause his little dynamo to go into overdrive.

Who knows...fifteen years from now, you might have a potential Olympic Gold Medalist... Also, as you've already noticed, most kids who are hyper have a great deal of endurance and energy. The painful part is that once he enters School next year, the teachers are going to have problems with him, since they won't (generally) be able to keep his attention for more than a few minutes at a time. If he hasn't started yet, start teaching him to read. Buy some math and alphabetic flash cards, and use them with him regularily.

Work about a grade ahead of his schooling level. That way while neither you nor his teachers will be able to keep him focused on it for long, you will help him to actually do reasonably well in school.

With me, my parents actually had me reading 'The Great Escape", "Lad a Dog", "Treasure Island", and other similar books at 4-5 years old! I was supposed to read 10 pages a night.


EDIT:
You are giving in...a child crying is one of the most heartbreaking things a parent can hear...especially if it is their own child. But, be firm. You run the show, not him...and right now, HE is running the show (and knows it)!

As another poster said, put him to bed, and tell him it is time for bed. If he cries, let him cry it out. He has to learn that crying for no reason is useless. Read him the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Explain to him...several times...that if he cries because he didn't get his way, you're eventually not going to come to him when he needs you to come.

Answer 3

I have a 5, 3, and a 1 year old, I can relate to your issue. What I have to do is just set a routine, and stick to it. Consistency is the key! You have to make the rule and stick to it. It is very hard, but if you don't your son will walk all over you.
I had the same problem with my 5 year old. I just had to put him in his own bed and tell him that that is where he was supposed to be. Set a bed time and make sure you do a nightly routine around that bed time. Ours is, bath, drink, brush teeth, read a book and then hugs and kisses and then bed. If they don't go to bed like they are supposed to, they get something taken away, or a privilege taken away.
I hope that helped. Good Luck.

Answer 4

my four year old no longer takes naps. he goes to bed around 8pm in the summer depending on our activities. i don't know much about adhd, but i also would refrain from any medication if at all possible. i would say that it sounds like he gets everything from you he wants, TV, rocking to sleep, no sleeping on his own in his bed. maybe you should start laying down the law and be prepared to stick to your guns, it may take a while. start slow with no TV within an hour or two of bed. you could read books in his room with him around bed time. this won't be a quick change and he will give you a hard time. pick a routine that works (hopefully) and keep it up. you may loose sleep in the beginning but it will pay off in the long run. hope this helps, good luck!

Answer 5

I urge you NOT to use meds...I've always been against that. Kids are going to be naturally hyper and not want to sleep. I'd recommend a sugar free hot chocolate before bed...make it with milk and not water. Typically warm milk helps to put kids to sleep...I would bet he wouldn't just drink warm milk, but he might drink it if he thought it was hot chocolate.

Have a set bed time that he must be in his room in bed and have a set time that he has to wake up in the morning as well...4 year olds need about 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Try to work it out that he gets at least 8.

If you stick to a set bedtime every night then as time goes along you'll start to notice that he tends to get tired around his normal bed time (I've always called that time "Bedtime Burn-out").

I hope this helps

Answer 6

i agree to not give little ones meds.... i would suggest, as i am a mom of toddler who doesnt get the idea of naps either, get him tired. i mean really tired. find some type of activity that will have him so exhausted he will drop where he stands, then pick him up and take him to bed... sometimes this is the only way. forget the tv. go to a park. make him walk and walk. { we dont have money for classes and such, so i have to find free activitys}}}} if you can afford it tho, swimming classes. they get hungry and tired very quickly..... soccer, because it is non-stop running... he will also get to be with other kids....now since you babysit, i know its harder especiall when the little one does take naps. i have found that when they get all that energy out everything else gets better too, like eating, sitting still when u need em to. being able to take them out in public. and being calm around the baby....DONT WORRY< being a mom of a busy kid is hard.....u can do this one day at a time.....

Answer 7

Is he eating alot of sugar? I know it sounds like a simple thing but in kids especially, too much sugar can really make them go crazy. You need to make sure he eats alot of natural, healthy foods and make candy a treat, not a way of shutting him up when he shouts for it (I'm not insinuating you do this, but alot of parents do).

I don't know what you do with him during the day but I'd suggest taking him out to the park, have him run about and play with other kids, it'll wear him out.
After dinner you should make a game out of tidying up his toys in a ''Let's see who can put away the toys first! Come on, I'll race you!'' kind of way. Putting his toys away means it's time to stop playing with them, then bathe him (having baths will relax him, he'll feel like settling down more).

TV before bed is a no. Peope always recommend, even for adults to stay away from TVs and computers for at least a half hour before bed, it makes you more alert and that's the last thing you want. So I'd suggest taking him to his room and sitting on the bed with him to read a story with him, make the story last, tell it properly and let him look at the pictures and then when it's finished just tell him ''It's bed time now'', lie him down and tuck him in. Give him a kiss and leave, closing the door behind you. If he gets up, don't even talk to him, just put him straight back into bed. If you get mad you're giving him exactly what he wants; attention. The last thing you want to do is rise to it because he wants you to react if he's playing up.

No matter how many times he gets up, don't lose your temper and don't give in. Just put him back to bed. If he stays in his room but starts crying, it's heartbreaking to hear your child cry but just leave him. Eventually he'll get tired of trying to get a rise out of you and he'll fall asleep. And eventually he'll realise that this is the routine before bed and once the story is finished, it's time to go to sleep.

I hope this works for you. If it doesn't and you're concered you really should get him tested for ADHD. If he comes back positive no one says you HAVE to put him on medication, it's your choice.

Answer 8

He very well may have ADHD or ADD and you should get him tested. There are different ways of treating these disorders and not all of them involve meds. My husband has ADHD and hasn't been on meds since he was in middle school, he's learned how to deal with it without any. You should look into the alternative treatments.

Answer 9

Remember this, ADHD is only a 'label' teachers and doctors like to use instead of telling you the truth. Teachers do NOT know how to handle normal/rambunctious boys and doctors just want to line their pockets with more money.
Change the diet - change the behavior.
NO JUNK FOODS, NO MEDICATIONS AND NO SWEETS!
My neighbor did this with her son and it works!

Answer 10

Give him a good smack... tell him to go to bed and if he doesn't listen, pull his hair and lock him in his room. And if he calls for you... don't answer, he will be at the door sleeping, and you might find that the door has claw marks on it!