I was a kindergarten teacher for four years before I had my baby and became a stay-at-home mother and the thought about having a child that is hyperactive makes me sweat! But it doesn't have to be such a negative thing. Askdrsears.com says, "Parents, remember that, like all the words used to describe high need children, the term "hyperactive" is not a negative tag. At what point a normally active child becomes a "hyperactive" child is a judgment call. Calling your busy toddler hyperactive does not mean he will be burdened with this label forever, or that he will someday be tagged hyperactive by a school psychologist. This term just describes how your child acts, without making any judgment about whether it's good or bad. "Hyperactive" in an infant or toddler is not a disorder, it's a description." These kids are ready to go all of the time. They are barrelling through the day at 100 MPH until they finally get too tired to continue and then they crash!
I see this play out with my son everyday (and it's so good to know that it is part of his personality that I need to foster instead of moan about). You should see what I'm staring at right now. Sitting on the floor in my living room I see a MESS! ALL of his toys are sprawled out on the floor. To keep him occupied I put all of his toys in a basket and then tip it over so he can sit there and go through each toy one after the next. He is never satisfied with one toy for long. He needs the whole gammut.
I am already preparing myself for when he becomes mobile and is hyperactive. I decided that we will take a daily trip to the park to run off steam and find a playground nearby that will help him get some energy out. I was taught to dread the hyperactive child, as a teacher. But now that I have a child that has displayed some hyperactive traits already, I am finding ways to love the endless energy in my son.
Share your experience with your hyperactive child. Did they display hyperactivity as a baby? Did it continue through toddlerhood and get worse or did you learn to enjoy it?
Thank you so much for making this blog! I have a previously colic now "high needs" 5 month old boy who has been making my life... crazy!! I'm so glad to know someone else out there is going through the same thing as me. I, too, just read through the "12 signs of a high need baby" list and mine matches almost all of them.
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