https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:18:44 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2823184 Thu, 17 May 2018 12:31:34 +0000 psw27 2823184@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@oskarsmommy: I'm no expert - but I will say that very often, SPD kids are super good at "keeping it together" at school and then get home and lose it. My son is actually very much like that. Our weekends were a wreck for a long time - but he was doing pretty well at school. Plus school often provides kids with some of the "sensory breaks" they need - sometimes without even realizing it - and that helps them get through the day. So we have had to incorporate sensory breaks into our time at home to help him reset. So long answer to your question - not necessarily something to cross off even if he is doing well at school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2823180 Thu, 17 May 2018 12:27:16 +0000 oskarsmommy 2823180@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@psw27: can I ask you a question about SPD - I have wondered about that with my son. However at school he does sit still, participate in circle time and activities. It’s just at him that he is a wild child. He loves crashing on my bed, wiggling, roughhousing - etc. I have often wondered - if the fact that he can manage this at school means I should strike SPD from my head? Any thoughts on that? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2823175 Thu, 17 May 2018 12:11:10 +0000 psw27 2823175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@DesertDreams88: At 2.5 it was hard to know what was "normal" toddler stuff and what was SPD. We still struggle with it! I'm glad you are at least thinking about it - they say the earlier you work with an OT the better because their brains are so pliable! I wish that we had started him at OT a year ago but early intervention thought he was just struggling with transitions and impulse control. That being said, there are plenty of high energy little ones out there without SPD! I hope your pediatrician takes you seriously - ours did not because a lot of pediatricians don't really know about SPD (or don't acknowledge it unless it is in conjunction with ASD - which my son doesn't have) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2823171 Thu, 17 May 2018 12:04:11 +0000 DesertDreams88 2823171@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@psw27: My cousin and my best friend's child has SPD, so it's been on my radar. I'm trying to wait it out a bit longer to see if it is just a developmental stage or something more. I'm going to mention it to my pediatrician while at LO2's appointment in June. I hope she'll take me seriously because I have been working with kids ages 0-12 for 15 years now (instead of just being an Google doctor, haha). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2823168 Thu, 17 May 2018 11:56:26 +0000 psw27 2823168@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Have you looked into sensory processing disorder? My DS has it. He's a seeker - so he enjoys crashing into things, jumping from high things, etc. At school he wasn't able to control himself to sit still for circle time. He also couldn't or wouldn't participate in most activities - he was always running from thing to thing. </p> <p>He has been in occupational therapy for 7 months and he is like a different kid. His impulse control is much much better. He is able to stay at circle time at preschool, focus on art activities, etc. Just something to consider! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2823167 Thu, 17 May 2018 11:35:49 +0000 oskarsmommy 2823167@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we do 4 of these a day - and then do either natural calm kids at night, or a magnesium bath, or a spoonful of the child life (I really aim to get his 100% daily value </p> <p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Plus-Childrens-Chewable-Sugarfree/dp/B01BHV7I3W/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1526574846&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=animal+parade+magnesium+kids" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Plus-Childrens-Chewable-Sugarfree/dp/B01BHV7I3W/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1526574846&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=animal+parade+magnesium+kids</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Calcium-Magnesium-Natural-Orange/dp/B009XG9M88/ref=sr_1_9_s_it?s=hpc&#038;ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1526574930&#038;sr=1-9&#038;keywords=kids+magnesium" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Calcium-Magnesium-Natural-Orange/dp/B009XG9M88/ref=sr_1_9_s_it?s=hpc&#038;ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1526574930&#038;sr=1-9&#038;keywords=kids+magnesium</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822934 Wed, 16 May 2018 19:08:32 +0000 DesertDreams88 2822934@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ShootingStar: @oskarsmommy: You're right, I probably need to think about his diet. DH &amp; I are extremely selective eaters and we actually make all different food for ourselves (like, our own meals). LO loves grains &amp; fruits, and while I try to go for the healthy versions (whole grain, whole fruit, variety), he also eats lots of convenience foods because we're out a lot. Mainly granola bars, fruit leather, applesauce pouches, Cheerios, and yogurt melts. He gets about 2-3 servings of meat + dairy total during the day. Pretty much no veggies, honestly. He only tries them with MIL &amp; GIL when they babysit everyday, and doesn't eat much. </p> <p>@oskarsmommy: great idea about the magnesium, I take it for anxiety and insomnia, and it's helped a ton. What dosage do you use? I've used natural calm for myself before, currently I just take it in pill form though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822918 Wed, 16 May 2018 18:19:45 +0000 ShootingStar 2822918@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son is very energetic and has been since around the time DD was born. At 2 years 9 months DD was born and he moved up to the preschool room at daycare. At times he’s just bouncing off the walls. </p> <p>It got worse recently and all the googling I did told me it was probably food related. I looked at all the food in our pantry and fridge and I had a talk with DH who prepares his lunches. I hadn’t really put much though into the food DH was sending to school, and it turns out the amount of sugar/carbs/fruit was off the charts. </p> <p>While I was pregnant DH had started feeding DS eggs pancakes for breakfast (no syrup) and DS had a problem with dairy so we phased it out for a while. So DH turned to fruit and PBJs (soy wow butter). On top of pancakes every morning and peanut butter and jelly for lunch, DS was getting manadarin orange fruit cups, applesauce, craisins, a banana pumpkin pouch, and apple slices. So we swapped back in a cheese stick and some olives and cereal with almond milk instead of pancakes. He’s soooo much better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822742 Tue, 15 May 2018 19:12:51 +0000 bhbee 2822742@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah I have a kid like this. It was just born in him to some degree so I feel you! I do think his attention span has improved now that he’s 3. He’s gotten wilder in some ways and impulse control is a disaster, but if you can direct him (usually in the morning) with certain types of play he’s now interested in building and in coloring/drawing/etc. I keep hearing impulse control improves around 4 and we’re hoping that will make a huge difference. Mostly I just live with it because all his bad behavior is saved for us ... he does 2 day preschool and is fine there. But it’s hard! He also has low sleep needs (dropped nap most days by 3yo and sleeps 11 hours at night if we’re lucky - less than his 6yo sister!) and we’re having another baby this summer so I’m REALLY looking forward to more sanity :grin: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822720 Tue, 15 May 2018 17:18:51 +0000 DesertDreams88 2822720@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <br /><p><i>This comment has been deleted by the original poster.</i></p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822719 Tue, 15 May 2018 17:16:37 +0000 Elizabear 2822719@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@DesertDreams88: Ahh ok! I hope you find your sanity somehow. Every kid has something they are great at and something to work on. Parenting is way harder than I thought it would be. If only we had a crystal ball we would make all of the "right" decisions! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822718 Tue, 15 May 2018 17:15:09 +0000 DesertDreams88 2822718@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Elizabear: haha I don't really trust my mom instinct, my mom instinct is a bundle of hypochondria, basically. My friends don't avoid playdates yet. He doesn't bite other kids, and rarely hits them unless they take "his" toy. The hitting &amp; biting is more with me or DH when we are stopping him from doing something he wants to do - that would definitely be managing emotions. However, he also hits his baby sister, and usually it doesn't seem to come out of jealousy or upsetness - you can see the hit coming, it's like he's too excited to control it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822717 Tue, 15 May 2018 17:06:44 +0000 Elizabear 2822717@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hello! What does your mom instinct say? Do you friends avoid play dates because of the hitting and biting? When you are on I have a 3 year old girl and teach kindergarten so I'm coming from the early childhood world but I would think hitting and biting is not pent up energy but a lack of skills in managing emotions. I would go forward with seeking help? At a minimum you might learn some strategies that make you home life more enjoyable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822710 Tue, 15 May 2018 16:17:01 +0000 oskarsmommy 2822710@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My oldest (and looking like my youngest) is high energy. You can probably find some old posts of mine and see where we really stuggled. He is 4 now, and calmed down a good amount. I hit a peak point (where I was ready to seek OT) about 6 months ago. I decided to try a few things that ultimately really helped (I will add atthis time we had a new baby in the house)</p> <p>We give magnesium supplements 5-6 times a week<br /> We give fish oil 5-6 times a week<br /> I cut dairy out of his diet (casein specifically)<br /> I cut out food coloring where I could<br /> I gave up battling him on bedtime (at around3 years old this became a HUGE problem in our house). Some nights he says he wants to sleep with me and I let him. If he comes to our bed in the MOTN, we let him.<br /> I also opted to spend more time with him - I have made a huge effort to keep him home with me whenever I can. </p> <p>Recently (about 3-4 weeks ago) I noticed he was bouncing off the walls again. I mentioned it to my husband again, felt myself gettin g very annoyed by him, and even reached out to the OT I had been in contact with to “go ahead with that eval”</p> <p>Well, we realized a few things - we had run out of both the magnesium supplements (I wanted to taper down to just doing natural calm powder for kids a few times a week) we ran out of the fish oil, and we had let him have dairy (we went on vacation with family - and let him have ice cream evey night with his cousins). Once again we followed our regimen, and I can say I have yet to follow through with that eval. </p> <p>I have no clue if these things are what is working, but I know I have very low tolerance for the hyperactivity. It drives me crazy. So I can basically tell when it comes back by how frantically I am seeking outside help, and I can tell when it settles by the fact that I no longer am emailing therapists asking about insurance coverage. </p> <p>Hope this helps ! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822678 Tue, 15 May 2018 14:29:31 +0000 Sams Mom 2822678@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@DesertDreams88: I can commiserate with you at the very least. My son is 2y1m and goes non stop. He also isn't in daycare (was fired at 9 months), he now has a nanny/babysitter whatever you want to call it. His sleep schedule is pretty similar to yours, but usually goes to bed a bit later than that but gets to sleep later than your son because she comes to our house to watch him. </p> <p>He runs and wrestles with our labrador non stop, he climbs and gets into anything he can reach, he hops in place if he's standing still, wants to be outside as much as possible. When she takes him to the park or zoo or activity center he goes nuts, won't stay still. Here recently he has started hitting and throwing things way more than he used to, so I don't know if that just comes with his age developmentally. He listens well for the most part, he's just energetic all the time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/high-energy-spirited-toddlers#post-2822666 Tue, 15 May 2018 14:08:41 +0000 DesertDreams88 2822666@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think my son is very high-energy / spirited. He isn't in daycare so I can't compare him to a big group of others, but I have 3 friends with toddler boys his age and they are all *way* calmer than him. He is babysat during the day by his 2 grandparents, and they fully accommodate his energy - they do tons of physical play. Sometimes I wonder if this actually even makes it worse.</p> <p>My son is a nonstop ball of energy - he literally runs in circles in our living room at least every other night for about 10x in a row, and he can play at the park for hours. He loves to run, throw, jump, forever.... He only sits still for books at naptime and bedtime (he won't read at other times *usually* unless it's a new book about cars/trains/animals). He's ditched puzzles, and never really liked drawing, painting, or using playdoh. He also has issues with hitting and biting - it's like his energy has to get out in some way. He wakes at 7, naps 1-3, goes to bed at 8:30 - I think this sounds normal. </p> <p>He hasn't always been like this - I think it's been getting progressively more like this since about 20 months, and we had a baby when he was 25 months. He is 28 months now (2y4m). </p> <p>Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm really posting except to maybe get some comraderie. </p> <p>1) What is your high-energy / spirited toddler like? I'm not the only one, right?<br /> 2) What strategies help?<br /> 3) Does it ever get better? </p>