Can I ask some questions about my 2.6 yr old ds?

[corblimeycharlie]

Can your 2.6yr DS :
Sit and eat a meal without leaving the table, running around and throwing food and cutlery?
Walk alongside you and hold hands to cross the road without tantruming and dropping to the floor?
Follow easy instructions such as get your shoes without being distracted on the way and getting into mischief?

My 2.6yrs DS cannot.
Am I expecting too much?
DD could do all this easily at this age.
Should I be worried?

[Wordsmith]

No, no and no. And he's 3.6.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Sounds very much like my 2.5 yr old DS.

[TheArmadillo]

I wouldn't be worried about him.

Ds is 2.11 and still struggles with a lot of these.

Seems to have a lot of excess energy - is he getting enough exercise. I take ds out for a couple of hours every morning at least, which helps with his behaviour. IF you don't he is a nightmare.

[HonorMatopoeia]

Ok, regarding my 2.8 yr old Dd :

1. she's getting better at this one (never threw cutlery though) but will now stay seated for longer, it's only a recent development though.
   
2. again, mostly but we still do the drop and strop approach too.
   
3. she's very easily distracted but we've recently found the lure of a sticker for her reward chart will keep her more on track.
   
   I wouldn't be worried, they all do different things at different times!

[DottyDot]

No - definitely not! He's 3.5 now and can kind of do the things you mention - except probably no. 1 (and possibly no. 3!!)

[sunshinegirl]

Sounds pretty normal to me! It's amazing the difference between boys & girls isn't it? My 4 yo ds can't really get himself dressed (or is too damn lazy to bother) whereas my dd 2 and a half has been confidently going it for ages.

Boys huh

[corblimeycharlie]

Thanks - that's reassuring to know.
I know I shouldn't compare my two children but DS seems to find the social stuff so difficult. I'm starting to trawl websites for diagnosis for dyspraxia and ADHD, a road to ruin I know.
TheArmadillo - I do try to get him out and about as much as possible and you are right it does help.
I'm just glad other boys his age are similar - all the kids I know in rl are really well behaved while ds just looks wild in comparison.
Many people remark on his spirit when we are out.

[biglips]

my 2.11 yrs old dd can sits at the table whilst eating her meal............only cos ive got one of those booster chair covers....it got a strap on it so she cant leave the table .

and the others...she is well today walking along the side of me and the crossing the road holding my hand - she got no road sense! but i do use the reins 9/10 as she is a type of person that is too nosey in everything

She can follow my instructions IF nothing is distracting her.

So....its all normal

[biglips]

well actually its 5/10 on the reins...its depends where we are going as she always runs off

[sunshinegirl]

Oh yes, socially they are very different too. 4 yr old ds refuses to say hello or goodbye to anyone - even his teachers or familiar people which can be quite embarassing at times, whereas dd 2 and a half will happily chat and wave to anyone. Guess that's individual personality too but generally dd much more advanced than ds was at her age. If they'd been the other way round I'd prob have been worried too.

[Drusilla]

Sounds just like my 2.6 yr old too. He will sit at the table most of the time when we're at home but if we're out and there is something more intersting to look at, he's off... I have friends with boys the same age who marvel that he will get up at the table in the first place!

[Flibbertyjibbet]

Yes, no and no. thats ds1 at 2.8
I am expecting ds2 (16m) to be no, nooooooo and noooooooooo until at least 5 yo judging by current glint in eye.

[Acinonyx]

Maybe I am a terrible parent as i really don't push dd (2.3) to sit still at meal times. Honestly I just don't care. She's very good when we eat out, but by the end of the meal or while waiting, she might be under the table for a while. She doesn't throw stuff.

She won't hold my hand consistently and I don't trust myself to keep hold of her well enough so we sometimes use reins.

I'm not too fussed about her getting her shoes and dressing herself. She tries with help - sometimes she'll get her shoes - sometimes she just wanders off. I just assume it will happen eventually - I don't really care. If I'm in a hurry I just do it and I imagine it might be like that for quite a while yet. Jill

[skatergirl]

No
No
Sometimes

He is 2.1yrs, DD much better behaved at same age although still (at 4yrs) struggles to get as far as shoes without getting distracted. I hate to admit but I think its a boy girl thing.

[TheArmadillo]

DS gets the 'full of spirit' thing, plus the 'knows his own mind' one .

Have you got a runner as well? You can't take my ds to cafes or anything where you are required to sit down for 2 minutes or he legs it.

You'd think I'd be thinner by now as a result

[corblimeycharlie]

Oh yes he can run!
I feel like I could leave Linford Christie in the blocks these days the amount of times I have had to sprint to catch him before he reaches the road/pond/big snarling dog/whatever.
As you say Armadillo I shoud be thinner - it's the wine I drink when he goes to bed that keeps me sane and podgy.

[boo64]

meals - yes but not for that long - long enough to eat but once he is finished he wants to get down (but he is still in a highchair as only 2.2)
holding hands - yes - he is too scaredy to run off mostly (but I am tempting fate here.... and maybe it is an age thing and by 2.6 he will stop being compliant?? Did your ds ever hold your hand nicely?)
Shoes and similar - increasingly no - he used to be such a goody goody e.g. putting clothes away after the bath but now if I ask him to do stuff like get shoes he can be quite defiant. Depends on his mood and how cheeky he is being.

[biglips]

TheArmadillo - hee hee same here as ive gotta teach mine to walk and not run !!! (even if she had tried to walk her legs are all jelly dying to run!!! )

[law3]

my son is 3.6, he is ok at the table, but everything else no, no, no. He doesnt talk, he shouts, apparently he cant walk 'because he has a bone in his leg'

Dont worry when he gets to nearly 14, he wont wanna be seen dead with you and your troubles will be over!!!!!

[sarahsails]

my ds (3.9) is exactly the same. he is very easily distracted and will only sit at the table for about 5 minutes. He does hold my hand when we cross the road, but only cos i scream like a banshee if he doesn't. A lot of his (boy) friends are the same- the girls are lovely!

[sarahsails]

Also he stares into space sometimes when people are talking to him. Although I do that too, so.........

[corblimeycharlie]

Ok so judging from the replies it's either because he is :
A) a Boy
or
B) the subsequently neglected child (ie not first born).

As both categories apply I have a double dose

At least I know now he's not alone and can stop trying to 'diagnose' him.

[tortoiseSHELL]

Only read OP.

For ds1

Sit and eat a meal - no, still can't really, he's 6!!! (Am exaggerating a bit, but will still get down from the table - at 2.6 sounded just like yours).

Walk/hold hands to cross the road - yes, he was pretty good at this

Follow easy instructions etc - generally he could, but still at 6 easily distracted.

Dd - yes, yes, yes

[Marina]

My ds could do none of these reliably at that age.
My dd was pretty good at the shoe retrieving type errand, but a little horror at behaving out on the road and sitting and eating.

[HonoriaGlossop]

Nope.

Your dd could do it all because she is a girl!

Don't compare the two; ds will be 'delayed' in comparison because boys develop later.