how do u know if a child is hyperactive?

[hazlinh]

it never occurred to me that 14 mth dd might be hyperactive but someone suggested it the other day.
she never sits still for a minute, people get tired taking care of her, it's a nightmare taking her anywhere crowded or noisy, esp restaurants even when they're not noisy, she'll climb on the tables and knock on people's heads...she screams and shouts a lot.its embarassing in public places..i feel like an abusive mummy even tho i've doen nothing to provoke the screaming!!!
she runs around everywhere and basically makes a lot of noise, seems easily distracted..she knows no fear, seems to enjoy heights and things like that...she is always moving her body ie always dancing, constantly jigging around to any sort of music, bad or othewrwise (LOL)
it takes 3 hours to wind down at the end of the day...bedtimes are difficult...it takes an hour from when we put her in bed to when she actually falls asleep..thats IF she falls asleep...she screams and screams and cries while trying to fall asleep...she sometimes only falls asleep if theres loud music blaring...she will move all around our king size bed for an hour before finally falling asleep...

OR IS THIS NORMAL BEHAVIoUR FOR A 14MTH OLD???

MY 9mth old nephew is extremely quiet and docile in comparison.but still active enough so i dont think theres anythink wrong with HIM.

am considering sending her to nursery so she may learn some social skills but mum thinks she too young. any ideas?

[FIMAC1]

Have you considered food intollerance's? Maybe she is sensitive to certain foods, a food dairy might help.... other MN'ers?

Or maybe post on the Health thread too...

Cranial Osteopathy may help with her sleep issues - it did with my dd

[FIMAC1]

Sorry - food diary must get to bed...

[Davros]

If you're genuinely worried I would start by seeing GP. People are always saying things like this which takes root. I suspect she's fine. The other person has probably got a passive blob and needs to feel better about it!

[FIMAC1]

Charming! In fact my dd was very much like the above as a toddler - she now takes high fish oil supplements daily and also the Cranial Osteopathy seemed to calm her down generally


She has got food allergies but didn't notice a big difference in her when eating offending foods as far as hyperactivity goes, only when having sugary foods

[Davros]

BTW, agree with fimac1's suggestions re food, keeping diary, cranial osteo etc but if you're worried still try GP. Some children CAN be hyperactive but aren't hyperactive iyswim. She does sound lively!! Does she sleep well once she goes to bed? If she screams at bedtime anyway why not put her in her own cot rather than your bed as that could be a problem in the future. Maybe some formal activity some days would help too, learning some routine and how to behave in other settings, playgroup or nursery. Let us know how you get on.

[unicorn]

Hazlinh..
I believe there is a thin line between highly active, and hyperactive.

Both my 2 are the former,(although I often really worried about them being the latter)

Either way highly active children can be very hard to parent,so I do understand where you are coming from.
Many a time I have looked at the quiet, calm placid babies and toddlers and wished mine were just a bit more like that.
I think one possible survival mechanism is to have structure and routine (so you have a bit of control)and to give them lots of outlets to runaround and enjoy their physicality - in a safe environment.
The other thing to watch though is overstimulation. Both my 2 can go OTT, if there is too much going on, so structure in some regular quiet time during the day too.

I do sympathise with you - my kids are high maintenance (a 'handful'as has been described) but if it is any consolation, kids like this often grow up to be pretty dynamic adults!

HTH

[FIMAC1]

Agree with Unicorn - my ds is a placid as you can get! Dd is now 10 and very active still, just seems to have more energy and need less sleep than her slibling. Her school is quite structured and fairly strict which seems to suit her and she has improved with age1

[trix]

How about getting her to sleep in her own bed? Is it possible shes not getting a 'proper' nights kip if shes in your bed? A good restful nights sleep works wonders for the behaviour during the day. I'm not saying she is badly behaved, I mean that she may be calmer.

[hazlinh]

sorry, everyone, havent had the chance to check this for replies lately...thank you all so much for your ideas..
where i am, we've never heard of cranial osteopathy i think (am in Malaysia)..i did think maybe it was something to do with her food but she doesnt really eat much weird stuff..we normally feed her the same things everyday (unless we eat out) she normally eats a lot of porridge, chicken, fish, rice and cheese sandwiches.we dont give her juice or anything which may contain artificial stuff (i think ..tho a diary may prove me wrong).

fimac1, at what age can i start giving fish oil supplements?

so should i start to seriously consider sending her to nursery? it makes me feel sad to do it, but i am beginning to think the structure will do her good.

[FIMAC1]

Humm, her diet sounds wonderful - can't really help - I would check each fish oil supplement too as they may vary, I expect a liquid one would be better for a 14 month old.

This is a link on Cranial Osteopathy which explains a bit about it

www.cranial.org.uk/page3.html

Trying searching on Google for it too. She does sound quite young for Nursery but the structure may suit her as it did with my dd (she started at 18 months)