Experiences of having an energetic, wild young son as they grow up?

[anothereastlondonmum]

My son is nearly 6 and has always been massively energetic, silly, funny, and loves running wild, exploring etc. he never stops until he falls asleep and then (thankfully) he sleeps like a log. When he wakes up in the morning he is off again!

It’s always been exhausting - from the moment he could walk he was off and would bolt. It’s one of the reasons we chose not to have a second as we don’t have any wider family support and I just didn’t know how I could cope if a second child was similar.

Obviously we love him to bits and we don’t want to change him or anything. But I was wondering if other mums whose boys were like this can shed light on how they evolved / turned out in the end?

What prompted me to ask this was getting a coffee in the park this morning and seeing a 50’s-ish mum with her grown up son (around 20ish) walking and chatting together. I thought how lovely it looked and found myself automatically assuming I could never have that nice chilled relationship with my son when he’s older as he’s not chilled out enough! But I don’t know if that’s the case!

So if your DS was like how my DS sounds when he was little, how has he tuned out now?

Yes, my son is the very energetic one out of his friends - we go to a group that is 75% boys, and I'm still the mum whose lapping the other kids running around holding his hand!

Tbh, I lean into it. It's exercise, it's good fun, and at least mine likes to nip to the cafe for a cake after!

My whirlwind DS at 12 is school captain and is friends with literally everyone. At the top of the school for grades. He is still high energy and noisy though! I can see it being a positive thing now though as a toddler, I had serious doubts!

Mine were like this OP and they are twins 😂 (boy and girl) when they were toddlers they were like puppies and had to go for walks 3x a day.

They’re both competitive athletes now and very active. They rarely have a day at home with nothing on. They’re very sociable and like being busy. We’ve always tended to have jam packed days out etc.

However they are also teens so have calmed down a bit, they watch Netflix, tiktok, gaming etc. they are always entertaining and I wouldn’t change them for anything! They are like my DH who is similar, I’m much lazier in comparison.

They’re doing GCSEs now and have tried to play a bit of sport most days. Enjoy your little boy.

It’s so interesting reading others experiences. Sport seems to be a real theme as well as national level competing which my DS has done, and my DD trains 5x a week in her sports.

We can still tell if DS hasn’t had enough exercise in the day, he becomes boisterous and starts winding his sister up!

And as PP have said they are both good with little kids as they can match their energy and both coach younger ones in their sport.

My DS was always a bundle of energy, constantly moving and would crash out and sleep like someone had flicked his off switch.

He's now 20, and much more chilled. He channelled his energy into drumming and is now doing a music degree at a conservatoire. He also played quite a lot of sport and loves going out for a long cycle ride - sometimes 30 miles or more.

He is a lovely young man but there were moments when he was a pre teen that I despaired!

There used to be a MN poster with the username BoysAreLikeDogs. I appreciate they aren't all the same but mine were. My horsey sister used to say they needed lunging.
Perfectly calm normal adults now. One is very laid back and the other quite intense and sporty but both are excellent company.

My 18 year old son is like this, we used to joke we didn’t sit down for the first 5 years. He was SO energetic, ran everywhere, threw everything, climbed everything….. he calmed down a bit aged 7, and getting him into rugby was great for him. He wasn’t particularly academic because he didn’t like sitting still!! He has now left school and is so utterly himself. He has become an estate agent and just got a tattoo sleeve. He is also planning a trip to Australia. I adore him and we have just spent the evening making scotch eggs together. It’s been a wild ride but I wouldn’t change anything. Good luck!

Ds26 was a chilled baby. Would sit listening to books, do puzzles, colouring in, as he reached 6, he would sit reading Harry Potter for hours and build the castle out of LEGO etc.

Then ds21 came along. He was a whirlwind in comparison. As soon as he could walk- the day after his first birthday, he never went out in the pram again. He wanted to walk everywhere. He was outside come rain or shine. Was a bugger to get to sleep- but then he'd come into bed with me and exdp at some point every night (until he went to high school!!) and sleep all night. He had the most wicked laugh and sense of humour. . He was into everything though, especially if it involved being aside.

Now he's 21, about to go into his third year at uni, and he's the most laid back adult I know! When he's home from uni, I don't see him unless it's time for food. He keeps his cards close to his chest, so only occasionally does he let me in, then he'll talk for hours. But it's purely on his terms!

But isn’t spirited and energetic a positive thing?

My third boy is way more energetic than the others, and has been from the outset. Multiple activities, always on the go. The key thing is to channel that energy into something positive, like other posters that meant for us competing at an all-consuming sport, as he got older that meant cadets and hiking, and drama as well as sport.
What I would say is that if they’re ‘spirited’ you put firm boundaries in place, and make sure they are respecting and listening to whoever is leading whatever activities they do.
My son’s similarly energetic peers are now flying the nest, and it’s great to see that energy has translated into motivation and hard work.