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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Do high energy children ever calm down?

103 replies

GuinnessLover · 02/01/2023 20:39

My son is 4. He has a huge amount of energy and people often comment on this (and I mean very often, to the point that I get sick of hearing it). From the moment he wakes up he is what I can only describe as nuts! He doesn't stop, at all. Just constant movement, climbing, jumping, etc etc. It's like he's been given a shit load of stimulants and has duracell batteries powering him. His key worker adores him but has also commented that in her 20 years in childcare she has never met a child who has anywhere near his energy levels. He is lovely, normal amount of tantrums, very kind, has a very good diet/routine and sleeps exceptionally well. I just struggle so much in the day and am reaching the point of exhaustion. Its just me and him most of the time and I can't keep up. AIB unrealistic I'm hoping he will eventually calm down a bit? I was close to tears today because he's just drained me of a energy. Anyone have similar and lived to tell the tale?

OP posts:
thaegumathteth · 04/01/2024 00:10

thaegumathteth · 04/01/2024 00:05

Dd is now 13 and still like this. The other day she watched a movie and sat still for 1h20m and I was so shocked! Normally she is hanging off the couch, doing cartwheels, fidgeting etc. She does have dyslexia but otherwise is fine- doing well at school etc.

I've just realised I replied similar a year ago!! Oops!

Cmonluv · 04/01/2024 00:18

Gosh, very dismissive of ADHD here aren't we.

My son is very high energy but I'm wondering if your son is high energy despite high activity levels?

So my son also loves all day, however we exercise him like crazy, get up walls to and from school, does a sporting activity every day after school or gets taken to a park or forest for 2 hours. After dinner he walks our dog with one or both of us for an hour. He doesn't sleep until 11pm at the earliest and sleeps 6-8 hours a night.

If we don't provide this amount of exercise he can't concentrate or sleep.

If we do provide this level of activity and a very structured routine he's a happy, loving, very clever boy with a genius level IQ.

Lots of my friends boys are high energy, always on the go.... But even as toddlers we'd all be at a park and his friends would stop for a bit, sit down, drink, eat, start again and tire out. My son would continue to run in circles while they sat to eat, stopping for a bite at a time.

At 2 we'd go out first thing to spftplay or playgroup, come home for lunch, go back out to a park or outdoor play area, home for snack, walk to train station to meet my husband from work, walk home, then we'd go for our dog walk and he'd walk that too. Or he didn't sleep so we didn't sleep.

He's on a referral pathway for ADHD and also has a seizure disorder and other health background. The older he gets the more the not calming down in an age appropriate way becomes apparent.

He's not a stereotypical naughty kid with ADHD but that's because we manage him through exercise and parenting techniques, it's not an excuse for behaviour here, it's a potential pathway to ensuring he has help with his sleep so we as a family can function better and he can concentrate better.

If your son is this level of high energy speak to your health visitor. If he just runs around a lot and crashes at bedtime sleeping an ordinary amount I'd say you have an entirely average 4 yr old boy,maybe exercise him more if you're atruggling

Cmonluv · 04/01/2024 00:21

GuinnessLover · 02/01/2023 22:00

I hate to break it to you but you are in fact medicating your child.

Just realized this is a year old thread but actually that's quite interesting, how is your son now op if you're still around?

Your update that he runs faster in sports gear etc .. yeah, no, my son runs, climbs, bounces and always has whether in pyjamas, sports gear or a 3 piece suit (my sisters wedding was quite the day and I will never wear heels again 🤣)

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