How do I get DS to stop jumping up and down?

[AngeloMysterioso]

My DS (4 1/2) has this thing where if he’s happy or excited or having fun, he bounces up and down on the spot.

This is a pain for several reasons- one, because the constant thudding will eventually become annoying and/or give us a headache; two, because we live in a fairly old house with old floorboards which are slowly succumbing to the repeated impact of a child pogoing on them and three- we are trying to move house and we don’t want potential buyers to be put off by rickety floorboards but equally would rather not have to shoulder the expense of replacing a bunch of floorboards with all the faffing that entails.

But the problem is, he doesn’t seem to even realise he’s doing it, it’s almost like an involuntary impulse he has. He’s always done it- as a baby, before he could stand he would rock backwards and forwards on his bum and bang his feet on the floor- I called it his happy feet. Then as soon as he could stand and walk it became this bouncing. DH and I will ask him to stop and he’ll say ok, but seconds later we’ll hear the bang bang bang of his feet on the floor. He also will simultaneously shake his arms and hands up and down.

I don’t want to punish him for something that he doesn’t seem to have any control over, but we could really do with phasing out this bouncing thing somehow.

Any suggestions?

Could you fit in a folding trampoline anywhere? If not then how about a big exercise ball - my two boys are autistic and we spend time everyday sitting bouncing on the big balls, we play all kinds of games on them. Can also be deflated if you need to put them away when house viewers come round.

This.

mine love jumping around I think it’s because they are boys with a lot of surplus energy and if they haven’t had a decent runaround my bed receives it all at night with the jumping. My brothers were the same - jumping then WWE wrestling. Thought its just common behaviour for boys.

Ds was like this. As you've read a lot from pps he's stimming.

We got ds a space hopper he could bounce on, a yoga ball will also work.

Peanut ball to bounce on. Takes up less room. Or a wobble board or cushion.

My DS does this, I thought he was the only one!
He has seen a paediatrician, school have no concerns. No diagnosis, just one of his quirks.
Nothing stops him doing it though!

If you don't have space for a trampoline, I would get him a thick folding playmat/crash pad to jump up and down on. It sounds like you may have to work with the jumping and how to make it less annoying for you rather than looking to stop it altogether.

DD1 did this from very young until roughly age 23! She has an ASD diagnosis incidentally . The only thing which impacted it was taking medication for OCD.

There are techniques for directing a child away from a stim that is causing a problem. If bouncing is damaging your house, then this may be worth looking at. Eg funandfunction.com/blog/flapping-or-jumping-sensory-overload This is not easy and I never really succeeded!

DD used to jump when excited. I'll just warn you that there comes a point when you need him not to do it too near to you - DD cracked my chin a couple of times when she got to a certain height.
We had a small space hopper which got a lot of use when she started school - she was excited all the time. That might still be bad for your floorboards though. Would it be worth trying a wobble board? That might give the movement without the impact.

I think this is one of those "kids test our sanity, tough shit" situations tbh. Your floorboard reasons are tosh, it annoys you and you want it to stop. Kids are annoying. He's not doing anything bad or naughty. He's expressing himself.

There's something that needs to come out, this is how he let's it out. If you stop this behaviour, it still needs to come out, so he finds a different release. The releases we have that don't affect other people are usually self injurious. Skin picking, head banging, hair pulling, self hitting, cutting, burning, digging your nails into your self, chewing skin, chewing clothing. And it's no good for your mental health to hold it in or turn it on yourself.

I’m worried about the effect on our floorboards and my and DH’s sanity!

You & DH need to find a way to accept it. Why do you find it so annoying? A 4.5 year old jumping up and down shouldn't cause headaches, unless you're about to dripfeed and say he weighs 40 stone.

The floorboards sound in bad nick. That won't be because of his jumping - trust me. Sadly, I am an involuntary expert on floorboards. Are the supports rotten? It sounds like it's a good thing that you're moving. Most buyers won't be put off by a few squeaky floorboards.

He needs to do the jumping. You won't find a way to stop him; it's not an option. If it's involuntary and in the moment, I don't think a trampoline would work either, although I note you say you wouldn't have space anyway.

Honestly, he'll either grow out of it or replace it with a more... adult? stim in public; but in the meantime, you have to find ways to cope. If you and DH really can't cope with it, take it in turns for one of you to give yourself distance from it when he's doing it.

Everything is always ASD or ADHD. Sigh.
my own son used to bounce alot. He just had lots of energy. No ND here.

This is it. Trying to stop him is not an option.