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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

4yr old clumsy & runs into things - normal ?

16 replies

Magscat · 30/09/2005 20:21

My 4 yr old lad has a tendency to run straight into things like doors and door frames sometimes.

It's usually when he's tired and often when he's tired but just eaten something sugary - so he's runing about being a bit giddy and just can't contain himself no matter how many times we ask him to sit down. He somehow manages to go from one room to another by bouncing off the door & often ends up hurting himself - he went to school with a black eye monday morning.

Is this kind of behaviour normal for a 4 yr old ?
How long before school call SOcial Services ? - hopefully only joking on that one!

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misdee · 30/09/2005 20:27

i have a 3yr old, who has been seen by the paed, and she sounds similar to your ds. she can bounce off every doorframe and door in the place several times a day. paed says she has immature co-ordination, and will hopefully catch up at some point., i have no idea when , and tbh i cannot wait.

charliecat · 30/09/2005 20:30

I was wondering this about a little boy from nursery today, he bounces around and bashes into everything with no thoughts to stopping if someone/something is in from of him. He has no spatial awareness and hes really bendy, like a jelly babue. Very high painthreshold too, he doesnt cry where others would scream for 5 mins.

littlerach · 30/09/2005 20:32

DD1 is a bit like that, though we always say if there's nothing on the floor she'll still trip over. she was checked for dyspraxia, but has excellent fine motor skills etc.

She was in the first aid room every day in her first week at school!!

I'm hoping she'll get more careful as she gets older.

bigdonna · 30/09/2005 22:49

my son is 8 and seems to do this when he needs a eye test.he was very clumsy when little i thought his vision was perfect.have you had his eyes checked.

haven · 30/09/2005 23:18

dd is clumsy like that. when we would walk through the parking lot I would physically have to guide her through to make sure that she wouldn't hit her head on the mirrors of the cars. she is much better, but still trips over her own feet (she is pigeon toed) and will walk into the corners of things.

Suggestion, eye test....and it is probably coordination problems...with dd she is ADD sooooo I believe that contributes alot to it. Other than that she is perfect.

ScummyMummy · 30/09/2005 23:20

Have you had his eyes tested? Worth checking it's not a sight problem.

saltire · 01/10/2005 09:22

my 7 year old was, and to a degree still is like that. He could come into the room, and trip over the slightest little thing. Now, even though he's seven i still have to say things like "mind the lampost" "watch out for that bin" The problem is that he is so busy watching whats going on around him he will not pay attention to where he's walking. If he sees something on the other side of the road, he will walk backwards to watch it. Could be anything, a person, a cat, a kid on a bike. Mind you he doesn't seem to be as clumsy as some, he hasn't yet given himself a black eye.

tallulah · 01/10/2005 10:03

My ds1 was like that magscat. He was later dx with dyspraxia.

Original poster

Magscat · 01/10/2005 10:54

THanks for the ideas. He hasn't had an eye test so if it goes on I'll try that. It's definately worse when he's tired or giddy because he's had sugary food.

Any ideas on how I could check his sight? Is it as simple as 'if he can see somehting in the distance his eyes are ok'? I guess not as he could still have a problem with periforal vision.

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suzywong · 01/10/2005 11:17

Yes completely normal

My parents regularly called me clumsy so I am loathe to do the same to ds1, 4.5yrs but he's a clumsily little sod, bless him.

However, he did have a rolling of the foot, or an in-toe which a gp friend spotted and I took him to the podiatrist and he got some orthotic inserts in his shoes and this has improved it greatly, so that's something to make you wonder.

Agree he is particularly bad after sugar or if cooped up on a rainy day.

bigdonna · 02/10/2005 10:20

magscat you need to ring hv to get eye test appointment.when my ds had his eye test they said he needed to have another test so i took him home and tested him he was fine but he has a stigmatism this is when the iris is a rugby shaped so he sees things in a different shape,hence always walking into something.it cant hurt to rule out eye sight.

Original poster

Magscat · 02/10/2005 10:38

Thanks Bigdonna. DP has a stigmatism that he's had since a toddler & his Mum said it was only noticeable when he was really tired - but she noticed it because you could see one of his eyes wasn't looking straight at her IYSWIM.
Any idea if this sort of thing could be hereditary?

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MamaG · 02/10/2005 10:50

Sounds like normal behaviour for a 4 year old! I noticed you mentioned that it is worth after eating something sugary - could be worth having him allergy tested. My nephew was a beast until he was allergy tested - his diet was changed and from then on he was an angel, well 99% of the time!

bigdonna · 02/10/2005 15:49

magscat i have brilliant eyesight but my dh has bad eyesight he is short sighted,sorry dont know if it is hereditary.

bigdonna · 02/10/2005 15:50

magscat you can not tell my son has a stigmatism by looking at him.

Original poster

Magscat · 02/10/2005 18:36

THanks again. I'll mention it to the Health Visitor and see what she thinks. In all honesty I think it's just fairly normal behaviour and not surprising when he's tired & full of sugar.

I have wondered though if he is more sensitive to sugar than most children so I'll ask the HV about that and about a sight test.

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