Hyperactive 3yr old daughter! help?

[babycarmen]

My daughter is 3 and a half and very hyperactive! She never stops! But when is it too much? I was a very hyper child myself and my mother said if she had taken me to the doctor they probably would of diagnosed me with ADHD. So when is a child TOO hyper? She just seems so much more active then other children her age, She is a very happy child though, her hyperactivity is in the form of singing, dancing, running, shouting, talking non-stop. Any advice?

Mine can be a bit that way & has gradually calmed down over the years, so is much less so now at 8 - its never been a problem at School though, she'd settled enough by then, so hopefully yours will too

Do you let her eat foods with additives??, or high sugar drinks, sweets etc & do you notice if she gets worse then?? - my own Dd rarely ate stuff like that, but OMG when she does, its like the tasmanian devil on speed -

I once picked her up from a cinema trip with a friend of hers mum, who'd let them hit the pick & mix & I couldn't believe it was my DD - she ran round & round in circles all the way home like some sort of demented puppy, her eyes were wild too - so if you DO let your Dd have stuff like that, it might be worth taking her off it :)

No advice but my dd1 was very much the same and I worried about ADHD and even took her to a paediatrician (sp?) but she assured us there was nothing wrong, and in fact my dd has calmed down quite a bit (she's now 4 and a half). She is still pretty active, but can have calmer periods - without talking, focusing on one task etc - in between. Actually looking back I wish now I had just enjoyed her energy and not worried so much. Does your dd sleep ok?

I'm curious - are your DD very slender in build?? - sort of race horse like, IYSWIM

I ask as my DD is, & I've noticed her friend who is the same type of build, has always been just like her - even now at 8, the 2 together can be quite scary :) - the other Girls are all a bit stockier - not long & lean & built very much for speed as DD is -

DD was so bad as a toddler, we used to call her Tigga - she bounced continuously, never stood still for a second & always chattering & singing too- she still does if she's excited - As I've already said she's fine though, does very well at School & her concentration is brilliant, so I doubt its anything to worry about - I do wonder if its to do with their build though?

Yes, my dd is very slender, I always think of whippets rather than racehorses...

Yes thats probably a better description of mine too :) - interesting though

Which comes first I wonder, the hyperactivity or the skinniness?!

There's nothing wrong with being a very active child, and it doesn't mean that she has ADHD. Just help her use up her energy with plenty of outlets. Also, help her to learn to concentrate and be able to spend short periods of time focussing on one thing, maybe by activities that need short periods of concentration - jigsaws, games, painting, baking etc - that will really help her.

Mine's like this, it's not ADHD, it's just energy. Very tiring, but lovely. If you can, try and focus on using the energy positively. Other people with children like this have told me they calm down a bit once they start school. My DD starts in September, so we'll see.

DD is tall for her age, and looks really long. She is pretty stocky as well though (big hands and feet, large ribcage) so I wouldn't compare her to a whippet.

I second checking her diet for food additives.

I made the mistake once of giving DD1 (three years old) some cheesy puff things. She went beserk (boing boing boing boing; didn't go to bed until midnight). I am sure it was the food colouring - she's never had them since and never done it again.

I think the warning signs are when they are are hyper ALL the time, and it is detrimental to their learning and development. A child with ADHD will struggle to learn because they are very easily distracted and find it extremely hard to concentrate and listen.

How would you say your daughter is doing developmentally?

i wonder about my 3yo ds sometimes but everyone always says it's normal toddler behaviour.

it's not from what i've seen from friends children. he is always on the go, unless he gawping at the telly, never sits still, always jumpng and climbing all over me, i'm exhausted from from fighting him off me.

he always gets up from the table at meal times to go and do somrthing, i spend meal times shouting for ds to come and eat his food. he doesn't do jigsaws/painting/play-doh as he rushes off after a few mins. books are read while he plays with toys as he won't just sit and be read to, he does at bedtime though.
the speech therapist put something in her written report about his attention.

he is also whippet thin, his waist is only half an inch bigger than my 10mo DDs!

i guess i'll leave it until he starts nursery and see if they mention anything.

With mine it was definitely slenderness first ifancysid- she was born VERY long & slim & has pretty much stayed that way - she's always been surprisingly heavy though, so I couldn't call her skinny as such, just very slender

& yes the additives CAN have quite scary effects & sugar too when they are tiny -

I've seen mine go completely loopy on half a bar of Twix given by a well meaning stranger when she was 2,1/2 (we never let her have sweets as such until older, just the odd bit of chocolate) -

it was the first time we'd visited our old London stomping ground & DH & I had to take turns in tucking her under our arm & carrying her that way whilst she kicked & screamed like nightmare child from hell - it was either that or she just ran off - she had NEVER behaved like that before - or thankfully since, but I remember well the horror & sympathy we got from old friends & workmates - think she put quite a few off having kids that day - yet she was usually so well behaved - all down to a bit of toffee

if you know you aren't feeding him anything suspect, then I would wait bamboo chances are he will grow out of it - mine mostly has - the only true ADHD kid I've known couldn't even sit in front of the TV for long & I think boys in general often tend to be more "hyper" anyway - I did know 1 boy who was diagnosed as ADHD, until he was at a part where my Alt Therapist friend also had her kids - he was literally wrecking the joint, whilst his parents stood by visibly - but he was loading up on party junk food - she had a word with the parents as regards his food & a few months later - different boy all together :)