What constitutes over active in a 4 year old boy?

[PeachyPlumFairy]

DS2 is five at the end of January and is driving us mad with his inability to be STILL! We can't get him to read, share a TV programme or anything as he shifts constantly. I can't even cuddle up in bed with him when he has the occasional nightmare as he just keeps going when asleep.

Sam wasn't half as bad but then he has AS so he's not a normal comparison and can concentrate for ages.

?????

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My ds (5 in July) is like this for periods of time (especially after school) but not all day.

Are you saying he's never still - not for any time of the day?

I don't really know if it's a problem or not. Has he always been like this? Do his teachers/nursery workers (if he goes)ever comment on it?

Hope this answer bumps for you even if it's not much use in itself.

ALWAYS like it, yes. It's odd. he goes school, and went to nursery before, never mentioned it as such but it was raised he wouldn't do the sitting down stuff, just cars and sand etc

he does have glue ear, maybe that's affected his attention span?

My two (now 6.5, boy, and 5, girl) are & have always been (since mobile) very whizzy, especially dd. And ds has lots of what might be hyperactivity markers - he picks at things, can't not fiddle, doesn't sit still, nightmare at class carpet time, very very distractible. And as against friends' children they have remarkably more stamina for bouncing and bustling about. But: they sleep like logs & hardly move; both of them can sit still/stop talking, for a bet (two minutes, unmoving, for a box of Smarties); if there's something they want to do they'll stick at it; and overall their whizziness is mostly quite directed - ie they've got things to do, places to go, people to see, just an awful lot of all of those. So I've decided they're just very lively.

Does that help as a comparison? They're not very normal either.

See, that's what I would call 'normal'. DS2 isn't like that though: he is so mobile in his sleep, and could not sit still for anything at all. Even watching TV< he's throwing himself around the sofa.

I'm sure that you have considered everything but have you looked at food allergy? My ds goes mental on too much sugar and red food colouring.

I think I'd start by asking the school how he compares to the others. I know comparisons aren't always useful but they see so many kids they must have some idea of wether or not his behaviour is 'abnormal'. Surely if it was really odd, they'd have mentioned it to you by now?