Please help - noise becoming unbearable!

[Belladonna666]

My almost 2 year old ds is constantly making noise. He wakes up at 6am and starts shouting straight away. My husband gets him up but I can hear him from the bedroom. He cannot be quiet. He is constantly sort of making a loud humming, screeching or whining, it is CONSTANT and relentless. He also never stops moving. I am now having to wear earplugs all the time as I am getting such bad headaches from this constant noise. I am also worried we are going to get complaints from the neighbours as we live in a tiny flat in a big block of flats. I am getting more and more depressed. I find him very hard work at the best of times and now I feel it is all getting too much. I just don't know what to do. Please help! I feel like I am going mad!

Does he go to nursery or playgroup? Has anyone else commented? Do you get out and about with him at all? I can see it would drive anyone crazy....

No, he has not started nursery yet as he is too young. I sometimes go to playgroups with him but he seems to constantly need to be doing something and I am exhausted. If we are at home he runs about, not being able to sit on his own and concentrate for more than a few seconds. All this with his constant noise too. It's just overwhelming for me. I feel so depressed.

Do you get out for a walk with him every day? On Mumsnet people often say that boys needs constant walking and regular feeding...like little puppies!

Is there anyone to give you a hand? Maybe babysit?

If it's really that he can't sit still for a few seconds it might be worth finding out if there's anything making him so restless, I don't know what it might be but it sounds really tough. I also think you could try getting out more - my DS is 18 months and not a particularly boisterous child but even so I take him out every morning and every afternoon for At least an hour and a half each time, otherwise we would both go mad. I also don't think 2 is too young for regular interaction with other DCs, ok he might not be going to state nursery, but a playgroup or similar several times a week would help him see how other DCs behave and will really help you too, to talk to other mums.

Do you structure his day? You could structure the day into noisy time, story time, running around outside time- basically breaking the day up into slots where you make it clear what is expected. I would also look at his diet.

I agree that structure helps massively and by the sound of it, he might benefit from an afternoon or morning at a nursery....maybe you could pay for one a week?

Hi,
I don't want to worry you but my son started doing this around 2 years old, he has a tic disorder, where he makes various noises, it is very mild but when he's anxious or tired it is quite noticeable. He too was very restless as a small child and it is mainly his tics that cause this, if your not to sure what tics are you can google it, it's basically a very mild form of Tourettes, i don't want to worry you but it's worth taking him to the doctors and mentioning the noises/behaviour. Wishing you well.

Emma :-)

EmmaG - I don't think it is a tick. It is almost like he has a compulsion to make noises though. He can't really talk yet (he says a few words) but it is like he NEEDS to be loud and he literally doesn't sit still. I have an older ds who I can compare him to and my older ds was much more sedate. My 2 year old is, I believe, very very hyperactive. Even when I take my ds to school each morning (a long walk there and back) my 2 year old will run around the playground before school starts, getting into mischief. I know it is too young to really consider/diagnose but I am wondering if he could be ADHD or something? It is like he has drunk a pot of coffee. He doesn't concentrate on anything either, is not interested in the tv and if I try and read him a book he goes crazy and sort of pushes all the pages at once and then onto the next thing which will focus his interest for all of 5 seconds. He doesn't sleep well either and I am just so so tired. I'm sorry to say that I am just not enjoying him at all, he is such hard work and making me thoroughly miserable :(!

He's 2. It's really small and they ALL run around the playground in the morning causing trouble! Mine do!

What is his diet like? Can you list a typical day's eating for him?

For breakfast he will normally have oats with full fat milk (they come with either apples or golden syrup from Sainsburys).

He will then have a bottle of milk 4 oz before his nap which is on and off at the moment but normally about an hour.

For lunch he will have something like pasta with pesto or pasta with cheese and pepper or spicy vegetable samosa or rice in vine leaves is one of his favourites.

For dinner whatever we are eating so anything from chicken, broccoli, spag bol etc.

He drinks diluted squash (with no sugar, it just has sucralose sweetner) throughout the day as well as water.

Snacks on mostly fruit - apples, clementines, carrots etc throughout the day.

He will have another bottle of milk, 4oz before bed.

Also, just to mention that he has gone off his food recently but is very small (in the 9th centile for weight and height) and has never had a huge appetite.

There are some rumblings about Sucralose causing behavioural problems in children Bella and if I were you, I would cut that squash out....give him water or rarely...a little bit of watered down pure fresh juice.....they don't need juice though so you won't be depriving him of any nutrient.

He may not be pleased about the change...but he won't let himself go thirsty....not for long.

You will need to stick to it though to see any results...it may take up to 2 weeks to see if the change has an effect but you may see an effect immediately.

It really is worth a try since you are so tired.

I second the squash boycott. Or if you really must use full sugar squash, but brush his teeth well after. My ds (21 months) is only allowed 2 cups of squash a day and if he drinks them both in the morning its just water from then on. I try to go out at least once a day whether it is to playgroups, music class or just to the park. A lot of playgroups are free run by children's centres and usually there is something on every day. DS is in nursery 2 x a week for whole days and this actually puts him in a great mood.

Just to say that he literally drinks probably 2 sippy cups per day of squash and it is really 99% water with a tiny drop of squash, so very very dilute. But yes, I will get rid of that. I don't think he would notice tbh.

It's something to try at least...other than that, I would just try to exhaust him by taking long walks...through the woods, the park...going to playgroups and softplay when it rains...good luck!