Could my 18 month old have ADHD

[LouiseR28]

I have never really thought that my little one had ADHD before today when seeing some of my friends. He is my first child so just thought it was normal for a toddler.
He really doesn't ever stop moving and can't sit still. He won't sit on anyone's knee and won't be held. When I'm out he won't stay in a pram or highchair.
He is very loud and will just shout and shout and will not listen to anyone.
I try to read books to him but after about 30 seconds he will wriggle out of my arms and just run off.

I thought this was very normal for a little boy. But today my friends were shocked at how hard work he is and how much energy he has. More than any of their children.

Does anyone know if this could be early signs of something else?

Behaviour at this age varies enormously. What you are describing sounds like very age appropriate behaviour for an 18 month old. Lots of them can't sit still for thirty seconds and you would see plenty of other children like your DS in any nursery toddler room.

Although I've looked after a few children like yours, my DD1 was very quiet and passive and I used to look at DCs like yours in horror at the amount of monitoring and intervention they needed. In the end it turned out that my DD had AS and the other children were fine. It's hard to understand other people's children when they are different from your own.

I would ignore your friends and just enjoy your DS's enthusiasm for exploring the world

Hi, sounds exactly like both of my sons! I have wondered about this for years and years. Although my response probably isn't helpful, I just thought I'd let you know you're not alone.

DS1 is 6 now, and although still very high energy, his teachers don't feel he has ADHD. He does very well at school, and has energy for after school sports and is generally an enthusiastic kid.

DS2 is 18 months like yours, and he is really non stop. Trying to read him a bed time story is ridiculous - the only way to keep him in one place long enough is for me to read the story is to put him into his cot, and I read to him through the bars. Some days he can speak, some days he makes only noises. He has a lovely nanny while I go to work - the poor woman is exhausted by the end of the day. I'm used to it now.

Sometimes, like you, I worry about the ADHD. Other times, I look at my smart, active, joyful kids and think 'ADHD or not, they're happy and wonderful'

My DS is like this and those early years were just EXHAUSTING. He is now 5 and still has 'ants in his pants' and cannot sit still at all. It is making school quite hard for him. We are thinking of moving out of London to get him some more space. I wonder about ADHD sometimes but do know a few other little boys who are similar.I sympathise

Sounds normal to me. Most areas won't diagnose ADHD till 6yrs as "hyperactivity" is normal in toddlers and often calms down.

My ds was like this. He is now 4 and rarely sits still, always talking, always runs everywhere, never stops. But he is in pts school and they have no concerns there are several boys in the class the same. He can concentrate when he needs to at school and is making great progress.

Was a huge shock after dd who is quite quiet and persevered and would rather sit and read a book.

Some people are shocked at ds, but he is fine, just active. He is knackering but amazing fun. I wouldn't worry about it yet.

My DS was similar to this and he has ADHD as well as autism. This does not mean your DS has the same as activity levels vary enormously. How is the rest of his development? Is he beginning to talk, do other age appropriate stuff?

Sounds normal but i know how you feel. People used to make a lot of comments to me about my son. He's much calmer at 3yrs. He was and is just a very physical boy.

My DD is 2.2 and very much like this too. I am always looking at other mums in envy as their kids sit or play nicely.
She is improving slightly though as the weeks go by and my instincts tell me she's fine - just naturally curious, active and intelligent. It is hard work though!

MY Ds was like this, Until you've had an active child you have no idea how tiring it can be. I got tired of parents with calm, peaceful Dc judging my Ds' behaviour.

My Ds had an an incredible curiosity about everything and needed to rush about to suss it all out. He was processing information incredibly quickly and needed lots of stimulation.

He's now 19 and a wonderful bright chap, who is much happier now he's an autonomous adult in charge of his own destiny,

Ds was and still is exactly the same. I was worried he might have adhd but he is fine at school so he can sit still. Just an explosion of energy and noise everywhere else. It was a shock when my daughter came along and one day she sat down and looked at a book. Or when she's tired she'll lie down Instead of running around more. Try not to worry.

This is not a boy/girl thing.

I have 3 boys and none of them were like this.

Having said that, I think it is a normal thing for some children.

Another one in the same boat. Ds 16 months is exactly the same. His new thing is climbing tall bookcases like they're ladders

After a particularly hardcore week (having to leave groups early, feeling as though all I'm saying is 'no') I've been feeling pretty bruised and like i'm failing. But I've been thinking about it a lot and just keep telling myself he's really curious and high energy. Some children require much more intervention and active parenting and I'd say ds definitely falls into that camp.

I really feel for you, it's hard when all your friends have much more chilled out dc.

Also I found this recent thread very helpful in terms of ideas to keep active dc amused - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2339328-What-does-your-v-active-2-year-old-play-with

I could have written your post a year ago, my ds learnt to climb out of his highchair at 7 months old, at 18 month he was just non stop, books would be thrown accross the room and he spent his time running from one thing to another leaving a trail of destruction. He had no fear at all, he'd climb everything and anything but never fell as he was always very physically able. I was exhausted and quite worried as to how I would manage parenting a child who wouldn't engage in anything other than rampaging around.

Ds is now 2.5 and he still has lots of energy and he enjoys climbing, ballencing and swinging but he is so much calmer, he sits and eats dinner up to the table, he loves books being read to him (only at bedtime/naptime.. He doesn't have time at other times of the day) he plays with his train track for ages, I timed it and it was an hour yesterday, he loves jigsaws and games (matching colours/shapes/objects) he still doesn't have much patience for crafts, I don't think he can see the point.

We found that when he was at his most active taking him somewhere compleatly unstructured helped calm him and encourage energy use, at playgrounds he would run from swings to slide to roundabout to swings to roundabout (and so on) and get more and more wound up and I would be running after him trying to get him to focus on one thing for at least a minute or 2, it was frustrating for both of us! We found that a beach, forest or open field with no toys, no distractions like cars or shops and no play equipment suited him best, we'd put down a picnic blanket and me and dp would sit there and ds would just run around us and climb/jump. His imaginary play is fabulous, when we go now he sees dragons/witches/animals/houses in tree stumps and sticks.

It is so hard when everyone else seems to have placid calm toddlers.

Sounds like your friends were quite rude to voice concerns at your child's activity. People only ever laughed knowingly at my 2 being so active.

I'm sure your ds is fine. It's far too early to tell.

My sister's eldest was like this, with no sense of danger either. Would hurl himself off the top of slides etc. He's 17 now and incredibly inert with no signs of adhd. Some kids are just like this.

My dd1 was like this. We were convinced she had Adhd. She doesn't. She is now 11 and still very active, walks four miles to and from school and loads of sports on top of it.

We got her into organised activities from a very young age, we found that was the best way to use her energy.

I agree with what others have said. Some kids just have loads of energy and 18 months is way too young to diagnose ADHD. DS, now 2.5, is like this, but getting easier as he gets older. I think when they're tiny and have so much energy, they just don't know what to do with it all - hence the trail of destruction around the house.

Getting out into wide, open, safely enclosed spaces keeps me sane. We are lucky to have a large garden and a great National Trust property close by. On the plus side, DH and I are both outdoorsy so an active child fits in with us. And he is incredibly bright and curious.

The hardest thing I find is doing activities with other parents and toddlers as they'll all be pottering along and DS just doesn't do anything at a potter! The judgey looks from parents with calm, placid toddlers are tough too, especially when you know you are having to put so much more effort into parenting than they are.

My son is like this at 15 months and I'm so proud of him. I see his little friends just sitting there and marvel at how my son is so excited and fascinated by everything. He's so expressive. To me it's great that he's non-stop. I love it.

Two of my three boys were/are like this. My eldest is 6.5 and he has calmed down a lot although you have to work him hard to tire him out. My middle son has always been quiet...he had a nap after i gave birth!
Just a matter of personality.
Enjoy your DS as he is

We used to laugh about being the first ones in the playground at 9am on a saturday (we lived in a flat so we really needed to get him out). Also, he would run around, spend all his energy and then crash - have a meltdown because he was hungry and tired (we could feed him, unfortunately he was never a good sleeper). 20 minutes after food, he would start running around again... and repeat the cycle.
The only thing that would calm him down was books (or TV). He has ADHD.
Has he got problem falling asleep? Does he have frequent meltdowns? (we used to laugh he was having his terrible twos early - massives tantrums started at 18months)

Hi do you have any updates on this please ?

Hello - in all honesty I don't remember posting this! DD was indeed extremely active as a toddler. She's now nearly 12 and the pre-teen torpor has well and truly set in!
She's a perfectly normal (and extremely lazy!) young girl.

Oh thank you for your reply ☺️☺️
hope she is enjoying school ? Do you mind me asking if she has any problems with behaviour or school in general ?