Over excitable 3 year old boy

[endoftether82]

Struggling at the moment with disciplining our 3yo ds. He's smart and sweet, but also very excitable.

When we go round to other people's houses, particularly if they don't have children (in fact mostly then), he will just tear around and won't sit down. I don't know what we should be doing to focus him in these situations. We tell him that he's not to do that in other people's homes but any advice on how we can make these sort of trips easier would be helpful!

My kid is a genuine live wire made worse if she drinks specific drinks, Irn bru was a culprit..some fruit juices ect..a lot of the time the sugar content in something sends some kids crazy and hanging from ceilings..when kids act up it’s usually because they are on a sugar high. Are you giving him sweets before or during visits?

Not generally, although he did have some juice yesterday which could have contributed . Usually he doesn't though.

I think he struggles with a lack of focus. So if we're all sat around talking then he just doesn't know what to do with himself, but I don't know if that is just standard 3 year old stuff.

It could be An could be a good thing..maybe get him into a hobby that is energetic..your kids just a ball of energy and needs something to focus his energy on..
My kid she uses her energy for playin rugby..

I find it quite sad that the very first answer you got tried to find something "wrong" you did to make a 3 year old lively. 3 year olds are supposed to be little balls of energy, he'll gradually calm down once he starts school. Unfortunately going visiting and sitting calmly aren't really the speciality of most 3 year olds, visiting a new house is exciting, sitting chatting is not.
Here are some ideas to make it easier:

Keep your visits very short unless you know your ds can play out in their garden safely.

Take things that your ds can do that won't involve him damaging things... sticker book? Mini figures? Jigsaw?

Being told "no" constantly is frustrating for you all so if your host is child friendly ask them if there's anything they are comfortable with their child touching/investigating and then when you say no to certain things draw their attention to these EG " you can't touch those houses they break, let's look at these little people here...."

Encourage them to do little jobs for you so they're on the go but productive.

Bring little snacks and get them to sit at the table with them.

Involve them in the conversation... encourage them to tell the host about their nursery play or new toy so they don't feel ignored.

Finally if you're going somewhere that isn't child friendly and really and honestly you're expecting your ds to sit silently whilst you have an adult conversation.... maybe think again, leave them at home (if you have a dp obviously) keep the visit to a minimum, meet in a friendlier place or invite them to yours.
And always remember he'll grow out of it eventually.

I would be strict with behaviour that is destructive, too loud, verbally mean or violent but I think it's normal to be giddy when visiting other people's houses.
Just keep on reminding him that he won't be invited back if he's silly and he should get better in the next year or two.

Btw of course he'll be bored if there are no toys or other kids. Ideally meet in an enclosed outdoor space like a park, pub garden so he can be free to much about,

Eh? Where did I tyoe she done something wrong? I typed juice can make kids hyper how is that doing something wrong? We’ve all given kids juice sweets etc to keep them quiet when visiting. It was a suggestion not a getting told off. Maybe learn the difference between the 2.

Not that SHE did something wrong but the implication was that he was running about being silly as a result of sweets or juice when in fact running about being silly is just what 3 year olds do. It annoys me when people assume toddlers running about and being lively must be caused by something. I guess I see too many families who want toddlers medicated because they won't sit staring at a screen for hours on end. So I'm a bit biased. Of course children should be taught appropriate behaviour (that's a large part of my role) but it's also important to recognise that children are supposed to be energetic!

when kids act up it’s usually because they are on a sugar high.

I've read on MN that sugar highs are a myth and can't be scientifically proven.

It just sounds to me from this post that he's not occupied and can't occupy himself which it's pretty normal, or certainly for mine it is/was.

Mine would probably have got all bored and started acting up in whichever way unless she had some attention, someone playing with her whether that be you it another adult or child, or Tele or toys.

That's all it sounds like unless I'm missing something here?

Thank you everyone. I think you're all right, I think it's probably just standard stuff. He does just get excited. I'm definitely not expecting him to sit there in silence whilst I have a 2 hour chat and cuppa.

I think I probably just need to be more prepared next time. He's very active so is fine if we're in an outside space, but he's never sat quietly and just done a jigsaw or anything. He certainly needs a lot of parental input, which is obviously fine. I just wondered if this was standard for some kids.