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why has my lovely, helpful, polite, cheerful ds turned into a hyperactive monster?

9 replies

beansmum · 07/03/2008 20:32

ds(3) has always been soooooo good. A bit loud sometimes but generally wanting to do the right thing, help me and be polite and friendly. But the last fortnight he has been a completely different child. He's still lovely but has gone a bit insane, especially in the afternoons.

He is absolutely terrorising my dog (biting her, pulling her legs out from under her, playing musical instruments next to her ears), he has started wetting himself again and I'm pretty sure it is on purpose as he tells me he is going to do it beforehand. At the toddler group I go to he gets louder and louder throughout the morning until the only thing you can hear is him growling or shouting. Last night when I was on the phone to my mum he shouted 'shut up' over and over and hit me. I sat him down in the hall and he wet himself. He has been wetting the bed again as well.

What am I doing wrong and what can I do to get my lovely boy back. Or is this normal?

OP posts:
beansmum · 07/03/2008 21:01

heeeeeeeeelllllllllppp!

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LyraSilvertongue · 07/03/2008 21:04

Has anything changed in his life recently? And dietary changes? How old is he exactly (just turned 3 or close to 4)?
My DS1 was a nightmare at 2 and 3 but calmed down when he was 4. DS2 is 3.5 and I'm hoping for a personality change some time soon.

beansmum · 07/03/2008 21:11

He is 4 in june. nothing major has changed, I was away for one night a couple of weeks ago but only for 24hrs and he was asleep for most of it. He seemed fine when I got back, pleased to see me but he'd had a good time. I have been looking after a few other babies for various reasons recently but I thought ds was enjoying having them around. He always seems to be having fun.
What can I do? I thought I was doing a good job.

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LyraSilvertongue · 07/03/2008 21:15

Maybe he's reacting to you having the other babies around, competing for your attention by behaving in a negative manner.
My DS is also 4 in June and he can be a handful.

BirthdayBabe · 08/03/2008 12:26

Get him checked for worms, they turn my lovely 3yo into a monster. She was back to normal in 2 days.

Pheebe · 08/03/2008 19:01

testosterone! my ds is doing much the same including the wetting. they get a testosterone surge at 3-4 years which starts them on the road to becoming a man. it will settle. our ds1 is 3 and a half and we're learning how to channel him with lots of exercise and outdoors play balanced with quiet one on one time. he's still our lovely little boy, just lovely in a different way

Bensonbluebird · 08/03/2008 19:29

I'd put a vote in for testosterone too. My DS1 has turned from a sweet, quiet little thing into a shouty BOY. He does things that he has never done before like taking toys off other children. He's got attitude! which isn't a bad thing, it just needs channeling.

beansmum · 08/03/2008 19:36

ok. It's not just my poor parenting skills then . We do get a lot of exercise walking the dog and running about most afternoons, and as it is just me and ds he gets a lot of one on one time too. Will just continue as we are and hope he calms down a bit. (Soon please!) I'm not sure how to deal with the wetting thing though, he is def doing it on purpose and I don't how to stop him.

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Pheebe · 09/03/2008 08:23

hmm the wetting is a tough one. maybe don't rise or even really comment on it. it might be a kind of attention thing, he's experimenting to see what reaction he gets. if you don't give him any or a 'thats naughty, big boys wee on the toilet' he might get bored of it. our ds almost seems to forget, he heads off to the loo (so knows he needs to go) then gets distracated by something

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