omg my children are like mini tornado's please some one tell me its gets better.....

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

dd1 is four and is a little nightmare at times she is so active with a wicked imagination that often gets her into trouble, but she is never still. ever. i even have problems getting her to eat because it requires sitting still for more than 5 minutes. which unless she is engrossed in dora the explorer pc games is not something that happens often....

but....

dd1 had nothing on how dd2 (14 months) is when she was that age. she is like an explosion as soon as i put her on the floor she is off..playing with cat litter , climbing up fires, grabbing phones, emptying crisp packets everywhere, generally causing mayhem every where she goes.

obv at home i have a playpen and baby safety stuff to stop her doing this, but at relatives houses they both create a tidal wave of horror and mess.

if dd2 grows up to be on par with or worse than dd1 i am going to have a nervous break down. its fine putting her in playpens now, but its only a matter of time before she learns how to escape them! she already knows how to open it but is not strong enough and everytime i turn my back for a second dd1 lets her out anyhow.

some one please reassure me that they will calm down. please.

any one? surely some one else has hyperactive children too?

bump

They calm down by about 8 or 9.

Honeslty I wonder if playpens might make them worse because they send out the message, 'you're a wild animal which needs to be caged' so they fulfill the expected behaviour.

Just a theory.

Our playpen ended up on the list of "stuff we thought we have to have that actually we didn't use"

All we did was bung the buggy and car seat in it.

oh god no id go insane without the playpen. dd2 cannot be left unattended on the floor without it and she has the knack of escaping from anything else.

the house would be trashed in the time it takes me to wash up if i didnt have the playpen.

and ill have leave of my sanity if i have to wait untill they are 8 or 9 before they are calm. is it very illegal to drug your children ?

They just grow into bigger tornadoes. My nine- and twelve-year-olds have just taken every cushion from every sofa and armchair, both their pillows and duvets, etc; made them into a huge pile in the living room; and performed a million 'flips' (airbourne somersaults) into the middle. Last night they went in the dark and rain onto the lawn for a wrestle.

Well from experience so far my just ten year old is starting to calm down, all the others are mental.

If I were you I wouldn't think anything along the lines of 'when will this stop?' It might not stop for years and years and you will drive yourself mad.

Just go with the flow

so i just have to resign myself to the fact that i breed insane children then and learn to become insane with them?

threadwworm my dd1 already does that with the cushions!! she was in a and e last night with a head injury due to running riot and she was back it this afternoon. she just does not learn. how that girl makes it through the day in one peice is beyond me.

DS1 once ran so insanely fast across the living room that he managed to thrust his hand between door and doorframe at the same time as ramming his body into the door, slamming it shut. Fractured finger, trip to Casualty.

I actually think your children are "normal"! DD1(5) is very active but I am glad in a way because she excels in a lot of activities she does (swimming, running, riding a bike, gymnastics). DD2 (11 months) is also becoming a little tornado, I have just been to stay in a friends static caravan for 2 nights, she couldn't wait to get rid of us!

Obviously some children are very staid and sit still a lot more but I would say the majority of children are active and it just seems that yours are the worst!

It is tiring though but just let them get on with it and tidy up when they are in bed.

Re the playpen, I am about to borrow one off a friend as like you, DD2 would get into too much mischief if I don't contain her for a least a few minutes.

They're not mental chilren they are 'normal'. Every child I know is the same except one who my friend is currently having tested for autism as he is so laid back and is 20 months and makes no attempt at even babbling, never mind talking. I'd be worried if they weren't like mini tornados! My ds is 12 months and is into everything. If there's anything dangerous or breakable I keep it out of reach and before I let ds loose on the floor at anyone elses house I do a quick scan to make sure there's nothing harmful. Dragging things out of cupboards and inability to keep still is completely normal in my experience. My ds can barely sit on my lap for a minute before he's wrigglng to be off and exploring. Just take loads of toy to your relatives house for distraction and don't think that your kids are worse than anyone elses. It's good that they are active and inquisistive. I used to have aplay pen but only for when I was going to the loo and was worried ds may pull up on things and harm himself while I was gone. He always cried so now he's more sturdy and doesn't fall so much I just leave him for a minute but usually he follows me in to the toilet and plays with empty handwash bottle

seashore my DS is 21 months and a mini tornado too. I never leave the room without putting him in the playpen, although I try not to have to leave the room too much and get stuff done when he is napping. He can't get out the playpen yet but I am considering whether a bike lock might help if he does, is that really awful? DC no.2 is due in 3 weeks and I will be a nervous wreck if DS can't be contained for a few minutes every so often.

a bike lock why didnt i think of that? i know my children may not sound worse than others but trust me they are more active than most children i know.

they are not intersested in toys my mum and my nan have thier own toys. my sisters dd and ds are similar ages and although they are active and playfull they are no where near as bad as my two.

i take them out at least once a day to the park or whatever and monitor what they eat re sugar and numbers but nothing seems to work. dd1 is very hyper and dd2 just throws herself with no regard for her safety. but they are both healthy and happy so im gratefull for that.

Mmm I know how you feel then, I always thought my ds was more active and strong willed than most but thankfully I can usually distract him with toys, although that may not last as he grows up. They will eventually calm down but as long as they are not purposefully breaking things and deliberately causing damage then there's not much you can do. They are obviously spirited little kids with a lot of energy. They'll learn in time how to channel that energy, God knows when though!

Also at 14 months, she really won't have any concept of her own safety so will just launch herself at things, my ds does it all the time (usually head first off the sofa), I just catch him and try and encourage him to play with actual toys instead of what he thinks is a toy. It's difficult but I'm sure they are just excitable and that is normal.

meandmyjoe, I have often read threads on here were you have discussed your "high maintenance" baby. As my DD2 was born a few weeks after your DS, I often wondered how you were getting on as my DD1 was a hard baby but she is a joy now. Some of the things you used to say your DS was doing were so similar to what I used to go through with her. She is still a bit of a handful but absolutely full of personality and life. I never replied to any threads you were on as I only lurked in those days!