Am I just inexperienced or is this normal...?

[VirgoMummyB]

My DS is 18months and is an absolute firecracker! She is so busy all of the time and into absolutely everything! At times i think she is almost hyperactive. Everywhere we go I ALWAYS get comments such as "what have you been feeding her" and "she's a bull in a china shop". I love that at her age she has such a big personality and know's what she wants and what she doesn't want. She will very rarely sit down and play with toy's for more than 5 mins and I stuggle to get through a short book with her.

I absolutely love and adore my sweet girl (and I hope this doesn't sound silly) but is this normal?

it doesn't sound particularly abnormal, my ds was like that but he has started to calm down a bit more now he has turned two, although can still be like that @ times
i presume you do already take her out to park and get her the chance to run around etc? because mine would be more hyper if we did not get the chance to go and do that eg in bad weather stuck @ home he would be a lot worse.
but @ that age they generally can be quite busy and short attention spans, she probably just has an active personality and is an inquisitive child. my mum says its a sign of intelligence?

Normal. I had a very easy, placid first child. My second is just like yours, and even though I had already had 4 years of being a mother, nothing prepared me for my ds

I took my dd to a music class when she was 18 months and all the other children (who were a bit younger) were sitting quietly in a circle while she was running around and creating havoc. I was a bit mortified and we didn't go back!

But it was just a stage she was at, coupled with natural sociability and inquisitiveness. My dd's attention span is far greater now at 2.2 than it was at 18 months.

You should persevere with the books at times when she's in a quieter mood and she will start to pay more attention.

Your dd will also soon begin to have more of an imagination, so they start to play with dolls or pretending to make the dinner or whatever and they're more able to entertain themselves for a while.

It's normal but encourage her to do things for a few minutes at a time or else she will drive you demented. She'll get a longer attention span if you help her to do so.

Hi Firawla,

Yes you're right I do take her out, there is no way I could stay at home with her! She would run riot! She is very inquisitive, and even though i'm probably bias, I do think she is very perceptive and intelligent

She has so much energy it's sometimes overwhelming to even watch! Even my mum (who had 4 children) thinks her personality is amazing!

Thanks for the understanding!