Is there a testosterone hit at 4.5 for boys?!

[wookie]

Could it be true? My gentle, solitary player 4.5yo ds has SUDDENLY become loud, hyperactive, bouncing-off-the-walls energetic bundle of power who wants to play wrestling, fighting, punching etc. all. the. time. If we're not wrestling he'll pretend to be a lion or some wild animal and take a swat at me. He will push his younger brother w/o instigation or slam into him making him bawl. When called on it he'll say he forgot or that his brain told him to do that. In calmer moments I've asked how he feels inside and he says angry and grumpy.

Is this some sort of a common phase or is this his personality developing? He does seem grouchy most of the time when even saying hi to someone is like asking him to move a mountain. What gives?

[omelette]

Yes there is!
Apparently at around 4yrs of age boys testosterone levels double, they don't know why but it happens. They go back to 'normal' levels at around 5yrs.

We noticed a difference in our son's behaviour about a month or so before he turned 4 and then I read this info about testosterone and it made way more sense and gave me a bit more patience.

My son is the same, way more aggression in his play, not hurtful but just rougher. Lots of jumping on stuff, pushing, hitting and general roughness with his little brother. Not grumpy though but quite sensitive.

We've started having roughhousing time for him to get out some of his energy and to help him learn his limits with how strong he is and how to settle back down when we're done and when it's appropriate etc. We just started this a week ago, no difference yet but he sure loves that special time just for roughhousing.

[ann_of_loxley]

I have read that it is at age five but as with all things, that is an 'average' so for some earlier and some later I imagine!

[green betty]

Oh, well this would explain a lot (I type as the ceiling shakes from my 5 yo boy doing god-knows-what above me). Thanks for the thread, all!

[Miss Chris]

Is this behavioral change generally only noticed in boys? I'm asking because I was drawn to this thread by the fact that my now 4.5 year old daughter has been bouncing off the walls! She's all over the place. We live in a second floor apartment and I feel recently I spend all my time reminding her that someone lives under us and she can't be jumping off of things and slamming things on the ground. I've had to take some of her toys away because she's been throwing things in the house and I'm afraid something will get broken. Its been a noticeable change and I thought she was just getting a little older and more energetic but now I wonder...

Hmmmm.

She's also been on a crazy emotional roller coaster. I think some of it is definitely attributable to the new baby in the house but she's been pretty off the wall on a couple of occasions. I hear things settle down at around 5 so I'm holding out for that.

[Red Pajama]

I noticed a big change in my boys the year they were four. Suddenly, my house was just too small for all their energy.

[Minxie]

Originally Posted by wookie

When called on it he'll say he forgot or that his brain told him to do that. In calmer moments I've asked how he feels inside and he says angry and grumpy.

OMG! We are going through exactly this, even down to the "My brain told me to do it" reasoning. No answers; just hugs!

[hempmama]

There are lots of reasons 4 year olds go crazy, but boys are the only ones with the testosterone rush, and it does seem to manifest in some particular ways often having to do with physical aggression.

I bet the new baby has something to do with your daughter, Miss Chris! Or just being on the half year. The half year is always a little wacky around here for my kids.

[Tizzy]

My DS1 is 3.75yrs old and seems to just be levelling out of his testosterone rush. I had NO idea about this until we were right in the middle of it. Scary! Thank goodness for someone mentioning it here on MDC so I could go do some more research.

He's a very intense boy to begin with but this was just over the top. I think we're on the downswing now, or at least I hope

[Pumpkin_Pie]

Yikes! My almost 3.5 has always been super, duper physical and intense. I am terrified to see what a DOUBLING of his testosterone level will do!

[hollytheteacher]

I'm not sure if there is at 4.5 but I know the first "rush" of testosterone happens at age 3. After that I'm not sure when more happens, but I remember going to a conference once and they were explaining how/why some 3 year old boys start to seem totally different than their personality when they were younger.

[A&A]

Does the same thing happen at age 8, by chance?

[Miss Chris]

Does anyone know where this info comes from? I decided to google around a little bit and I couldn't find any kind of confirmation of this. I saw a lot of references to the "testosterone surge" but they were all in message boards and not in any research context. The only actual source I could find was a book called "Raising Boys" but I didn't see any scientific evidence for the claim.

Everything I saw about testosterone in young children said that there is a surge of testosterone in boys during the first few weeks of gestation, and then again in the first few months of life, and that hormone levels remain essentially consistent after that until puberty. And that they're pretty similar between boys and girls.

I did find an old study that traced aggression in preschool age kids and there was a spike at age 4 for all kids. I'm hoping this is the case because I'm hoping my own sweet kid will return pretty soon. I can deal with the chaos a little better if I feel like its just a normal developmental stage and not a descent into maternal madness

[mazajo]

Wow, I came to the forums tonight at my wit's end with my almost 5yo DS! In the last few months, everything has just gone up a notch or two with him. He's louder, rougher, bossier, competetive, emotional, VERY active. The testosterone thing would make a lot of sense. But.. somebody said they do go back to normal? Tell me that again please, I really need to hear it!!

[JayGee]

Originally Posted by A&A

Does the same thing happen at age 8, by chance?

It sure did in my house! YIKES!

[wookie]

Yay! I'm not alone! Just sayin'

I too googled it and didn't find any scientific evidence..how odd. I thought the genders had been studied ad nauseum. Anyway, I'm hoping starting school and turning will have something to do with it..maybe calm him down a bit. I wouldn't mind not having to turn EVERY game into a sword fight.

[quelindo]

Yes! I read that boys have a surge of testosterone in utero that drops way down when they're a few months old. Then boys and girls are at about the same level until boys turn four, when they have a huge surge of testosterone again. I guess it drops again when they turn five and it stays low until they're about eleven.

My son became noticeably aggressive right around four, and it gradually tapered off at about 4.5 and now, at five, he's much, much gentler. He still has his moments but he's become appreciative, sweet and helpful much of the time. Hang in there!