Understanding the "high-energy" 2 year old (HELP.)

[kellykins]

I'm not 100% sure if this is where this post belongs, I apologize in advance. 

I have 2 little people in my life- a high-need-high-energy-sensitive 5 year old girlie, and a super-high energy, high-need, all over the place 2 year old little dude. 

My little man has recently gone completely off the flippin' deep end.  He is nonstop. He plays very little and is otherwise a tornado- climbing things, breaking things, FINDING danger (climbing counters to get to coffeepots and toasters and knives, trying to escape the house and run off)  sigh.  

I try to get him to help me do "practical life" type work with me, putting the wash from washer to dryer, giving him a rag and some water in a squirt bottle to clean with (he just squirts it everywhere, and oversoaks everything- even with repeated correction, he thinks its funny.)  

I try to play with him, it holds his interest for a few minutes, but then he is off and running again. Frenetic.

I cannot do anything but be a helicopter, hovering, out of breath all day, on the chase. Yelling? yup. Grabbing him away from things? check. 

My patience is fried. it shows. My husband is even less patient.

Logan still gets up seeral times in the night to nurse and is in our bed. He is a kicker, roller, and a screamer when he doesnt get the "nigh night" he wants.  Noone is rested, I have no clue how to night wean without losing even more sleep. 

help.

[ThreeTwoFive]

How many hours total per day does he sleep?  Is he eating well?

How often does he get out of the house?  Maybe more gross motor activity outside would slow him down a little?

Do you have one room you could gate off to be super safe for him?

[LynnS6]

Two book recommendations:

The Emotional Life of the Toddler -- there's a good chapter on the "Active Toddler"

the Out of Sync Child -- it's possible that your son is seeking some sensory input that he's not getting. (It's equally possible that he's just a really active kid).

what happens when he's at a park where he can run and climb to his heart's content? Could you build a good, LONG park visit every day? I'm thinking like 90 minutes to 2 hours where he can run and jump and get a lot of it out of his system. (or maybe 2 60 minute visits.)

I know of more than one parent who had a small climbing structure in their living room so that their toddler could get it out of their system. A small exercise trampoline would be another good thing to have in a spot where he can use it.

[kellykins]

let's see- sleep... usually an hour to hour and a half nap- sometimes more if we had a bad night.  Night time I try for about 7:30-8 for bed (in his own bed) and he is up usually around 11 or so to join us, then again sometime in the early hours of morning, and then up and down (honestly I don't remember - sort of foggy ha) till he gets up for good around 6:30-7 at latest.  There are at least a few nights a week where he will NOT settle for sleep and fights it HARD and can be up til 10 or so, and then up and down through the night nursing, then up at 6:30-7 regardless. He will usually take a longer nap on those days, up to 2.5 hours- I have to wake him to get his sister from school- and when he sleeps like that in the day, I fear the next night will bring the same up-late-no-break mess.

He eats pretty well, some days more than others- but that all seems normal. He eats as much as I would expect an average 5 year old to eat sometimes haha!  We have been working on eliminating dairy (focus issues at school with dd, as well as ear fluid problems- dairy free helps with the focus,we are hoping for help with the ear as a side effect) and we steer clear of food dye as well. We try to follow the Zone method of eating - keeping protien, fat and carb balanced.

We do get out most days.  We have a neighborhood playground and are lucky to have a great park "system"? around here- lots of diverse play areas.  If I look back and kind of think- when he gets a good solid play outside in, he is a little less nutso-but we have to get to that point in our day - it can take us two hours just to get out of the house sometimes!  

I feel like I am complaining, I'm trying not to!  He's just an ornery little guy!  Even when we take him to the Dr for whatever- she does alot of head shaking and half smiling and comments on how full of life he is. (and she has three boys!) 

Adding a trampoline sounds like a great idea. Both would love that.  They have one they bring into the classroom occasionally at dd's school. We actually have a little tykes slide in the living room and allow climbing over the couch to get on it. :) 

If "Getting it out of his system" is what will do the job - what the heck do I do in winter.  I am a FL girl, I'm used to 350 sunny warm days a year! :P (This is my third  year, 4th winter in Indiana.) 

[pianojazzgirl]

Originally Posted by kellykins 

If "Getting it out of his system" is what will do the job - what the heck do I do in winter.  I am a FL girl, I'm used to 350 sunny warm days a year! :P (This is my third  year, 4th winter in Indiana.) 

I only have a v. quick min to respond so I'll just answer this for now.  We live in Montreal which has v. long and cold winters.  Some things we do in winter: find indoor playgrounds, go swimming, sign up for indoor activities like dance, gym, karate, etc, go skating outdoors, go sledding (having to climb up the hill a million times is really good exercise), cross-country skiing (probably he's a bit young for this though), simply going for walks in the snow (trudging through snow takes a lot more energy than going for a walk in the summer!).  In your own house a fun activity is to put on some music and have a "dance party".  You can also make up silly games where you call out "run and touch the couch", "now run and touch the blue chair" (or whatever), "now jump up and down 10 times", etc. ( ie. just getting them running from place to place in the house, but directed by you.)  The mini trampoline indoors is a good idea too, as is a play structure.  Great that you guys already have a slide.

I'd also look at some high-level babyproofing. See if there's anything more you can do to make the house as potentially-problem-free as possible.