SUPER hyper toddler

[WaM2012]

So this post is not about my son, It's for a friend who is a single dad. We all know how men can be, much less single dads. So I try to help him out as much as possible. Unfortunetly mom is not in the picture anymore.

So, his son is 21 months, and he is the most hyper little kid I've ever seen. He constantly runs around all the time, full of energy! Has anyone ever heard of Concerta or Strattera? I'm trying to find what it would do to a toddler at 21 months. I wouldn't personally put my son on anything, especially at such a young age, but I don't see how he can handle his energy right now. LOL But he asked me to look into these two so anything you could offer about this would be greatly appreciated!!

Have a nice day!

[dwdymom]

I have three children.  My two boys have both been on Concerta.  The first one went on it at 11 years old.  It did not work for him.  His ADD manifested itself in talking and not focusing.  It didn't help.  A very structured environment and elimination of virtually all pre-processed foods has been the key to getting him to function normally.

The second, now eight went on Concerta this past September.  His ADHD manifests itself in not being able to sit in a chair for any length of time.  He has done very well on this, although is having a bit of trouble settling down at night.  We are in the process of implementing a very standard, set bedtime ritual to get him in the "groove", so bedtime isn't so troublesome.

I don't think any pediatrician is going to prescribe concerta to a toddler.  Most pediatricians require a very expensive psychological evaluation before even considering any type of ADHD medication.  You can find some out there to work with you without a psychologist, but they are difficult to find.

If this single dad was my friend, I would advise him to first set a pretty structured schedule for his toddler, then go about eliminating processed foods.  Most toddlers love fresh fruit, so the sweet tooth should be satisfied with that, raisins, yogurt, things like that.  Also, make sure the child is getting enough exercise during the day, and not being left to nap while dad is at work.  I had a caregiver doing that once and I thought something was wrong too.  My daughter was raring to go all evening, then I figured out the caregiver was letting her sleep 5 hours during the day.  Grrrrr.   Anyway, I digress.

If the child doesn't settle down after these types of changes, then I would definitely have him talk to his pediatrician about medication.  But these are the same things pediatricians are going to tell him to do, before the consider meds.  I've been there.

[skycheattraffic]

A 21 month old running around all the time isn't exactly ringing alarm bells for me - especially a boy. My 20 month old runs around about 70% of the time, and climbs/spins/dances another 25%. It's a very rare minute when she is quietly sitting or standing, playing with something. She also talks/babbles almost constantly and usually quite loudly. I don't know how your climate/weather is, but getting toddlers outside is really the best antidote to the crazies. It's actually snowing here and I'm thinking I'll have to get her out after she eats so she can tire out for bedtime nicely. Boys on average seem to need even more physical play and running/climbing/jumping so my advice to dad would be to make physical play part of the daily routine - ideally outside. This is a great age for helping too; raking leaves, shoveling snow, "mowing" the lawn are great if he lives in a house. I don't know anything about the medications but simply being active and running around all day is pretty typical toddler behaviour in my opinion.

[WaM2012]

He is staying at home with him right now. He had a hard time emotionally when his wife ran off to TN with his son while he was in the hospital, when he finally got him back to Texas, to get things straightend out he took some time off from work. So this behavior is an all day kind of thing. I will give him the advice, and talk with him about a schedule. I told him he needs to get back to work and get his son in daycare and put on some kind of schedule. I've pretty much told him the same things but he's not much of a planner... I don't think medicine is a very good alternative to this kind of behavior. However, My son was full of energy going nonstop all day every day, but this kid, I've seen him running back and forth, for a pretty big distance, like maybe 3-5 times, and then still running around and playing like that was just nothing for him. While my son just looked at him like he was crazy lol. (they're 20 days apart). So I defiently think there is something to be worked on here. Possibly just a strict schedule. Thank you ladies! :)