[boysrus]

My little boy will be 3 in two weeks. He is really loud. I told him this morning that he needs to use an inside voice. He was screaming this morning and would not eat his breakfast. I sat him outside on the porch and told him when he was ready to sit in his high, use a nice inside voice, and eat his breakfast he could come back in. I sat our there with him. We sat for at least half an hour. I finally had to tell him we werent going to have breakfast bc bf was over. We left and went on a walk. I finally decided, at that point, that I really need help!!
Here are some of the things he does:
He invades my space. When we are walking, he walks right on the back of my feet, or right under my legs, causing me to trip. He grabs at my breasts(he does still breastfeed), even when I ask him not to. He has started hitting at me and pinching me when he is angry.
He shoes kids at the park. Often. He beats up on his brothers. He takes things that dont belong to him. He kills bugs and rips plants apart. On purpose. Because it is fun. he puls on the dog. He is like Fudge in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.
I understand that some of this just comes from being three, but his behavior is negative so much of the time. He is getting occupational therapy for sensory problems, but what the heck else can I do?

 

[thoesly]

Have you looked at the Alert Program? The title of the book is How Does Your Engine Run? by Mary Sue Williams and Sherry Shellenberger. It teaches self-regulation strategies. It was originally designed for the over-8 crowd, but it has adaptations for preschoolers, too. I just bought it, and I am looking forward to implementing it with my 5 and 3 year olds this summer. I've never met an occupational therapist who didn't speak highly of it (and I know quite a few since all three of my kids have special needs). Your OT should be able to give you details, and if you don't want to buy the book (I lurked at Amazon for months until the price dropped below $60), they also have a brochure that explains the basics. The website is www.AlertProgram.com

Hope this helps,

Tara

 

[boysrus]

funny hat you would bring that up. We have been usig that program with my 7 yo. I will ask the ot if we should start it for the three yo also.
The ot said that the 3 yos issue is that his sensory scale is going up and down all the time, like a roller coaster.

 

[thoesly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boysrus The ot said that the 3 yos issue is that his sensory scale is going up and down all the time, like a roller coaster.

Don't you just hate that? My autistic son has that problem in the tactile area. At times, he doesn't feel pain like he should (no tears over skinned knees, will turn on the hot water until he blisters). At other times, he feels too much (will walk around holding onto the tag in the back of a shirt for hours until it is taken care of -- not typical stuff because he can't concentrate on anything else or be distracted).

The "new" edition of the book I have (1996?) has modifications for preschoolers. Let me know if I can help.

Tara

 

[boysrus]

I talked to his OT and she feels that he is too young to really get the program. She did say that WE can use it and start recognizing it.
I am coming to the conclusin tht he is realy tired and not sleeping enogh. I talked to her about this and she wants us to try to start getting him to nap. Hopefully this wil help.
Also, in the car, we have started saying "If you use your nice quiet car voice until you get to the freeway, you can have this toy(something that is his)" and then when we get to the freeway "Oh good, you used your car voice, here is your toy. If you keep using your car voice you can keep it until we get there" That is wrking

 

[julesinottawa]

I am reading a book about boundaries right now for my 3yo and I'm hoping it will help as well. (I'll have to edit this post to include the title and author later). I think the sleep is a really good idea! If you are able to get your son into a nap routine I would LOVE to know how you do it. My dd has not napped in many months (probably since last july or august) but I feel she really should get more sleep.