[eepster]

A friend/neighbor of my fathers invited us to their Seder (passover holiday dinner.) Dad, 3 yo DS and I went.

Though he had been quite energetic while getting ready to go I just figured he needed a nap, so I ran a long errand in the car before heading to dads house. It seemed to work, DS took a nice nap while we drove, and woke up reasonably calm.

At first DS was completely charming, intro ducing everyone to Mr Rabbit (the stuffed bunny he clutches,) but when we sat down and all the readings started, he just became wigglier and wigglier. When the dog came sniffing around DS climbed under the table to go after it. Then when the dog wennt back to the kitchen DS tried to follow him. He also kept heading over to the couch and sprawling out and talked about being sad or tired (the sad was about grandma.) Then he started getting interested in the flowers.

When he tried to stick his hand into the flower vase to get at the water, I decided it was time to leave. We walked back to dad's house. When we got there DS was still bouncing off the walls. He chased dad's cat all over the house, and I could barely get him to sit still for noggin (we don't have cable, so noggin at grandpa's is a treat.) Even once I got hm home he was still acting like the energizer bunny.

Why tonight of all nights was DS soooo hyped up? I suppose it was all exciting, and some of his behavor did seem directly related to The hosts talking about how DS had been close with my mom.

I guess, I just needed to share, I know DS's behavior was perfectly normal even though it was frustrating.

Fortunately Dad was OK with staying without us (he hadn't wanted to go alone,) and enjoyed his matza ball soup

:.

 

[SandyMom]

Yes, it sounds like he just had the wiggles and perhaps was responding to "grandma" feelings.
When my kids were that age I really felt like they totally LIVED in my subconscious - KWIM? Both my dd's were exquisitley attuned to my emotional energy and expectations - they picked up on even the subltest changes in nuance. Yet, lacking the emotional sophistication to translate what they were experiencing, they would often just sort of "spaz out" - to me it often felt like they were trying to push me to right the ship or something.
I don't know if that makes any sense to you or not - but I eventually came to automatically check my psyche for anything out of the ordinary whenever they would start showing unexplained behaviour like that. Of course it wasn't always the case - but I would say more often than not I could right things, or at least de-escalate them a bit simply by letting go of my own emotional knots. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I spent 24/7 w/ my kids. They were constantly in my orbit!
At the time it often felt like a huge task to be emotionally responsible ALL the time for 3 ppl!
But they transitioned out of it naturally, on their own, so beautifully and so fully bonded - looking back now I am really thankful for that brief time and if I had it to do over again I would try to let all the self-imposed cultural expectations slide and just enjoy the intimacy that's so unique to that stage of parenting.

 

[runes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SandyMom I don't know if that makes any sense to you or not - but I eventually came to automatically check my psyche for anything out of the ordinary whenever they would start showing unexplained behaviour like that. Of course it wasn't always the case - but I would say more often than not I could right things, or at least de-escalate them a bit simply by letting go of my own emotional knots. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I spent 24/7 w/ my kids. They were constantly in my orbit! At the time it often felt like a huge task to be emotionally responsible ALL the time for 3 ppl! But they transitioned out of it naturally, on their own, so beautifully and so fully bonded - looking back now I am really thankful for that brief time and if I had it to do over again I would try to let all the self-imposed cultural expectations slide and just enjoy the intimacy that's so unique to that stage of parenting.

Wow, that is so beautiful. Thanks for the reminder!

OP, it sounds like a little of this might have been going on. Plus, you know, his age. 3 yo are tough because they are so in the middle of still being so small, having limited impulse control, and yet being so adventurous and exploratory and experimenting with their autonomy.