Help! Is There Such a Thing as ADHD Fir a 20 Month Old?

My motto... Hungry children will not sleep. I didn't give my daughter a bottle in the wee hours every single night, but I was ok with giving her a 4 oz bottle if she woke up and would not go back to sleep after 2-3 times. Trick is not to inadvertently create a sleep disorder with the child and train them to be hungry in the middle of the night... But I really do believe that hungry children will not sleep.

I think this is normal pre-2 yr old behavior instead of a case of ADHD. She needs to learn that she can't wake up before the sun... However it sounds like she may have developed a behavioral habit of waking up at this time, so you need to retrain that.

Not sure what her diet is like... Try and up her protein and decrease breads/carbohydrates, sugars and fruit in the evening. Protein should help her sleep longer. If you haven't already, embrace eggs! I used to make cheesy-egg balls for my daughter. Basically microwave egg yolk with a splash of milk for 10-15 seconds, add shredded cheese, roll into little balls. She liked the balls, I liked the high protein!!

She might have a bit of teething/molar sensitivity; perhaps she notices some mouth pain when she's coming out of a REM cycle and it wakes her up. Try a bit of tylonal/motrin and see if that helps her sleep through the night. (Not saying you should medicate her every night; do it once and see if if helps her stay asleep and evaluate whether you think she has some residual teething issues.)

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She is way to young to be diagnosed with ADHD. Some kids are just better sleepers than others and some kids are naturally more active than others.

Does she play hard during the day? Running, jumping etc? It makes a world of difference with my son. On days that he is less active he has a hard time falling asleep and he is also more prone to waking up.

Could she be hungry? Most small children need 3 meals plus 2 snacks a day to keep up with rapid growth. You can try giving her a small snack before bed. She may be waking from hunger, or thirst.

She may also be waking because she needs to be changed or she may just be missing mom or dad. The list goes on and on. You have to figure what it is that is triggering her to wake up i.e. Ear aches, hunger, attention etc. and address the issues.

Does she nap and for how long? She may need shorter naps. How many total hours of sleep is she getting versus her being awake? You can try waking her up a little earlier, put her down for nap a little earlier and see if she goes to bed earlier. It may help, it may not.

I do not think their are many parents who have small children who always sleep through the night. You may have weeks or even months of good sleep, and then periods of not so good sleep. It all comes with the territory.

This mama is tired of people having completely unrealistic expectations of sleep for little children. At 33, I still wake up to pee or get a drink of water from time to time, why then should my almost 4 year old not do the same? Just something to think about.

Good Luck to you.

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We have three kids and CIO never worked. Considerations: make sure your daughter is getting enough physical activity during the day. Reduce or eliminate all sugar from her diet (negative correlation between sugar and ADHD). Does your daughter nap during the day? If so, how long and what time does she typically nap? Make sure your 20 month old is not watching TV. Not recommended for children under 2. (I mention this since your son has ADHD.) There is a VERY negative correlation between TV and ADHD. I have not heard of ADHD being diagnosed at age 2. Start with her diet. Look at her nap time and amount of sleep she is getting durring the day. My oldest daughter had sleep issues and sometimes I would sleep with her or she would sleep with us just so we could get a decent night's sleep once in a while. She finally slept through the night when she turned six. Don't jump to conclusions about ADHD. The pediatrician even told me that some people are nocturnal (not what I wanted to hear). Thankfully that turned out not to be the case. My older brother would be nocturnal if he didn't have 4 kids. Hope this helps!

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They don't diagnose ADHD for children that young.

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I haven't read all the advise on here, but I agree with the ones I read about an earlier bed time. I would try over a few months to slowly move the bed time back once a week by 15 min. Until you reach 7:30pm, and once you get it back, do whatever you need to not to deviate from the time. For us, if our daughter isn't in bed by 7:30 she doesnt sleep well and has a horrible day and is super active! I found when I moved her bed time to 7:30, it has made a world of difference in her behavior. I'm not sure if your child takes naps or not but, it is recomended that children don't sleep past 3:30pm so they can go to bed earlier. I hope this helps, because it has helped us. Good luck.

Perhaps she's going to bed too late. I know that seems silly, but it's true - the more they sleep the better they sleep. At this age, she needs 12-14 hours of sleep. Does she nap in the afternoon?

I would say make sure she is napping in the afternoon and going to bed earlier and you should see some improvement.

Hi there,

You can try give your child omega 3 fish oil. It is known to help with ADHD, also Calms natural magnesium by Peter Gillham, magnesium also helps calm children down.

I hope this helps.

C.

I would look into sensory integration dysfunction (contact ECI for an evaluation, they have a OT who can evaluate for SID.) Also, look into Asperger Syndrome.

S., mom to 4 girls on the autism spectrum.

Tell her it's ok if she wakes up, but she has to stay in bed quietly. She may not get out of bed, but she can look at a book or play with a stuffed animal or something like that. But, enforce the new rule and at least you all will stay asleep. My kids went through stages like this too. They are not ADHD.

Keep an eye on the behavior but I didn't think adhd could be officially diagnosed until age 3?
Try putting your 20 month old to bed earlier. It totally worked for me! Also, I read in Baby 411 that if your baby is getting up too early you can try this example: Let's say your baby was getting up at 5:30. On the first morning don't go get her until 5:45. The next day don't go in until 6. I wish I could follow that until 8 or 9am to sleep in but that might be pushing it! I tried this with my 10 month old when she was waking up at 5:30 and I also tried the early to bed and sure enough, she now wakes up between 6:30 and 7am.
Keep up the routines-routines are awesome for kids. And keep up consistency with behavioral issues. Kids love to know what's coming up so always explain what's about to happen next and prepare them for consequences for inappropriate behavior. Give lots of love and patience and most of all,
Good luck!!

I wanted to echo what Heather said about getting her to bed earlier. 9-930 for a 20 month old sounds quite late. I know with my own children, the later I get them to bed, the rougher the night's sleep. Her body may be so wound up and over-tired that she can't settle down for any length of time. Also, rather than thinking a disorder such as ADHD, consider that you might have a gifted little girl on your hands. My 10 year old is gifted and she has NEVER slept as much as my other two children. She consistently got me up at 5am when she was little. So, try the earlier bedtime, talk to your pediatrician, and if it is still happening, the best you may be able to do is to provide her with some toys that are within reach and perhaps a sippy cup of water, so that maybe when she wakes up so early she can entertain herself for awhile without waking everyone (you will have to talk to her about this, perhaps several times). She may even go back to sleep if she plays quietly for awhile. Good luck!

Hi C.,

I have a 2 year old daughter ( 3 next month) and I have had problems with her since she was very small. She doesn't sleep well, she is very, very active, doesn't sit still (like letting me read to her, doesn't watch tv) is very accident prone, the list goes on. I brought this up to her doctor and she said she would put it in her file just for future reference. I dont't know if I beleive they can have ADHD this young, but I do think you can tell if something is off or different. My daughter is completley different than any child I have ever been around. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

I have to agree with the other two responses. I had the same worries with each of my kids, since ADHA is rampant in my family. When I had twins I never slept because of their behavior. I went to the doctor and was told basically what has been said here, that they were healthy and full of energy (they are 4 now and still in there terrible twos stage). If you are unsure, seek the guidance of your doctor.