Hyper 4 Year Old

I would also try diet and exercise/structured activities before meds. It is difficult at times to plan healthy snacks. I keep a snack basket full of healthy/semi healthy at least, snacks. I buy the 100 calori packs, he may choose one a day. The other snack is fruit or at the moment trying to push veggies. I keep things cut up and bagged or a fruit basket on the counter. Also, i know my son is young (only 2 1/2, but i enrolled him in a mommy and me gym class, and he loved it! I was beat. I am learning the more energy i try to have with him, and the more structured activities we plan, the easier the day is. Does she mind well? When my little one is being "2" and not listening, running around etc, there is one warning, then directly to time out, and no outside voices are loud inside. Good luck!

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Sounds like your daughter needs some regular and structured activities to put her energy into. But first of all, watch what she eats. Don't give her sweets, anything with extra sugar, or any artificial sweetners. She should be eating proteins and vegetables. Limit fruits to the less sugary ones like melons, apples, natural applesauce, peaches, etc. Bananas are very high in sugar, as are raisens. Even cut back on dairy products, so that she only has a couple servings a day.

It is YOUR job to feed her, so you determine what she eats. Kids will get used to anything, and they don't need sugar and junk to eat (we don't either!).

Just try it for 2 solid weeks and see if there is a difference.

I see and hear about too many children being put on drugs because "they are hyper" "they have too much energy" etc. I have a theory that it isn't them, but it is us who have less energy, time, and patience to deal with them.

When I was a kid, my mom could send me outside to play for hours. Today, we don't and can't do that due to all of the crime and perverts in the world. Its too dangerous to let your kids go out and play unless you are with them.. and our own lives and lack of energy doesn't afford us the time to take hours out of our days to go outside and play.

Does this make sense to you? Its a different world, and our little kids are starting to pay for it by being kept inside, given limited activities, and fed sweets and junk thinking it will appease them. They need fresh air and sunshine and to be able to be the kids we were who play all day and explore and run around using that energy they are blessed with!

I have 2 little ones myself and really am trying to practice what I preach. It DOES make a difference, so please don't let a doc put your daughter on meds to calm her down, dull her, and mess with her body and mind. Thats not fair to her. We (as a society) are medicating our kids so we don't have to be accountable for finding time to entertain them and GET INVOLVED with them because WE are tired and busy. Please think about it.

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Hi E..
Food,additives, food coloring, sugar. These are things that can cause them to be excessively hyper. Food coloring wires my nieces little girl so badly she can't have it at all. I found this site and thought it might be a good starting point.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-558368/Additives-...
I hope this helps.
My best, W. from Indiana

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you might want to check into sensory integration disorder. some kids have trouble processing lots of input from the different senses and it can cause them to be hyper. My son is almost 3 and he has issues with anything with lots of lights and sounds. he bounces off the walls. we had to remove lots of his noisy and lighted toys and have him do quieter puzzles and such. the sensory issues have also contributed to him not talking. we are having him evaluated for autism. but we have had him on the gluten-free casein-free soy-free diet for a few months and that helped out his behavior alot. he has calmed down a great deal since the diet. so those are some things you might check into. i've always been one that believed that kids diagnosed with add/adhd just needed a good spanking. i still believe that is the case with a majority of the kids who are diagnosed and then put on drugs. but i also believe there really are some kids who just are that way. they can be helped by dietary changes and being put on some good vitamins and supplements. if you really look at anything that goes into their body, you can find things that cause them to be seriously hyper. we did have an infringement on my son's diet in nursery at church one Sunday. they accidentally gave him a handful of goldfish. for the next 5 days or so, he was totally wild. he was a crazy kid. could not calm down and focus. he's been in speech and occupational therapy and special instruction. his therapy sessions that week were an absolute waste of time because of the delayed reaction to the goldfish. we tested his food sensitivities which are classified as IgG food sensitivities/allergies. these differ from IgE food allergies in that IgE causes the typical allergic reaction like the hives, difficulty breathing, vomiting, etc.. IgG causes delayed reaction such as behavioral problems, attention span problems, excema and the likes. my son's IgG results were off the chart crazy. We have removed the foods he was highly sensitive to which was about 20 different things in addition to putting him the GFCFSF diet. We also found that the red dye in Triaminic and other things was a problem for him. So I would recommend checking into dietary things like those first and also researching the sensory integration disorder. Definitely research every avenue before resorting to meds. Alot of kids these days only eat junk food and foods loaded with sugar and preservatives and junk. My son has never had a bite of Froot Loops or anything like that and he does just fine eating. Good luck!

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HI, WELL try karate.. it sounds odd but try it my child was so hyper i did not know what to do we coud not even go out to eat she was so bad gettin up and down.. omg and at how it was like a holly terror was unleashed... my friend had a party one night and i ran into some people who had the same problem and they told me about karare .. ready to try anything we signed her lil butt up and omg within a few weeks we were amazed... she ran around at karate which they said was normal @ first but then after it all clicked with her it was a difrent kid.. it teaches them to listen and focous... another thing when u go to the store give her a lil list i know she probibly cant read but draw the pic on there for her.. if she has something to do @ the store she wont get bored and make you wanna rip out ur hair.... cut out all sugar also... even ice tea switch to dcaf... another thing is a book whick is awsome it is a girlfriends guide to toddlers it was written by mom's who have kids not some doctor that never had a kid

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I tend to think like your mom : she is just 4 but if she has changed her mind and you think she is too rambunctious and others say things about her energy, it wouldn't hurt to talk to the dr. If anytime I ever have a questions, I would always go and talk to the dr. Make an apt and go talk.
It could be anything from diet to thyroid to adhd. I don't know for sure but I have heard that adhd is usually hereditary. How were you when you were that age, and how was your husband when he was that age? I believe the dr will take all of that into consideration.

In the mean time, make sure that you cut out her sugar, red food dyes (anything that is red like hawaiin punch, red popcycles, etc), no caffeine, and try to make sure she is getting her vegetables and vitamins. Sometimes a diet has alot to do with it. Another thing you could do is get on the computer and type in hyper or rambunctious or energetic children and see what you come up with. They may give a diet or simple ideas that may help, and there may be something else to consider that no one has thought about.

Good luck.

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If you're concerned, definitely talk to your doctor. But it's possible that she just has lots of energy. As a child, I was also "high-energy", but never diagnosed as ADD / ADHD, etc. The doctor told my mom that hyperactive children normally don't sleep much - I would run wild all day, and then crash at night.

It's a good sign that she can sit and focus on something when she's really interested. Does she get to play outside much? That could help burn off some extra energy.

So many people today are quick to label a child. There are cases where medication is necessary, but I'm afraid that often, it's just easier to give a child a pill than to deal with it. Kids aren't made out of cookie cutter's. God made us all different for a reason.

I'm 37 (SAHM of 1 yr. old twins) and thankfully, I'm still "high-energy" - if not, I don't know how I would make it through the day :)

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Hi E.. Add/ADHd is usually not officially evaluated until school because that ius when it becomes a big issue. However, recent evidence has suggested that exposure to the many toxic chemicals in our homes and schools is leading to the kind of behavior you describe. I have read numerous articles about this and know people who saw a big change in their child's behavior when they got the chemicals out of their homes. For more information please visit these sites:
www.saferhome4u.com
www.saferforyourhome.com
www.rmbarry.com
www.melaleuca.com Then, if you want info on how to get these safer products into your home, contact me at cherybhealth.com or ###-###-####. Everythng is 100% money back guaranteed so you have nothing to lose in trying this out.
C.

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Is your daughter destructive or disrespectful? If so, those are behaviors you should work on.

But if she's simply energetic, that's not something to worry about--except for the toll it takes on you. You should help her find ways to direct her energy. Can she sit and do a puzzle? Will she play a game? Maybe she'd like to run around outside during the day. Does she ride a bike? Do you have a backyard for her to play in? These can help.

You also may want to look into preschool activities. She could be bored. I would recommend a less-structured setting where she could interact with other kids and not have so many rules. At this age, interaction is more important than structure.

One more thing. What about her diet? Some kids react more strongly to sugar, and she shouldn't have any caffeine. Many (seemingly harmless) drinks do contain caffeine.

I suggest you pursue other options before having her tested. Too many kids, I think, are labeled as ADD/ADHD when something else is really going on. Oh, and as your daughter gets older and learns to channel her energies, I think she'll be able to accomplish much.

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First of all, ADD/ADHD are definitely real, legitimate conditions. I was a middle school teacher and have seen many, many cases of both, some controlled by medication, some not. However, not every child who is distracted has ADD, and not every overly hyper kid has ADHD. Every avenue should be throroughly investigated before medicating a child believed to have one of these conditions. If a parent and professionals check out everything first and the child still shows signs of these disorders, then medication can be a true blessing and truly necessary, but there are just so many things that can be mistaken for ADD/ADHD these days.

Yes, ADD/ADHD can be diagnosed as early as 4, but they usually aren't diagnosed any earlier than age 6. I've actually heard studies recently that state that sugar actually doesn't have anything to do with hyperactivity in itself, but that the food additives and dyes in most sugary products (candy, juice, etc) are the real culprits. Food dyes are becoming more and more known to cause severe hyperactivity in little ones. If I were you, I'd do a great deal of research and try her for a week or two on foods with none of these food dyes that cause adverse affects (no candy, juice, boxed mac & cheese, etc.). Also, make sure she's getting plenty of sleep; I've seen that cause major changes even in the children I taught at age 12 or 13.

If all of that doesn't work, then take her to a professional, let them know all you've tried already, and see what they think. I'd personally get two opinions before putting my child on any ADHD medication, simply because most of them seem to help the aspect of hyperactivity, but they have side effects that hinder other things like appetite, mood, or sleep.

Good luck!!

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Honestly I would take a good look at her diet. If you can cut out a lot of the processed food and the RED DYE!!!! that could help a lot. White flour will turn into sugar in the body and it can raise her blood sugar levels.

Also I have been giving my daughter (who is also borderline ADD) something called body balance. It is a whole food suppliment. It is made out of sea vegetables and aloe vera. I have read a few different testimonies about how it has helped with ADD and attentions span.

Here is a few different links:

one is: www.areyoubalanced.net this is a website that has a lot of testimonials in it. (very cool to see all the things LF can help, you may know some else that this could help and it is nice to see who it can help)

and the last is the actually Lifeforce website: www.lifeforce.net/20718416 This is where you can look as see what they sell. (Click on USA, and then you will see a page of products. If you click on on, after you read what it says there, scroll down to the bottom of the page and there is a Data Fact sheet, click on that for more information.

IT is a little expensive, but honestly I think it is truely worth it. I have been taking myself and I have seen a big difference in my life. 1/4 cup of vitamins (that taste good) is so much better for you than a expensive cup of Jo!

Hope this helps!

H.

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I read your responses so far, and they're pretty much 'right-on'. First, realize that there's 'ADD' (attention deficit disorder, but that doesn't sound like your daughter), and 'ADHD' (attentions deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Not her, either), then there's simple hyperactivity which (as many others said) can be caused from a myriad of outside stimulants, allergens, chemicals, flavorings and colors, preservatives, flavor enhancers, pesticides, etc.

I discourage the use of medicines/drugs for anything, but I also know that sometimes they are absolutely necessary (if I didn't take a thyroid pill daily, I might as well be dead. I know, because I TRIED 'going off it'. Won't do THAT again!)

Try trouble-shooting, monitoring, & natural remedy first and it will probably help a lot! Keep an open mind, though, and don't dispair if she does need medical intervention (and I would also recommend a homeopathic physician if you have access to [and can afford] one).

If it IS lack of sleep, melatonin is a natural (over-ther-counter) sleep-help that's even recommended as safe for children.

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