I Need Ideas on How to Get My 2 1/2 to Sit for a Period of Time

He may not be big enough to sit at dinnertime in a regular chair, how about one of those booster seats that straps onto the chair that has a seatbelt?

As for church, my boys are 4 1/2 and 16 months, and they both sit still and are quiet for Sermon, and I guess my best advice is to bring a snack, and a few small quiet activities. The boys get to pick 2 toys to bring to church. My oldest always picks his little tractors, my youngest always brings a couple THomas trains. Taht keeps them busy during church, but during sermon its a snack all the way, usually pretzel sticks, goldfish crackers, and one bag of fruit snacks each. Fruit snacks are A HUGE treat in our house, so saving them for occasions like church really makes them appreciate it. :)

ETA--2 1/2 is WAY too young to even think about ADHD! Seriously. He's just being a normal 2 1/2 year old, and he just needs to learn the boundaries and 'rules'. :)You'll soon find something that works, but like another poster said its also a phase.

My advice, firstly, would be to not worry about ADHD...he's wayy too young and many children at this age SEEM like they have ADHD. Secondly, do you have a booster seat with a belt for dinner? We belt our younger child in (our older child, now 3 1/2 sits through dinner). We do this to prevent falls, of course, but it also ensures that he sits through dinner. If we go out to eat, we bring snacks for when the food is on it's way (just light snacks), books, and small toys like Hot Wheel cars. Bring a toy that he is ONLY allowed to play with at times like church and dinner out. He'll be excited to see it again and may sit still a little longer. I think it's just the age they are at, we had the same problems with our older child when he was that age. Try not to get stressed over it...none of your attempts may work until he gets a little bit older. Good luck!

I would try a booster at dinner. Being that they have a shorter attention span than adults, they aren't going to stay there for the whole dinner period.

As for church, our son is always in the toddler room so that he can run and play and color while we listen to the sermon & worship. If a toddler room isn't an option for you than I would try the snacks and quiet toys.

My suggestion, believe it or not, is to remember this is just another phase. My daughter is now 6 years old and at that very same age, could not sit still either. For about 6 months (?) our dinner times consisted of us calling her to the table every couple of minutes for another bite. She was so busy! Of course, this works best at home :) She would eat okay, but seemed to have other things on her mind. She grew out of it pretty quickly now that I look back on it (as do most phases). I was happy because I knew she was eating and I just chose to by-pass that daily fight. There were so many things to press her on that I thought were more important, like keeping her coat on at the zoo in the middle of the winter!

The only other thing that would work like a charm was to have a SLIGHTLY OLDER friend come over and eat with us who was able to sit still. Then, my daughter was so pleased to sit next to her friend and be like her. We would joke about borrowing this older child just for this reason!

Good luck,
R.

Has he been tested for ADHD?

Does he sit to read books for a ten minute span or play a short game? I would try to offer rewards for sitting for short periods of time and make the span longer until you work up to an hour church service or something. For our boys (4 and 3) if they don't sit in their chair for dinner they don't eat. Everytime they get up there plate of food is in the garbage. If they are hungry they sit! Good Luck