Wild Child - Ogden,UT

He is either tired or trying to get attention, especialy if it happens when his dad gets home. Does his dad give him attention right away when he gets there? That might help. Otherwise his nap and bedtime schedule may need to be rearranged. Most likely he's just excited that his dad is home and doesn't know how to show it, but also when kids get tired they get hyper. My son used to be the same way. I now put my kids to bed really early...6:30 for my 18 month old and 7:30 for my 4 year old. They sleep really great and are not quite as hyper. I know when my daughter is tired because she will act out and openly defy me. So either have Dad go right to him and play with him right away for a few minutes before unwinding after work, or change his sleeping schedule around. See if either of those work.

Yep, me too. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. My 19 month old does this as well. I think he needs to get rid of some energy. I like to tke him to the mall play areas. He loves them. Good luck.

Sounds to me like he is overtired, and just plian happy to see daddy, you aren't the only mother who deals with that it sounds like my house a lot of nights, I just deal with it because if I give them a nap they don't go to sleep at night, I have come up with the philosophy "if you can't beat them join them" I do, drives daddy crazy but hey we, in the end, are havin a whole lot of fun!

is he like this on the weekends when dad is around too?....sounds like a combination of resentment for having to share you with dad....or share dad with you....plus end of the day tiredness and being wound up from the activities of the day....

he may be resenting dad leaving him each day....and he's taking it out on you because he knows you're always around....and always will be around...dad comes and goes from his life on a daily basis....but mom is safe...she's always there and he knows she won't leave...so he takes out his feelings on a safe target...

perhaps dad can spend some one on one time with the little guy when he first comes home

I would have to agree with some of the other advice that perhaps his "wildness" is related to Dad. Is dad involved with him in other ways when he's not a work? What kind of one-on-one time does your son get from Dad? Is there a great deal of rough housing when they play? Does he have to misbehave to get Dad's attention? I have noticed with my kids that they are similar in that they get really excited when daddy comes home in the evenings. After being observant of their amount and type of time together I have realized that they aren't trying to be annoying and difficult. They are simply doing what they have done with dad previously to engage him in play or discipline (attention is attention) or have some one-on-one special time. After talking to my husband about it and getting him to observe and be more involved after he gets home we have helped to mellow things out. Yes, dad needs to unwind and have some time to sit and watch TV or whatever he likes to do, but if he wants you to be happy and the kids to be respectful and calm, he has to be willing to give them 5-10 minutes right after he's home of attention. When they do this, they are better able to convince the kids that daddy and mommy will spend time with them and sometimes they have to give us a break :) It might help with your situation to take a look at that area of interaction and involvement.

I would suggest making a journal of what you feed him from lunch to afternoon snack to dinner. What does he drink? See if there is anything with a lot of sugar in it that you didn't realize or there are some kids (usually ADHD) that are sensitive to certain artificial colors in foods (red is a common one). Try to eliminate them and see what happens. Its is worth a try!! You are not the only mother that deals with this, so don't worry!

I don't really know. But my guess is he wants Daddy's attention. So maybe Daddy should be the one to spend some time with him at this point and do the disciplining if necessary. Maybe he is just testing to see what you will do in front of Daddy or if that changes anything. Stay consisitent. :0)

Does your husband play with him when he gets home from work? If not, it sounds like your son is in dire need of some daddy rough-and-tumble-time. My son likes to play rough too, but he knows that the rough stuff is for daddy only. I do rough house with him a little, but his dad is so much better at it. If your husband isn't spending enough time with your son, then talk to him and lovingly explain that his little man needs him just as much as he needs you.

Is he napping. My first thought is that he needs a longer nap or another 'quiet time' before dinner. Being tired sometimes has the opposite effect on children than it does on us.
~L.

Does your son still get naps during the day? I noticed with my son Carter when he was younger that if he didn't get a nap he was just like this from around 5 pm until bed. Kids need a lot of sleep. When my son gets tired he is not really cranky but he gets hyper. Maybe your son is trying to say "put me to bed" when he tackles you and acts hyper just to you?..just a thought.. That is all I can think of.

I think your son needs some good rough-housing when dad gets home. All kids seem to go through this...especially in the winter when they can't be running around outside as much. Good luck and have fun!!

Hi H.,
My 3-year-old is much the same way, and I noticed it happens anytime he gets tired. Whenever he gets really bad, I put him down for a nap (if its during the day), or if its at night I want him to last until bedtime, so I try to give him much of my attention and rough-play. This helps us all to remain happy and helps him to get worn out before he goes to sleep. Sometimes he acts up when he is hungry, so I also look into that (he isn't verbal enough to tell me when he is hungry). This might not be of any help to you, sorry, but it is what works for us. Good luck!
-A.

As a mom of 3 boys and grandma to 5(soon 6?)boys, I'd try wearing out that energy every day with planned physical activity. A good indoor game that is fairly new- HYPERDASH would be perfect and teaches little ones colors too. Another indoor idea is to set up an obstacle course for jumping over a pillow,around a pail,crawling under a chair, stepping onto a stool,marching,hopping etc - use a timer or follow the leader to make a game of it for both of you. Controlled "wrestling" and "tackling" activities are great with dads and uncles and boys love it. Tumbling activities on a carpeted surface proved very helpful one long winter. He needs to get outdoors whenever the weather permits for running, climbing and all the rest- bonus -you get some fresh air and physical activity as well. Be sure to plan a COOLDOWN period, tell him "like the athletes do" and a quieter time before trying to put him to bed after all this.

I agree that maybe he needs a litte more active time earlier in the day. I try to wear my son out when he gets "cabin fever." If you can't get to a play area at a mall, or a park, try pulling off all the non-fancy pillows from the couch, and his bed, and yours, etc. and have him jump on them. A great, fun, energy user, according to my 3 year old. Have you heard of the game Halabaloo? It's a great game that lets kids jump, walk, act out animal behavior (okay, not the wild child ones...hee hee) while following audio directions. They learn colors, shapes, etc. And this can be played by ONE child to many. Put on music, and let him dance around. Tell DAD to interact with him actively, like playing horsey on his back, using him as a tunnel, playing hide and seek, etc. Good luck.
J.

I'm a grandma with a 2 and 1/2 year old granddaughter who is currectly living with us along with her mom. When my kids were out of sorts, crabby or just didn't know what to do, I would put them in the bathtub and let them play with bath toys. My son would take 1 hour baths playing with his little cowboys and indians. It seemed to settle him down and was a safe place to play. You might try holding him and reading some books too; just some cuddle time might be needed. Hope that helps. J.

Dear H., I dealt with the same thing in a three year old boy. The reason is he is seeking the attention of your husband. And although he is inappropriately tackling or hitting you, it is an attention seeking skill he has learned. You don't say whether your husband spends any time with your son or not. If he knows, which most boys do, that dad will not tolerate that behavior, or not pay him attention, he turns the negative he wants to express on you. This is why it is only at night, it is when your husband comes home. You need to talk to both of them to get to the bottom of this behavior. It is a learned behavior and can be turned around if you act now! I work with behavioral kids so I know what I am talking about. Act now and stop it or it will continue. Ask your son why he acts that way when dad comes home. Ask dad if he is spending enough time with your son. Good luck. L.

Dear H.,

MY kids, 15, 12, 3, and 2 1/2 all used to get "wired" around the 7pm time when they were between 18 months and 6 yr. What I had to do is have Dad rough house with them. Now I only have one son, the 3yr but all my girls played just as tough as the boys. He may need that rough house play with just dad, you can get into it too. Takes a lot of energy out of everyone. My kids to this day love it, the older ones love to wrestle with dad in the living room and the two smaller ones, pillow fight, on the bed. They also like to jump on dad when he is on the floor. We have a rule in the house. If you are on the floor, you are fair game to get "beat up". They seem to worse in the winter months when they can't get out as much, so this is a good way to tire them out. Try the rough house play after dinner up to an hour before bed. It might make it easier. Hope this helps.

Hi! As a stay at home mom, who was also a pediatric occupational therapist, I want to first say that I know how difficult and exhausting that time of day is for moms. It was always my least favortite time of day when my kids were toddlers, because I was tired and so were they! I think, from a sensory point of view, that your son seems to be looking for a specific type of sensory input at this time of day. The fact that he runs full speed at you and tackles you indicates that he may be seeking what a therapist would call "proprioception." That is the input we get from our muscles and joints when we experience deep pressure touch (like a bear hug or thick, heavy blanket), or when our joints are compressed (eg. jumping) or pulled apart (eg. tug of war). If your son's sensory system is craving this at the end of the day, he is going to seek that, but not in the most effective (or pleasant)ways. Here are some ideas that will help to calm him: have Daddy wrestle with him when he comes home from work (also GREAT Daddy/Son bonding!), giving lots of bear hugs, and even playing games like squishing with a pillow (never over the face, of course!) or wrapping him in a blanket like a "burrito." He could also try to push/pull daddy over (your husband would resist, but eventually fall over so that your son doesn't get frustrated). If there is any way he can do some jumping (trampoline, jump on your bed with supervision, if you're okay with that, or jumping off a relatively low object like a chair or sofa), that would also help. Another idea is to give him something to chew on that would offer him similar sensations in his mouth. Carrots, beef jerky, or even a piece of clean aquarium tubing, can give a child oral proprioception, which is calming and neurologically organizing. Perhaps if your husband isnt't there you could have him crunching on some carrot sticks while you prepare your supper. Hope these ideas are helpful, as it would seem that his behavior the rest of the day would indicate that this isn't just a behavioral issue.
When my oldest child was 2 and 3 (she's almost 14 now), she would get very hyper at the end of the day. I would have her run circles through the house, or jump on my bed before bedtime. I didn't understand why it worked so well until I reached the part of my education that taught me about the sensory system. It was like an "Aha!" moment for me, as then I could understand why my daughter needed that to calm down for bed. Good luck!

Try to plan some physical activity for after dinner. Go outside and play for even a half hour. Inside: basketball with balloons, catch with a scarf, hide and seek with a toy that you hide, etc. I think that burning off just alittle energy at that time in the day could help alot. He may be acting out because he doesn't like sharing you with daddy or maybe he wants more time with daddy. My kids can be worse in the evening when there daddy is home because they are not getting my undivided attention. We try to make after dinner "daddy time". That seems to make everyone happy!

We went through the same thing with my 4 yr old. Turns out he was just really tired and was trying to fight it. He doesn't do naps, but has always had quiet time in the afternoon. We started doing quiet time in a dark room (usually on my bed) with no TV, coloring books, games, or anything. He typically slept at least a 1/2 hour and then he was fine in the evenings.

I don't know if that helps....but it's an idea.