My 'High-Energy' Child

When I was pregnant with my son I used to comment that if it was possible to diagnose an unborn child with ADHD that my son would be a prime candidate. He would kick and squirm and somersault in my belly for HOURS a day. My doctor would often ask me if I could feel my son move 10 times in an hour, which was met with a quizzical stare from me followed by informing him my son moved 10 times within the minute. Through my research I found that fetuses at 32 weeks are expected to sleep 90-95% of the day. This was not the case for my son.

After my son was born he seemed like the average newborn- sleeping for most of the day, eating during the rest of it. As a first time mom I would never would have known different.


Fast forward a year. My son is just a couple days shy of 13 months old and has the energy of the Tasmanian devil from the bugs bunny cartoons of my childhood. His running, yelling, throwing things, screaming, and general bouncing off the walls knows no bounds. It has begun to cross the line of embarrassment in certain arenas and I am certain there are times people wonder if I discipline my child at all. Heck, I used to be one of those (childless) people that would silently pass judgement on the parent of a rowdy child at the grocery store. While I would never let my son throw a full blown temper tantrum out in public, I have given into a few things I never thought I would have had to. (I'm not above bribery with snacks and toys when my patience is wearing thin and I just want to make it out of the store and back home before I pull my hair out!)

As someone who remembers sucking my thumb until the ripe old age of 13, being quite a sedentary child who hardly made a peep until at least the age of 3, someone who hardly played sports and always had an excuse to get out of Physical Education at school, I wonder how or why I ended up with a child quite the opposite of myself. While talking to my mother on Skype the other day even she mentioned that neither my sister nor myself were ever as high energy as my son.

While chasing after him has been great at helping me burn off what is left of the baby weight I am carrying around, I am finding it harder and harder to keep up with my son. I admit that at least once a day I find myself void of all patience for his 'GO-GO-GO' attitude. I am struggling with finding ways to discipline him effectively during his bouts of excessive energy, and am having trouble finding constructive ways for him to burn this energy where I am not 'stuck' sitting in the backyard watching him chase the dogs like a maniac for HOURS on end while I am forced to put an extensive to-do list on the back burner AGAIN!

I wish I had some magical tips that are guaranteed to work for any 'high energy' child out there, but I don't. I wish there was advice from the medical community (at least that didn't involve medicating the child). I even wish that the few tricks I have picked up from other parents and from my experience worked for my own son every time, but they don't. Like any other lesson in parenting I just have to keep trying to find something that works, and adapting to situations and to my sons needs as he grows.

Here are the 'tips' that have been met with the most success in my home:

• Channel your child's energy into appropriate activities... In each room my son has an area with appropriate toys for him to play with ie. The kitchen has certain drawers he is allowed in (Tupperware drawer and spatula drawer), etc. My son also enjoys helping me clean, so I will give him a dish towel to wipe the cupboards with, or I let him push the Swiffer around. 
• Childproof the house- and then do it again... My son watched me install cupboard clips and the baby gates- they lasted all of 15 minutes before he mastered how to work them. If your child is 'high energy' it's virtually impossible to chase them around 24/7 making sure they don't get into something they shouldn't, so it is especially important to take the time to childproof your home... Twice a week.
• Set clear, and most importantly, consistent limits... Word of warning here: if you try and correct EVERY little thing you will be disciplining your 'high energy' child until you are blue in the face. The last thing you want to do is to 'break' their will! Pick your battles. 
• Make sure to feed your child healthy foods and snacks... 'High energy' kids plus sugar can be disastrous!
• Find a play group with slightly older or active children.
• Set routines. 
• Learn to embrace your child's high energy- don't take away their love of life! Heck, strong willed children often become leaders! 

Although there are still moments out with my energetic son that I feel like ducking my head and wishing the store was deserted, I am learning to embrace the fact that my son is so different from me.

And I have no doubt that he will grow to become a confident, intelligent, social butterfly of a young man.