My son has absolutely too much energy!

Christina - posted on 06/04/2010

He is 3years old. We don"t do sodas unless its a special occasion such as going out to dinner(rarely) family functions. Fruit snacks is as close as he gets to candy on a regular basis. I rarely give him drinks with high fructose corn syrup, its usually water or 100% juice. He will only drink milk from the bowl of cereal. some days he'll ask for 3 bowls between breakfast and dinner. He is a self proclaimed vegetarian, I get him to eat chicken, chicken dogs, occasional pork and bologna. He runs and cries when it comes to hamburger meat. RIGHT NOW HE IS STILL RUNNING AROUND AT FULL FORCE WITH NO HOPES OF RETIRING. Today he woke up at 6 am had oatmeal and a yogurt for breakfast, a bowl of cereal a apple, noodles, two slices of bread, 2 pieces of bologna, mc donalds nuggets and fries, two bottle of water, 3 juice boxes.(juicy juice) no sodas no candy, no refined sugar, MCD was thanks to grandma I was leaning toward spaghetti but too late now. yes i know alot for a 3 yr old but this is normal for him and he gains no weight and has no healoth issues except asthma (hereditary). My son has no baby fat the pudginess I see on my nieces and nephews never exsisted on him. He doesn't even have the usual milk belly that most children his age have. Even his 7 yr old sister still has her belly.

Tracy - posted on 06/04/2010

My son can be like that. I've cut most of the refined sugar out of his diet, no candy, sodas, etc. UNLESS it's a weekend morning or early afternoon and we're going to the park or someplace he can run it off. He gets absolutely NO caffeine at all. And his TV time is limited to about 4 hours total in a 7 day period. I also have him on a strict bedtime for 5 - 6 days a week, between 8-8:30 go lay down and we read, by 9 latest lights out. Period. I make sure he gets some hard physical play at least for a couple of hours a day too. He's calmer now. I'm not sure if it's our routine, or him getting older, but he's a lot easier to deal with! You don't mention the age of your boy, so if he's younger (my son is 8) then it may just be his youthful energy(that we could run a city on....) and immaturity.

Cheryl - posted on 06/04/2010

How old is he?? Do you breastfeed and do you drink coffee wi caffeine, does he drink caffeine in anything?? does he take a nap?? Some kids just don't sleep that much and are very active. I had one who crawled at 5 mos and walked, or rather ran at 8 months..he was much like yours.. At 29, he is presently in Iraq and coming home in 2 wks after 4 yrs in the army, so yes it does have it's advantages..all that energy! I can truly empathize.. do you watch the sugar intake, especially at night? You could try a homeopathic remedy called Calms Forte, at the drug store.. it could help some.. how about a warm bath, massage, and lonng story time before bed..?? Just make sure he gets a lot of stimulation and exercise during the day.. and not a lot of movies or TV this can overstimulate kids and actually amp things up for you.. Good old fashioned play and physical activity during the day are best wi a winding down routine at night..like bath, etc.. HOw old is he, BTW?? Good luck!