OMG!!! Out Of Control!!! HELP!!!

Mrslove78 · August 2011

I have a 2.5 year old boy and a 9 month old baby girl. My son has no jealousy issues or anything, and I don't think his behavior has anything to do with his sister.

Basically it's been the last 3 months that my son has turned crazy! He gets these bursts of energy where destruction is the main goal. He tosses everything, runs, pushes his sister, steels toys from her, climbs things so he can toss things, knocks stuff down, and just goes wild... I can't even describe his episodes.... I should add that he's laughing the whole time. It's way beyond wild, it's like nothing i've ever seen. I've tried time outs-doesn't work... he's now in a bigboy bed. So I use his crib for timeouts.

I'm wondering if this is normal. Any suggestions?

jennyenny323 · August 2011

My daughter has been having similar episodes lately. She'll be at the sink washing her hands for example, and she'll grab a washcloth really quick, get it soaked, throw it, toss the toothpaste, splash water, etc. all in a matter of seconds while having this crazed look/smile on her face. It's so bizarre. I have no words of advice as it's something new for us too.

I figure it's a phase and her dealing with her new found independence (potty training, big girl bed, etc) and it'll pass soon enough. I remember asking my friend with older kids when my daughter was going through this REALLY whiny phase around 14 months "This is just a phase, right?" She said, "everything is just a phase." I tell myself that often for my sanity. Smile

d&a914 · August 2011

Oh my goodness, you sound just like me! DS does the same thing! I have found that if I take him outside as much as possible during the day, these episodes aren't as frequent. He doesn't do this outside, only inside. HTH! I think it's just the age, honestly.

d&a914 · August 2011

Oh! We also do no sugar or caffeine as much as possible. He gets milk, water, crystal light, and an occasional apple juice. He does get sugar from fruit but that is almost all he ever gets unless it is a special day.

Sleep2Live · August 2011

I have found that if my son gets something with a fair amount of red food dye in it, he behavior goes down the tubes. Shortly after I figured this out, I saw an article about a study done that found that some kids have a sensitivity to it, and will have behavior issues after consuming it.

This may or may not be the problem, but it couldn't hurt to experiment to see what happens. I think it also depends on the type of red food dye, but I don't remember which kind.

LadySmith08 · August 2011

Has his nap schedule changed? DD is a nightmare when she doesn't get her 2.5 hour nap. She acts the same way. When she gets her full nap she is back to my little angel.

ilovemygirls · August 2011

Getting close to 3- I think it's normal for his age. Both of my kids' behavior started getting really atrocious around then. Even my 2nd, who was my super mellow, sweet girl who I swore would never act terribly

It's just your warm up for the 3's- which are in most cases MUCH harder than 2's. Not that you shouldn't address it- he needs to learn that it's not acceptable- but there's a hard period of time where they just really have a hard time controlling themselves.

erbear · August 2011

It's 2.5. It sucks.

GoombaGirl_79 · August 2011

CarahN:
I have found that if my son gets something with a fair amount of red food dye in it, he behavior goes down the tubes.

I know my mom would not let me have purple or pink popcicles when I was a young kid for this reason. Also DS went absolutely CRAZY after we gave him some baby tylenol with the red colouring. I heard (from DS and his family) it can be an ADHD thing.. DH has it, diagnosed as a young child, and I most likely do as well I was just never checked on it. Not to worry or anything it's not that big of a deal, it's just something to be aware of Big Smile

Jen&Len · August 2011

Did your DD start to become mobile recently? DS became like that when DD started crawling and going towards his stuff. he would throw stuff and ruin stuff so she couldn't play with them.