2.5 year old----how do I know if overstimulated?

[Sima]

My lo has always been overstimulated extremely easily since newborn. 
Now she is so much older, 2.5, and she still naps 45 min naps when overstimulated.  Especially I noticed this when windown is short before nap time.  She is very alert and sensitive to surrounding but not very active.

How do I know what is too much stimulation and how long should pre-nap windown should be?  Thanks.

[becky1969]

There's really no hard and fast rule about this stuff.  It's all trial and error since every child is different.  Most toddlers don't have much of an issue with OS. Or I should say it's much *harder* for them to get OS than it is for a baby.  But you sound like you have a sensitive soul, which I also have.  They are incredible kids! But they can get pretty wound up by the things that they observe/experience in their world.

Since you know your kid, you can probably gauge the types of things that lead to OS.  With toddlers, having difficulty making transitions  can also be a problem.  I've found with my son that once he turned about 2 it was VERY important to give him a countdown until nap/bedtime "10 minutes until bed! 5 minutes until bed! 3 minutes!" etc. etc.  Knowing it's coming helps him to start making the transition. 

Our wind down has gotten longer too with time as he needs more time to get the wiggles out and make the mental adjustment from activity to sleep.  To lengthen ours we've added in more story books, and with toddlers there's usually also more hygiene activities since they actually get DIRTY unlike babies! LOL!

No real answer to this except just watch your child and give plenty of time to transition from activity to sleep.  If you really think OS is a problem, then low lights and quiet are probably important elements of your wind down.

[Sima]

Becky, thanks!  I tried doing longer wind down and it worked--insted of 45 min naps she took 1.15 nap.  So yes, she is a very sensitive toddler.  Is there any information about sensitive toddlers?
My lo since newborn had a very difficult time winding down to sleep...took hours to do so and would scream her head off.  Was your son like this too?
Thanks for advice!

[becky1969]

We have a sensitive child support thread somewhere -- maybe Activity board? or Toddler board?  But it isn't very active.  I'll search around and see if I can find it.

My son had trouble winding down if activities were too OS before sleep.  At this age he doesn't have that trouble anymore b/c he's also textbook so his sleep ritual is VERY soothing to him.  It immediately puts him in the mood to sleep.  However, we've found that he needs lots of warning that nap/bedtime is coming.  Like I said above, we have to set a timer and also give verbal warnings.  If we don't do that then he really has trouble transitioning.

There's a great book called "The Highly Sensitive Child" by I believe Elaine Arron (may have misspelled the last name).  I think she also has a website where you can take a quiz to determine if your child is indeed highly sensitive.  If he is, then i highly recommend her book.  Lots of great ideas on how to deal with HSC and also why they are the way they are and how they experience the world.  So helpful!  Both my DH & I test borderline for being HS adults, so on some level I can relate to my son.  But he's MUCH more sensitive than both of us, so I had a tendency to get impatient with him sometimes when he was reluctant to try a new thing or was fearful so much of the time.  After reading the book I had a much better appreciation for his point of view and it's helped me be a better mommy to him.

[deb]

You might also want to try some gentle but firm squeezing pressure on his joints before sleep time. It's pressure, not at all tickly, and if you go too lightly it WILL feel tickly to many people, to firm squeezes usually work best for this. I would start at J's feet and work my way to ankles, then knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers (one whole handful of fingers at a time, then thumb separately). It really seemed to help "ground" her, and even now we still do this at bedtime.

[becky1969]

That's what our OT has us do! Deb,you're brilliant! It has a fancy name, but essentially it helps tone down the nervous system so they're not as reactive.  You can also do that when you're in new situations that tend to be stressful for LO.  We do it before birthday parties or else my son is terrified!

[deb]

The Wilbarger Protocol. Sounds like a nuclear bomb test or something....

[Sima]

Thank you so much for your input!!! I really will use the pressure pts and also read the book recommended!!!! (((hugs))