Activity Time for a Spirited Little Guy

[ethan david's mommy]

I hope that someone else has the same issues and can shed some light for me!  My almost 10 month old little guy is very spirited.  He does not sit still EVER!  (Well, that's not quite true!  He will when he's having a poop!!!!!)  I'm just a little concerned because I don't know any other babies like him!  He doesn't like to be held unless it's on his terms. But then even when you pick him up you have to be moving so he can grab or touch things or he squirms or throws a fit!  He doesn't like to be read to, except for Robert Munsch's book "Mortimer." And all I've read about is how important it is to read to your kids for language development!  Apparently he is supposed to be saying "mama" or "dada" by now and he isn't. The other concern that I have is that he doesn't really "play" with toys.  Sometimes he picks them up and looks at them before they go into his mouth for 30 seconds, but then he drops them and prefers to crawl around and climb on anything he can.  (We seriously are going to have a file on us at the Emergency room, I'm sure!!! )  Isn't he supposed to be at least sort of interested in playing with toys?  Most of the other kids I know are!  He also seems to have become much more impatient lately and has meltdowns when things aren't done exactly when he wants them.  Anyone else in the same boat?  Is this normal?  How do you play with yours?  Is there anything we can do to sort of calm them down?  Thanks.

[maggieruth]

hello!  i can't really claim a lot of knowledge on spirited babies (my son is more textbook, except when it comes to sleep) and hope that someone else can provide some extra insight there.
what i can say as a paediatric OT is that although his interests are VERY movement oriented, at least your little one has interests.  climbing and moving are problem solving and require some good skills!  we all have certain areas of interest and leave out some activities in favour of others, it just sounds like your son is VERY focused on moving about!
can you read a book with actions? rhymes? or sing songs with actions? that may keep your lo still for a wee while...
what about playing with toys by hiding them or making him work to get them?  or even a toy that he can chase or follow (a ball, a car)
or a toy that takes advantage of his desire to move with close supervision? a rocking horse?  a riding toy?
would your son let you give him tight cuddles? squish him (chest, tummy and legs) between some pillows?  these kind of things provide deep pressure and can calm kids down...
what is his environment like?  does he calm down better when the lights are more dim, there is no background noise, there are less toys out?
i hope some of these ideas are helpful and that you get some more posts! sounds like you are busy!  good luck 
you sound like you are kept "on the move"

[Deb_in_oz]

unfortunately i am in the same boat as you - and i have a spirited girl - she is giving me a clue what a stereotypical little boy is like - as you described SUPER-active, feisty etc

on the book thing - i posted a thread about this one a while back - we have almost no chance to read to her.  Dh has had some success on occassion getting her to sit as part of his windown but i have never ooncehad success.   she likes to play with books and has some favourites (a few with texture etc) but mostly folds them back the wrong way (we will end up witha stack of broken books but try to take it from her and be met with the wraith of...) if she is enjoying lookig at Goodnight Moon and i try to read it to her or turn the pages she pitches a fit - she only has CERTAIN pages she likes so gets upset if i try to read the rest or turn to another page. sh will hit at me and cry out yelling (i canimagine she is saying back off lady i was playing just fine)


this is a big change from our 1st who we read to at every nao and bedtime from 6 mo and to this day reads a dozen books a day begging for more stories at bedtime... and not as a stalling tactic but genuine love of books.  i just readto her while liv is in the room and hope that she gets the benefit too.  i suggest you do the same (i read to liv even whileshe plays - who knows one day she might just crawl over and sit and listen  )


olivia is also a crawler/climber/active girl.  she seems fearless and will roll (on purpose) right off our bed into Dhs arms to catch her (gives me a heart attack) and will crawl right our our back door to our deck (which is a a full step down and she just goes straight out and lands on the deck and carries on crawling)

while she does enjoy playing with toys she does not sit too long with any one toy and loves to bash things together and shake them and explore etc.  not sure what toys you have on hand but some things she has loved: stacking rings, peak--blocks, stuffed toys that she can bite, thrash around and exploire with, DVDs - she loves to watch her big sister's shows + BE, things that move - cars, trucks, trains; balls of all sizes, a shopping basketwith plastic food and bits, toy phones and our real one (cannot make a call without her yelling for the phone) and plastic blocks.

He also seems to have become much more impatient lately and has meltdowns when things aren't done exactly when he wants them

this is the story of my life right now and seems to have started just after she turned 10 mo old. i posted about spirited toddlers 12-24 mo seeking advice but did not get too much feedback yet. i am not sure how to handle this and it is driving me mad. we are also having an insane level of separation anxiety and she pitches a fit if anyone leaves her sight/goes outside/closes a door. it is mostly an issue of urgency and she gets so upset so fast - if you find anythign that helps please let me know as i feel alone on this one and it is nice to hear that it is not just an "Olivia thing"

[SophieB]

Hi there - my spirited / textbook lo wouldn't be read to at 10 months, either, but was happy to 'look at' (i.e. destroy) her books by herself.  Suddenly a month or so ago, she started bringing books to me to read to her.

It may just be an age thing, I'm not sure.  She's still pretty active during the day, but suddenly seems to enjoy sitting quietly and reading or chatting with me more than she used to.

[ethan david's mommy]

Thanks so much for the responses and letting me know I'm not the only one going through this!!!

MaggieRuth,  it doesn't seem to matter what kind of environment he is in.  The best way to describe him is super hyper!  I've tried the action songs - he'll let me do it once (maybe) and then he flips because he wants to do whatever he wants to do.

Debinoz, Ethan sounds just like your Olivia where reading is concerned! We'll have a bunch of destroyed books too, as he pulls and pushes and does anything to get the book away or to just turn the pages as fast as he can.  He also just likes to bang and shake things, but even that only lasts a minute or two.  I wasn't sure if he was going through the separation anxiety too, but it sounds like what you say happens with Olivia.  He doesn't like to be alone in a room.  The one thing I can say about him is that he has always been a good sleeper.  We had maybe two weeks or so at the beginning where we had to sort of jiggle him to sleep, but for the most part he has been great.  Lately though, for his naps, when  you put him in his crib and turn to leave the room he immediately starts crying and stands and jumps in his crib.  There is NO way he will go to sleep unless you are there jiggling him.  And when he wakes up he starts screaming almost immediately.  I'll keep you posted on this issue.

SophieB, I'm glad to hear that your daughter eventually started enjoying the reading bit.  I really hope that eventually Ethan will too, because I almost feel like he's being deprived!

I'm also wondering about the whole talking/babbling thing.  When did your LO's start?  Ethan will babble occaisionally, but not all the time.  And he's definitely not saying anything remotely recognizable yet.   

Does the worry that you feel over every little thing ever go away? :roll: