hyperactive child!

[stressed out]

My 14 month old is really hyperactive and seems to do some kind of dance where he throws his head back and forth and i cringe everytime hoping he does'nt hit his head on any corners, or the floor!

Is this normal? What can i do to stop this?

Thanks

[guyaman]

hey stressed out, when you are playing with your kid do you wave toys about but never hold the toy still long enough for the kid to actually focus on it? i came across this through my job once and it had caused the kid to become hyper. not saying this is the answer of course, but does YOUR behavoiur make the kid hyper? something to think about...

[Hgrove]

I don't know if it is normal or not but my daughter used to do exactly the same, I have lost count of how many times she actually banged her head against the bedstead or wall even as she lay in bed!  I occasionally used to worry that she might get a bruise or black eye and we'd be accused of child abuse.  In fact she has not come to any harm although I could call myself stressed out too.

[ames]

he is probably doing it for attention so try to ignore him while he does this (as long as he is safe of course) and the chances are he will stop..fingers crossed hey!

[woofgang]

longshot here, but have you had your child screened for epilepsy?? I am probably wrong but its worth checking out

[stressed out]

Hi, thanks for all your answers, he could be doing it for attention but i agree with HGROVE when you said you worried if people thought you were "beating" the child, i feel the same! There's not one week that goes by when he does'nt have a bruise on one side of his forehead!

I was a bit worried though about the Epilepsy answer from WOOFGANG, i would hate it to be connected to this, maybe to be on the safe side i'll ask my g.p.

Thanks again x

[Chouchou]

Have you considered the possibility of teaching your child sign language for feelings and common items that he may be having trouble expressing to you?  They will learn sign language much faster than speach.  My daughter knew several signs from "Mommy" to "Juice" and she was relatively happy most of the time.  Maybe he's just frustrated that you don't know what he wants.

[nrmatth]

in my experience kids seem to go through a pre-two phase just after a year. our son does the opposite since he stands completely still with a blank look on his face (probably hoping he'll suddenly dissapear when he's in trouble). Now is a good time to consider training him in being sent to his room where you can better baby-proof a single area, and he can calm down and not get the attention he's looking for. don't let him out until he calms down ( catch that split second if you can or he might be in there forever) and make sure to give lot's of positive attention when he's done to show good behavior has rewards. then he'll learn his bad attention getting behavior just leaves him out of all the action. and soon just a threat will get him calmed down. but remember when sending a kid this young to their room, you need to pick them up and place them in there yourself for a few times. make sure you have the time when you start or it could turn out worse.