10-Month Old - Just "Boy" Energy?

I also have a boy (4.5yo) and a girl (21mo) who are complete opposites besides the gender! However, everything you're describing is normal KID behavior, not necessarily BOY energy :) You just have to find a way to gently stem his strength. After all, HE doesn't know how strong he is :) And throwing a fit when you take something away? My son still does that, and he's 4.5! Normal.....

I feel you...my first born WAS my gentle, quiet daughter and my second born is my very destructive and fearless little explorer. I was NOT warned or prepared at all for him. They are complete opposites as infants and toddlers. Now that my daughter is four she is having a blast chasing my son and being just as wild as he. My new battle is his climbing and escaping his crib. He will be 17 months old. Maybe just a heads up to you to safety proof his room incase he escapes his crib soon too. He sounds just a curious as my son! :)

Good luck!

"NO" and remove object. "we don't hit". over and over and over again "we don't hit". your daughter spoiled you! lol. it is okay to be firm with a 10 month old. once he realizes that that bahavior does not get good results (removing him from your lap, stopping play time, etc) he will learn that good behavior brings him the attention he wants. my son was not interested in books at this age either - he was closer to three honestly. he just wouldn't sit still for them.

but i wouldn't "blame" this on gender. it's just who he is. it doesn't matter why.

I have a 3 year old boy. He did everything you described and is still very hard to control. So, I guess my advice is to work with your son now. However, that's much easier said than done. I definitely tried to show my son how to be gentle. My neighbor would constantly take him arm and pat it and tell him "gentle". It's still a work in progress. My son even bit a kid at day care at 10 months old. He wouldn't do that now, but he does hit and throw things.
If something is taken away, try replacing it with something else he might like. I know, it doesn't always work, but sometimes it has helped. I also read a lot of the board books to my son. They're much more durable.

It is their personalities... my two boys, seven years apart, were (and still are) just total opposites.

But as to how you handle it, try distraction. If he starts to tear up a book, as you take it away from him, quickly and firmly, saying "Oh, no, no, we don't tear up books," you swing him around and point at whatever you see, and immediately launch cheerfully into another subject, for example, "Oh, look at the kitty!! Look at the kitty in the yard!! What's that kitty doing?!!" And you continue until he has forgotten the book and is involved in something less destructive.

Or you take the book, and ignoring his shrieks, swoop him up and carry him out of the room, cheerfully chatting about what to do next, for example, "Oh, no, no, we don't tear up books! Let's go find some construction paper we can tear up and make pictures with, don't you think that might be a good thing to do?!!" Just keep talking cheerfully, and setting up a situation where he can use that "tearing up" energy, but use it on something appropriate.

And you CANNOT allow him to injure his sister or "smash a toy on your head," or anything like that. You just have to stop that stuff right away, fit or no fit. If you stop him and he starts "having a fit," let him holler. Don't argue or explain, other than to say "No, that hurts, and you cannot hurt other people," or "No, that might hurt your sister, and you cannot hurt other people," so that he understands that there will be no tolerance for this kind of behavior. Then look around for something to serve as a distraction.

Not a gender thing in my opinion, just his personality. I have a 4 year old daughter that is (and always has been) a ball of energy from the moment she wakes up in the morning until we make her go to sleep at night.

My best friend had a girl like your daughter and as she watched my first born son crash around she assured me that if I had a daughter it would be completely different - turned out, not so much. Daughter was just as physical as her brother, just in a slightly different way (things didn't explode apart quite the same way with her, but she spent her first couple years with a constantly split lip - lol). My third, a boy, was high energy, but much more easy going and much less distructive than the first two, so I think it's a boy/girl and personality thing as well.

As for harnessing that energy - just try to stay calm, read in his down moments, give him chewable books and repeat yourself a lot - "nothing should hit heads", "look with your eyes, not with your hands", etc - for the next 10 years or so. You have the right attitude - keep that going. At older ages behavior charts that emphasize positive behavior and rewards. When he gets to school don't let the teachers fixate on the high energy and remind them of his positive qualities!

Kari's response reminds me that we did pick a few things that we really enforced. I am very dependent on my glasses, they're very expensive and take a long time to make. Grabbing mom's glasses brought out serious reprimands - think about how you enforce not stepping in the street! All three kids could manage to follow a handful of those kind of rules.

He is just 10 months old - but sounds like his behavior is off the charts. I would think punishment that would make a dent in what he wants (not to hurt him - just delay the gratification).
Hope this helps!

I have two boys who are so sweet and I love them with all of my heart... a 5 year old and a 2 year old. To answer your question, boys can be very different. I have friends with daughters and they never have attempted half of the stuff their boys have tried. The things my sons do make me cringe sometime because they are so rambumctious. My 5 year old is a nice little guy, but he is like his Mom in that he is sort of clumbsy. He loves to run, jump, play, climb and usually hurts himself or at the very least rips his clothes. My 2 year old is even crazier. He is very careful, but he climbs and climbs and grabs and spins and climbs and then to finish it off he will shove two tooth brushes down the toilet. It is nuts in our house. But I am getting used to it. They are awesome kids just boys to the core. Good luck and have fun!

Just be patient with him. He isn't old enough to have patience. Keep repeating your your directions and stopping his behavior (ie take the toy away etc.). THey will start to sink in one day - just not for the next several months. It is important that he is corrected consistantly even if it doesn't seem to have much effect right now. When he's a little older you can start time outs or other consequences. As far as books, he can't sit still to read them but it's good that he likes them. I would get a bunch of thrift store books that he can explore (ie throw, chew, rip pages etc.) for awhile. WHen you do try to read to him with the "good" books, hold them far enough away that he can't readily reach them. He is still exploring his environment. He wants to know what happens if he pulls on the pages of a book (rip!). Both my boy and my girl are rambunctious. The only difference is that my girl has an innate love of books and could sit still for them at an earlier age. But she definately keeps up with her older brother! Actually my son is my cuddly one when he's tired, sad or sick. My daughter is NOT. She can't stop moving or get comfortable. She doesn't like to be patted or back rubbed or anything, even when sick. Took me by surprise - I thought girls were the cuddly ones! There is some truth to the gender thing - boys are always high energy. Girls can be more calm but not necessarily! Make sure you take him to parks and do active things to wear him out. As he gets older, enroll him in sports that he likes. Unused energy will get boys into trouble! Enjoy your bundle of energy!

AHH, my 9 month old (boy) has started grabbing and pulling at our faces, hair, sticking fingers up our noses, in our eyes, ect. I just said to DH today that it's gotta stop before he is old enough to hurt another little kid. Right now he doesn't have kids his age to play with and I don't have sympathy if my 8-12 year old big kids can't move away and let him do it to them. No advice, but after 2 boys and then a very quiet little girl, and 8 years time, I have no idea what I'm doing with this boy,lol. He sure is a lot of fun though. We spend way to much time laughing cause he's so darn cute and not nearly enough time addressing the fact that he can be a monster.