Hyper Active 2 Year Old

Hello there! Rebounding (mini trampoline)! Google this to see all the benefits! I bought one for my very active 3 year old and it is wonderful!

K.

Hello ~

Two activities taht work really well for super-active kids are 1) swinging and 2) water play.

Swinging helps sort of re-set the brain and calm kids down. Don't be afraid to push them fairly high (as longa s they are safe) and really let them swing!

Any kind of water play (pool, bath, sprinkler) is super helpful too.

There is some brain research behind this, but it's long and involved. Good enough to know it works!

L.

Hi, we have a 5 yr old who is very hyperactive, and doesn't stay focused very long and gets easily distracted. There is a game called Hullabaloo by cranium that really helped Alex. Its a dvd game that helps them learn colors shapes and animals, but they have to jump around and hop around these shapes that you place all over the floor. it uses alot of energy and she would learn the shapes and colors pretty fast.

my daughter is also almost 2 and very active. we take lots of walks and alternate running while saying running over and over and then suddenly slowing to a walk and saying walking over and over. Also if you have access to a small trampoline (like the little exercise ones) you can play a counting game on it. EX...Jump three times (maybe help her jump big and help count with her) etc.

As for disciplining I've found that most times Lily is "naughty" or especially if she starts to be aggressive it's becuase she's tired or overstimulated. I've found that holding time-outs work really well. I tell her it's time for a timeout and then we sit and I hold her on my lap with my arms wrapped around her tight enough so she can't move. Don't squeeze, you don't want to hurt her, just til she won't be able to move her arms and legs then lock your muscles. Just to warn you this is best done in a separate room from the stimulus and she will freak out for a bit. Just keep calm, you can calmly soothe her with words if you find this helps her settle down. Let her quiet down and then wait about 30 sec. or so. then you can briefly explain that she needs to be nice/gentle/ quiet...whatever was the behavior that was being corrected. Then give loves and maybe have her say sorry to you or whoever she was "being mean" to and then let her go. If she's tired and overstimulated sometimes just putting her in a playpen or crib with a couple (2-3 you don't want to feed the stimulation) toys will get her calmed down enough that she will go to sleep. Hope this is helpful. ~A.

I agree with the trampoline idea. The cold winters in Anchorage doesn't allow for much outdoor time, so we got a Galt trampoline at Over the Rainbow for our 2 year old at Christmas. She will jump on it while watching Dora, or one of our favorite things to do is sing the alphabet song while she jumps. It is a great energy user.

My daughter now 5 was also super active(hyper at 2). I started taking her swimming two to three times a week at our community pool. We did a parent/child class at one then we tried the goldfish class(first instructor course). But at two they just wander and don't quite have the attention span. So, we did family swim together. I took her to the park everyday. We ran on the baseball field. We would take turns chasing each other. We shouted out the bases as we passed them. We took soft balls(nerf type) to throw and play catch. Our community center had a daily playpark in the gym that was really fun. What seemed to be the best for both of us was taking long walks(with stroller if needed) and looking at nature. Running and chasing each other was fun and tiring. Good luck.

We had a mini trampoline for my son. Sometimes he bounced on it himself (with close supervision of course) or I would bounce with him. Sometimes I would count the bounces by doing letters or numbers and eventually she'll start doing it too. He's 7 now and sometimes I tell him to go bounce on it when he has extra energy.

First of all turn off the TV; it only breeds more hyperactivity and short attention spans. Second, child proof the house such that she can't hurt anything or herself (put up or away anything you don't want broken, and lock cupboards she is not welcome in) then let her have free reign to explore. Using objects for play (like wooden spoons, pans, empty oatmeal canisters, etc) inspires the greatest creativity. And third, read read read to her, thirty minutes a day.

I had a very active two year old at one time who remained that way for many years. He turned into a driven, hard working athletic guy, who has done well in his life. My favorite light discipline activity for him was to go out in the front with him and have him run to the corner (about 3 houses) and back 3-4 times. He actually liked it and it helped him get out some of his squiggles. I did this when he he seemed to not be able to stop himself from doing aomething...it seemed like he just needed to burn more energy than he could sometimes.

Amy

A little about me: I am an early forties mom to 6 children 24, 23, 21, 19, 16, and 2.5

My 2.5 year old boy is very active too! He loves to play outside. When he stays with my mother-in-law, she has him help her with all sorts of "chores" that he thinks are his big jobs! They include walking to the mailbox (or jumping/hopping on really active days!), gathering eggs from the chickens, feeding the pets, weeding, raking, painting (he has no paint on his brush while she has paint), unloading the dishwasher, doing laundry, vaccumming, cooking, etc. He loves these activities as they help him feel useful and I love them because I can teach him about all the things that a busy mom does! You can find all sorts of ways to get them to burn energy while doing these chores. Laundry is great, send her with one pair of socks to her room to put away and have her hop all the way there! Then she can come back for another pair!

Also, there may be a gym or play park near your home where you both can go and practice jumping like a frog, running like a jaguar, hopping like a bunny, trotting like a horse, climbing like a monkey, marching like a soldier, crawling like a baby, walking like a crab or a bear. Practicing the animal sounds while doing the moves is a lot of fun for little ones too!

Dancing is also great. You can do this at home, or by joining a kindermusik type class.

As the daughter of a kindergarten teacher, the more creative ways you can help your child learn while getting some of that energy out and teaching constructive ways to use that seemingly endless energy before she reaches school age, the better!!!

Good luck! I hope these ideas help!!

I have a very active three year old, she was even more so at 2! She loves playing dress up, which teaches her about colors, fabrics, matching, and burns some energy "modeling" for us. There's a really fun game called elefun during which they have to run and catch "butterflies", which teaches her counting, colors, and helps with hand-eye coordination. She also has a few favorite cds that we have "dance party" to! Exercise for both of us! There's a dvd called mom/toddler workout at target I've been thinking about getting too.

I have her help me load and unload the dishwasher and laundry, which keeps her occupied, somewhat active,with me, and also teaches counting, colors, whose clothes are whose, and responsibility. We also recently started a chore chart, where she gets stickers toward a reward. We've included simple pictures of her chores, which are all age appropriate:helping with the baby, brush teeth, go potty, bath, pick up toys, help with laundry, dishes. She gets really excited, last night after brushing her teeth she told daddy, "I get a sticker!"

Hi T.
What worked for my kids was to give them Cafene like in Coffee or tea. It works like ridlin in it's effect. It calms down hyper activity. Cut out white prosessed sugars and bad carbs. for snacks, fruit or vegies or jerckie, NO pop or prosessed sweat drinks. Look for food alergies and things around the house like soaps and cleaning things, look for mold and milldew or heavy metal like led, merqurey or other toxins. Start a behavyour LOG to see it there is a pattern and a caus and effect.

I hope this helps

When my youngest son was two, I enrolled him in a gymnastics class at Little Gym of Anchorage (now Aurora Kids), down on Huffman and the Old Seward. It was a great place for him to run and play, and also provided a context for him to learn about following instructions and the give-and-take of sharing with other kids. Another benefit was that he learned how to land safely when he jumped off of things -- like his dresser at home!

Raising a sensory smart child ( lindsey Biel M.A., OTR/L and Nancy Peske)is an awsome book that deals w/ stimulating (both motor and sensory) needs it also adresses attention to kids who do not like a lot of stimulation.
Heavy work, like dragging a laundry basket full of clothes or helping organize a pantry of canned goods, swinging on a swing set all are great for propreceptive (large muscle groups) movement and stimulates endorphins & seratonin to the brain which in turn makes the child (or adult) feel better, happier, calmer.

Hope that helps,
Take good care,
H.

you could have races/obstacle courses.

My older son was hyperactive also, and I'm not lying when I say he was a joy to have around. Yes he wore me out, but his energy and optimism were contagious! Your daughter isn't too young to start learning sports, and that'll be the greatest outlet for all that excess energy. Get a little soccer ball and just kick it back and forth...or a little basketball and pass it and dribble it. Also, watch what sorts of foods she gets hold of...there's some food dyes and things that make hyper kids worse. We used to give him a little caffeine...it works just like giving hyper kids stimulants to calm them, but it doesn't give them the side effects medications do.