Strange Habit in Sleep.

Restless leg syndrome, twitches can be caused by too much of a certain mineral (electrolytes would be shown to be out of balance), nerve impulses are being stressed or pinched in that area where the nerve originates... many things that are not a simple 'habit' would be the underlying cause of this.

Hum, I'm not sure about that being a habit in his sleep? Sounds more like something neurological. I would mention it to the doctor.

No, I've never seen my kids do anything like that. And if I did see one of my kids doing that, I would take him to the pediatrician (or at least call the nurse's line to see if it is something that needs to be checked out). I would encourage the parents to talk to the doctor about it. It could be a nervous habit, but if he's doing it involuntarily (which, if he's doing it in his sleep, then it sounds like might be more than just a nervous habit), then it could be something else that would be a cause for concern. It's always a good idea to talk to the pediatrician about something like that, just to make sure it's not anything to be worried about.

My son's legs shake like this during sleep (which I discovered during a sleepless night when I shared a small tent with him on a boy scout camp out when he was about 13). At the time, I thought he was being hyper in his sleep, because he has ADHD. Later, at age 20, he was diagnosed with restless legs syndrome during a sleep study medical test.

He frequently shakes one of his legs while awake, to the point that we'll ask him to stop, because he's shaking the table, church pew, etc. (either leg, but usually just one at a time). He doesn't even realize he's doing it until we point it out, and then he can only stop while he's thinking about it, and resume shaking when his mind drifts. Before he got the restless legs diagnosis, I thought this was due to him channeling his hyperactivity into a smaller area of his body, instead of bouncing all over the room like he did as a young boy., kind of like a pinball. ;)

It would be good to have it checked by a neurologist to rule out more serious causes and to see if anything might help the situation. It might be affecting the quality of his sleep, which could be exacerbating the hyperactivity. It seems that being tired would slow these kids down, but instead, it seems to make them lose what little impulse control that have.

Sounds like restless leg syndrome. I had it when I was pregnant, and you move your feet/legs because of a nerve that's in hyper drive. In my case, it was pinched as my baby dropped andmy legs were ached all night. It was really hard to sleep.

No.

has the parents ever told the Pediatrician this?

That sounds like a twitch to me, my husband actually does this a couple of times a night. Twitches occur when a person is very tired. I don't think it's a cause for concern!

I don't think that is a sleep habit and I have never seen it in anyone.
I agree with busymommy b that it is a neuro thing.....

At 3 kids have no concept of "that's not normal" It could just be that he likes to wiggle his foot. I was always worried about every little thing with my daughter and started to realize that kids are just a little wierd. You don't need to throw a label on it. If it isn't affecting his daily life it will most likely work itself out. My kids both went through some twitchy phases, some kids stutter, hold their privates, go inside their own heads and listen to themselves chew, talk to imaginary friends. Seriously thats just kids.

I just noticed you have posted several times about somebody elses kids, do you have any of your own?? If not then the behaviors would definately seem way off because you might be judging him by adult standards. At 3 kids have melt downs. He should be able to have the skills to pick up his own food. It sounds like with all the back n forth in his life there is no stability and kids need structure. babycenter.com has milestones for each age with range of what is considered average/normal. It may give you a bit more insight.