Most toddlers will love doing things such as jumping on furniture or have trouble sitting still in one spot for very long. This does not usually mean that they have ADHD, and most health professionals will not give an ADHD diagnosis until the child is at least three years old, many waiting even longer. However, it is important to learn how to help a hyperactive toddler, especially because their behavior could potentially lead to injury. Early hyperactivity may also be a signal that your child could possibly show other symptoms of ADHD as they grow older that you would want to be on the look out for.

There are two key factors to remember about toddlers: they like attention, and they like to test their boundaries. Keeping those two things in mind, there are some powerful discipline techniques that may work in helping them become calmer.

Here are some things parents can do for a hyperactive toddler:

1. Avoid Negative Attention: This is the hardest thing to do, but it is also the most important. Many kids do not distinguish between positive and negative attention. You screaming “No! Stop Right this instant!” is effectively the same to them as “Great Job Kiddo!” It sounds strange, but to a young child, any attention from their parents is what they are looking for. With the exception of behaviors that are dangerous (IE: Jumping on the bed), it is best to ignore the behavior or it will become a game to them.

2. Praise Good Behavior: Anytime your child is being calm, non-aggressive, or waiting patiently be sure to praise them. Actions often speak louder than words, so a hug, kiss, or clapping hands may be more effective than telling a kid who may not have fully developed speaking skills “Good girl!”

3. Turn Off the TV: It’s best to keep television watching to a minimum, since children are often over stimulated by it or will grow restless after watching too much. While a 30 minute TV show once a day is a nice way to keep kids occupied while you rest or do another activity, you do not want to let them watch it more than that or have it on in the background while they are playing.

4. Exercise Your Kids: Many young children do not have enough outlets for burning off their energy which can cause them to be a little more hyperactive than you’d like! Make sure that everyday they have at least 30 minutes of time to burn that energy off. You can do exercises, race them in a big field, take them to the playground, or go swimming. Not only will this help them start early for having good physical fitness habits, but it will also help them productively use their energy.

5. Watch What They Eat: A balanced diet is important to kids growing up healthy. Often times, in both toddlers and adults, we do not eat healthy foods and will often get stuck in a cycle of sugar and carbs that causes spikes in our blood sugar. This can cause extreme hyperactivity or it can cause your kids to pass out, sometimes a cycle of both. Limit sugar intake, serve your children whole grains, and make sure their diet includes plenty of protein and vegetables as well. You can learn more about the daily food recommendation guidelines for toddlers, as well as yourself, by visiting mypyramid.gov.

6. Set Up a Routine: Setting up a routine is a lifesaver for many parents, as it helps their kids get on a set schedule. The typical toddler day doesn’t need to be planned from one minute to the next, but it will help immensely if you have clear routines in waking up and getting breakfast, when you play, when you have nap time, and other activities.

7. Keep Them Occupied: Boredom for many children often means they will get into trouble. Have activities planned that are suitable for their age level that gives them your positive attention, such as reading stories or playing imaginatively. When you will be doing things such as housework or other things where you can’t give them the one on one attention, have other things they can safely do. For example, if you are cooking dinner, you could give them some pots and pans and ask them to make up a song for you. You should also encourage your toddler to play on his or her own, doing things such as puzzles or building with blocks which may help give you some extra breathing time.

8. Be Consistent With Discipline: Discipline is very difficult for many parents, because it often needs to be consistent in order for it to work. It is best to do the ignoring of negative behavior and praise of good behavior, but there will be times when discipline is necessary, for example if the child hits or bites someone else. In those instances, time out is the best discipline. It should be done without fanfare or making a lot of commotion or even explaining to the child why they did was bad. Just pick them up and say for example “You hit your sister, time out” and then place them in a designated chair. Always use the same chair each and every time, which should ideally be a hard chair such as a kitchen seat and in a boring place. One minute per age of child is typically deemed appropriate. You may need to continuously place your child back in time out if he or she is resistant until the minutes are up.

Fortunately for most parents, a hyperactive toddler is not always something to be concerned about. If you are willing and able to do the above things for several weeks it is likely you will see a positive improvement in your child’s behavior gradually. If you are doing all of the above things and not seeing any improvement, or are concerned about your child’s hyperactivity, speaking to his or her pediatrician is a great place to start to find out what is considered normal child behavior for his or her age level, as well as what resources are available to parents for discipline support.

Have any thoughts on what parents should do if they need hyperactive toddler help? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

For parents of kids with an ADHD diagnosis, the most critical component of hyperactivity is that it is constant and consistent. You do not think that your kid is only sometimes overly energetic or active – you use the word always.

Children with extreme hyperactivity usually begin their day starting off with extreme energy. Parents might not even be fully awake enough to find the coffee pot and make themselves a cup of morning coffee and their child is acting as if he or she has already had about 6 cups of coffee. The hyperactivity continues through breakfast – he or she will not be able to sit still at the table while eating, often standing up or rocking the chair back and forth.  The child might talk excessively about many different things all at once. Most of us, even those who are “morning people”, do not have that type of energy the moment they wake up in the morning!

Throughout the day the hyperactivity will continue. A younger child or toddler will likely display behavior such as jumping up and down on furniture or running through room to room. Children in school will likely display signs of restlessness as they try to sit through class, and the restlessness may lead to other problems that disrupt the classroom. Even when children are engaged in physically demanding sports such as swimming or soccer and others they may not show any signs of wearing out.

By the end of the day, when parents are exhausted and you would think that your child should be ready to sleep, you may find that your hyperactive child cannot fall asleep. He or she may toss and turn in bed and even when routines are in place will lie awake restlessly until finally they simply can’t stay awake any longer. At that point, the child may be in such a deep sleep that very little will cause him or her to awaken, which is sometimes attributed to the belief that ADHD children are more prone to continue bed wetting until later ages in life than others.

Behavior like that described above is not just once a week or once a month thing for the ADHD child. What is described above is a “normal” day in the life of a hyperactive child – and it continues this way for quite some time before parents and teachers begin recognizing it as a problem and often before a licensed professional will give an evaluation and ADHD diagnosis. Days where the child does not act hyper are welcome breaks, but few and far in between.

Having a hyperactive child poses many things that need to be addressed for both parents and children. Parents might find themselves exasperated by the boundless energy and find themselves getting angry at the child or unable to deal with the constant demand for attention and redirection. Hyperactive behavior can also lead to injury if the child is doing things such as jumping on furniture or other reckless behavior.

So What Can Parents Do?

The first thing to do if you haven’t done so already, is to consult with a well qualified professional about your child’s behavior. No two children are alike, and many different things can cause a kid to display the symptoms of hyperactivity. Just because you think your son or daughter may be displaying some of the symptoms of ADHD does not necessarily mean he or she has it – many other things can cause similiar characteristics.

Your pediatrician should be able to give you referrals for different behavioral health specialists in your area. Other tremendous resources include your state or county’s department of child welfare or medical assistance office. Several areas have programs that can provide you with services at little to no cost as well as a caseworker who will help coordinate services and help you make a decision on what is best for your child. You can expect to receive an evaluation of behavioral and emotional factors which if leads to a diagnosis of ADHD will then lead to creating a treatment plan for helping you regain control of your life.

There is a lot of different controversy about the many different treatments and remedies available for ADHD. Despite what the media would make you believe, medication is often a last ditch resort after many months of cognitive behavior therapy seems to prove ineffective. Medication does have its place for treating the problem, but it cannot be considered a “cure” since the child will still need to learn ways to cope with behavior. Children under the age of 6 diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are very rarely placed on medications.

There are also an array of alternative treatments, such as experimenting with diet or taking different vitamin supplements. Again, these also meet quite a bit of controversy and opposition, especially amongst medical professionals. Lacking well documented studies and research also contributes to confusion on what is actually effective in treating the disorder.

With or without medication, it is crucial for parents to seek different skill building activities with the child to help him or her control the energy and channel it into productive and positive activities. A behavioral therapist will be able to suggest different relaxation activities and calming techniques that you can do in conjunction with therapy or medication that over time will help show improvement.

It’s also very important that as a parent you seek the support that you need as an individual. It can be very demanding to have a child that is constantly full of boundless energy. Speaking to your own counselor for ways you can cope and find peace will not only help you but also help your child. Parents should also be sure to get much needed breaks and time for themselves in order to avoid becoming resentful or depressed.

If you are concerned about your hyperactive child, the best thing you can do is talk to a professional in your area about his or her behavior. The worst that can happen is that you do absolutely nothing and the problem escalates to larger issues that may be more difficult to fix later on. While there’s no instant cure for decreasing hyperactivity, there is plenty of help and support for the parents of a hyperactive child.