Is Your Child Too Active and Noisy?

Temper tantrums are not usually anything to worry about. They're a way of expressing frustration and most children have them in their early years (from age one to four). They can be loud and violent, and it's normal to find them offensive or upsetting and discomforting.

Sometimes, if you can tell your child is about to have a tantrum, you may be able to distract her by getting her to look at something or giving a favorite toy: distract the attention from the cause of bad temper.

Excitability

Young children, especially those aged five and below, are often energetic, noisy and excitable. Usually this liveliness is quite normal.

Sometimes, active and noisy children can be quite a handful, talking all the time, not doing as they're told and seeming very restless. This kind of overactive actions is more usual among boys. Although this can be hard to deal with, it's only when a child's behavior is extreme that it suggests a behavioral disorder.

Naughtiness

All children are naughty - scribbling on walls, fighting with siblings, cheekiness and ignoring requests are all part and parcel of growing up. Sometimes this behavior is isolated to one-off incidents, or it may be a phase your child is going through.

Naughty behavior may be caused by your child testing your reaction to find out what's allowed or triggered by a change in her environment (eg worries about school). It may be down to jealousy of a sibling or it may be a way to attract your attention. You should pay attention on things that may somehow disturb your youngster.

Whether naughtiness is a problem depends on how long it's been going on, how severe it is and when (how often) it happens. Constant hostility, defiance and disobedience can be a sign your child suffers from oppositional defiant disorder or more seriously, conduct disorder.

What affects a child's behavior?

Many different things have an impact on a child's behavior:

Genes

Remember that some children are naturally more lively and excitable than others. They may be easily distracted and enjoy company rather than spending time on their own. Although boisterous and overexcited, you'll usually be able to control their behavior.

School

You may notice a change in your child's behavior when she starts school. If your child has problems learning things or is slower in picking things up, this can affect her behavior. Reading problems can also make it hard to complete tasks or follow instructions.

Parental behavior.

Problems are a part of everyday life, but if you are unhappy and absorbed in dealing with them, it will affect the time you spend with your child. To counteracting this, your child may try to attract attention through noisy behavior. Actually it happens too often.

If it isn't clear to your child what is and isn't allowed, it can result in difficult behavior. This is because rules let your child know you don't like a certain type of conduct.

Clear, consistent rules will help your child learn to control her own behavior. So if you're a two-parent family, you and your partner need to agree on the restrictions.

If you're a working parent, it's also something that needs discussing with your child's carers.

Sensitivity to food or medicine

There's no doubt food can affect the way we feel. You may notice certain foods affect your child's behavior. If you're concerned about your child's diet, you should ask your GP or a dietician for advice. All children need a healthy balanced diet.

Medicines can also affect the behavior of some children.

• Some asthma medications may sometimes make a child hyperactive, irritable or unable to sleep for a short time.

• Travel sickness medicines and antihistamines have the potential to make children either drowsy or overactive.

• Children may feel irritable following vaccines or if a medicine has caused a headache.

If you think any medicine is making your child behave differently, talk to your GP. It may be that your child's activities are unrelated to the medicine, but if it is, your GP may be able to suggest an alternative treatment.

Medical problems

Certain medical conditions can influence your child's behavior:

• Epileptic seizures can cause a child to become drowsy, impairing their attention. Epilepsy can also cause unusual behavior and lead to abnormal perceptions.

• Hearing problems such as deafness or glue ear can make it hard for a child to follow instructions. Sometimes, not hearing what's been said can be mistaken for not doing what you're told.

• Tourette's syndrome involves repetitive, involuntary jerking movements of the body and sudden outbursts of noise or swearing.

• Autism and Asperger's syndrome often lead to difficulties in understanding and using language.

• Depression and anxiety disorders can cause poor concentration, irritability and restlessness.

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a medical condition that should only be diagnosed by a specialist.

Parents often say their children are hyperactive, but ADHD is more than just boisterous behavior. To know for sure your child hasn't it you should consult your doctor.

Coping with difficult behavior

Tantrums

When your child has a tantrum, the best thing is to stay calm. This can be very testing, especially if the tantrum takes place in public.

Try to ignore the tantrum, because if you react or give in to what your child wants, she will think throwing a tantrum is a good way to get her own way. Continue to behave like nothing happened and after first attacks of this conduct explain simple that that is no way to get anything by such things.

When your child starts to calm down and behave better, remember to praise the good behavior. This will help to stop your child starting the tantrum again and show her the type of behavior you approve.

Excitability

If your child is excitable and you'd like to get her to calm down, show her some different ways to spend some quiet time. Maybe she could draw, read or make something.

You could plan some quiet time during each day, as well as a chance for her to run around and be noisy if she's full of beans.

When your child spends time playing quietly, remember to praise her for doing it and admire what she draws or makes in that time.

Naughtiness

Although you can't expect your child to be well behaved all the time, consistency in discipline, praise for good behavior and giving attention can improve conduct.

Getting help

If you're concerned about your child's behavior, talk to your GP or health visitor. They may be able to advise you about ways to improve your kid's behavior. Health visitors, especially, are used to dealing with such problems.

Your GP will be able to rule out many of the medical causes for behavioral problems. Depending on the nature of your child's difficulty, she may decide to refer your child to a specialist.

Talking to and getting advice from other parents is also a great way to let off steam and combat isolation if your child is seen as naughty or difficult.