Sitting still for 22 month olds?

We went and had the boys hearing checked (they are both fine) and the hearing guy commented that because the boys were so active we should get them checked by a pediatrician. Here in Canada, we don't normally go to a pediatrician unless you are referred by your general doctor, but I digress.

The boys sit still fine when they read a book, play with toys or watch a movie, but they hate to sit still on our laps if there is no entertainment - they just seem to want to explore and see/touch everything - but have never broke anything. I'm not sure if I'm making sense. Anyways, they are almost 22 months and I thought this was normal. I have asked friends and they also thought that kids this age don't sit still for long.

I guess my questions are these: if your kids sit still, for how long? Have they always done this? How do I get them to sit still for longer than a couple of minutes? Anyone????

Holly

 

Holly, I understand your dilemma. I think sitting still is something that has to be trained. and we are so far from achieving this goal. some kids are just natural cuddlers - like rachel - and will sit still in your lap for hours. Others - like Alexis - go thru life as if they are on a roller coaster or steam roller or locomotive -- they will hardly stop for anything.

i would say that both of my girls are not able to sit still in my lap with no entertainment unless they are very tired. . . during the next 2 yrs, i do want to train them to sit still for short periods of time so that they can sit in church quietly for a 30 minute sermon. i plan on accomplishing this by doing "blanket time", which means stay on the blanket and play for this amount of time with these 2-3 toys. They already do this for 20+ min. Now I need to cut it down to 1 toy. then I will decrease the amt of time on the blanket and do it with no toys. I will train them to sit quietly with nothing, gradually increasing the time. Hopefully in the process I won't go crazy. But I will role play it alot and at least try.

 

I think that is totally normal behaviour for 22 months old. My kids would never sit still for 30 seconds at that age. If u were worried before I would get them checked. If not I would discard wot the hearing guy said.



amanda

 

Holly, then my kids are totally wacked because they hardly sit still when reading a book!!! I call them the wiggle worms! Sounds totally normal to me!!

 

Ummm...totally normal behavior. This "hearing guy" (I'm assuming an audiologist...I'm an audiologist ) must not have children.

 

Totally normal. Between 15-22 months, it seemed that our boys would not sit still. Especially Luke!! Slowly, things improved with maturity. Ben got there faster. For the longest time, I would take only Ben to church because he could handle sitting still for the hour.

Every 6 months, I think to myself...."wow things have really gotten better". Going out to restaurants is now so much more enjoyable. Their attention spans and ability to focus has grown tremendously. For Luke, there has been the biggest improvement since age 3. He still has ants in his pants but he is able to listen better now. I'm similar....I hate to sit too long. I start wiggling my foot, etc. I guess too much nervous energy. I like to be on the go.

 

Sounds normal to me. Ainsley is more of a lap sitter, she likes to cuddle. But Bea will not sit on my lap quietly unless she's really tired or not feeling well. Otherwise, she is up and down, wants to be tickled, tossed around, flipped upside down, etc.