Hi. Does anyone have any advice that will help me make my 3 preschool-aged children (ages 5 1/2 year old boy; twins girl/boy who are 3 1/2 years old) mind. We left a Domestic Violence Shelter on January 15 and moved into our own apartment, problem is that we have downstairs neighbors and the 3 little ones won't walk. I have tried talking to them about it; wording don't walk in different ways; basically everything I can think of. I'm at a loss. The neighbors have complained 2 times in 3 weeks. I also have a teenage daughter who lives with me full-time and a teenage son who is with me every other weekend. I never had these types of problems with the older children as we lived in a house when they were little. I would appreciate any advice so I'm not stressing about this, I have posts in other areas of this sight that details all I am going through right now in addition to this. Thanks.

I just saw this, you may already have an answer, but I recommend reading "How to behave so your Preschooler will too" by Sal Severe. I checked it out from the library, and it is the BEST parenting advice I've gotten. It has good ideas on how to effect positive change in preschoolers' behavior; I've found it very helpful.

On the other hand, it's possible that they're just being normal 2 year olds, and that your neighbors are expecting too much. You can't expect a 3 yr old to be as calm and quiet as an adult. If it's age-appropriate behavior, then go ahead and try to teach your kids to behave more quietly, but don't let your neighbors make you think that they're doing anything wrong. Kids are kids, and IMO, running in the house is one of the more minor behaviors we need to correct... although once one of them falls or runs into something, perhaps they'll stop running

My son is 3.5. I signed him up for a gymnastics class. He is the demon child of the class. He won't follow directions, he won't wait his turn, he knocked over a parent, and when he was standing up he accidently hit a mom on the chin with the back of his head. The other parents give me dirty looks and the teacher did too but did not say anything. My son is a special needs child who does not talk yet. What do I do? Time-outs don't work. He just laughs and does it again.

Hi Irish....

Is it possible to talk to the teacher before taking him again...maybe she could have an extra set of hands like a teenager to help out with him...to keep redirecting. Do you have any help with him...an assessment in place...etc. Although I'm in Canada...they have assistance available to help kids with special needs integrate into programs....or maybe..just by talking to the instructor...she may have some suggestions on how she's handled a "busy" child before...not sure if it helps or not...but please let me know if there's anything I can do. I've worked in a community agency for going on 20 years...with kids with special needs...providing assistance to help out their families at home...so I can dig up some other info if you need it....