u/DoughnutLittle1752

My 4-year-old has decided pretty much everything needs a winner. Getting dressed, walking to the car, putting toys away... somehow we're racing. Yesterday we were bringing groceries inside. He carried one loaf of bread, got inside before me, then announced that he won while I was still carrying the rest of the bags. 😂

The problem is he gets really upset when someone else wins. But if I tell him we're not racing, he gets annoyed about that too. I've been trying not to make a big deal out of it, but I'm also not sure if I should be correcting it every time.

Did you mostly let it play out or did you do something that helped with the losing part?

My 2.5 year old has always needed a lot of movement, and we just brought home a newborn 6 weeks ago.

Since then, everything feels harder. He’s climbing more, touching everything, making noise, and constantly looking for something to do. He’s not trying to be difficult. I think he’s adjusting to the baby and to not having all my attention anymore. But knowing that doesn’t make it easier when it’s 6am, the baby was up all night, and he’s already climbing the furniture.

The usual redirection isn’t working as well right now. I also can’t set up big activities or supervise messy sensory play all day. I just don’t have that much energy or free hands at the moment.

I’m not trying to stop the sensory-seeking completely. I just need ways to give him something better to do than climbing furniture, bothering the dog, or making noise for the sake of it. Any recommendations?