DS4 is intense, VERY emotional, and not hyper, but very energetic and BUSY. He wants to be doing something constantly, which was absolutely exhausting before he was old enough to entertain himself (just the last few months). He doesn't like to watch tv, not because he doesn't have the attention span, but because he says it's boring. He stays for afterschool care twice a week, where they often have a movie on, and he will walk away from the movie to build with LEGOs or draw. If we're in the car, he wants to be drawing or reading. If we're getting groceries, he'll follow me down the aisles talking to himself because he's deep in imaginative play--in his head. He wants and needs to be ENGAGED in something at all times.
I think my mother-in-law thought we spent too much time playing with him when he was a toddler, but now she's taking care of him after school two days a week, and she never fails to comment on his amazing energy level when I pick him up.
Incidentally, my grandmother, my mother and I are all the same way--always turned "on" and looking for something engaging and/or useful to do (picture an 84 year old chopping wood!). This has been a huge problem for me in the work world, as I seem to master jobs relatively easily and quickly reach a plateau where I can do my work in my sleep, which is like torture to me. My desire to actually be working/engaged/challenged/developing skills seems to annoy bosses who simply want someone to warm a seat or be there the one day they need them. Sigh. I know my seemingly boundless energy also mystifies and exhausts my husband, who would never turn down an opportunity to take a nap.
