For a few months now we have noticed Tyler doing a series of things that made us look at each separately, rather than seeing them as a whole.  From going to specialists and speaking on the phone to pediatricians and nurses, we now believe Tyler has Tics .

It started in late April, early May when Tyler developed a kind of hyper-blinking.  Alarmed, we took him to an opthamologist where his vision was pronounced better than most children his age and nothing was found.  We realized that Tyler was reacting to being bullied in daycare. This forced us to change daycares and the blinking stopped soon after that.

But since then we have noticed sniffling, throat clearing, heavy breathing and yawning.  A couple of times I have called the nurse panic-stricken only to be told if Tyler was having trouble breathing he would be “laying like a wet dish towel on the couch”, and he was very active.  In fact, we noticed these things took place when he wasn’t active, such as being in the car, watching t.v., and falling asleep.

Tics are three times more common in boys than girls and happen more often when a child is under stress.  They can last up to a year but do not necessarily mean a child is going to have Tourette’s Syndrome.  You are supposed to either totally ignore them or try relaxation activities with your child. We visit the pediatrician on Friday for Tyler’s three-year-old check-up, but Grant and I are almost certain that is what is taking place.

Today I was put in a weird position.  Tyler hit one child and kicked another today, two incident reports at daycare.  Punishing him tonight and even trying to talk to him only made his symptoms worse. How do I teach him right from wrong without stressing him out even further?

And of course, as much as I try to keep it away from him, life at home is no picnic, with two sick parents and money problems.  GUILT!

I guess we’ll see what the pediatrician has to say on Friday.  In the meantime I will check out if there are any yoga or meditation classes in the area…for three-year-olds?